Blue Apron

• No hidden fees
• Low-calorie meals
• Variety

There are no hidden prices with Blue Apron. The price you see for meals includes everything - even shipping. Most companies that offer weight loss meal plans will charge consumers for their food and shipping (and they may throw in a few extra fees for a membership and consultant). But Blue Apron is different. Even though there is no guarantee of weight loss, Blue Apron's healthy meals are sure to help anyone struggling to eat healthy (and in turn, perhaps lose a few pounds). On their blog, Blue Apron shares the story of one person trying to learn to cook with healthy ingredients in order to lose weight and then keep on top of her goal weight. She used Blue Apron to do this, stating that their clean food made her food good again. Each meal from Blue Apron is around 500-700 calories. When you go to select your meals for the upcoming week, you'll be able to choose from six options (options change each week, so you aren't stuck eating the same foods). The options you get to choose from show the meal's calories, ingredients, cooking instructions, and cooking time. We like the the transparency all this information provides. You always know what you are getting yourself into. While TBC cannot provide unique commentary on the taste of Blue Apron's food, there are many positive reviews about the taste. They use traditional and unique recipes each week. Most people report the meals tasting healthy and light, but still filling. Another thing to note about Blue Apron is their variety of meals. While you may only have 6 to choose from each week (and most people buy 2-4 meals per week), the meals are always seasonal and always changing. Here is a sample menu for a week in July:

• Vadouvan-Spiced Lamb Burgers
• Chicken Milanese
• Cod & Miso Soba Noodles
• Summer Bean & Mushroom Pasta
• Summer Corn & Vegetable Chowder
• Crispy Eggplant Pitas

• Pricing
• Weight loss
• Experience

It is difficult to compare the price of meal services, like Blue Apron, that only provide customers with one meal a day, with full on diet food meals. Most of the meal plans that we have reviewed on TBC are for meal plans designed to help people lose weight. Because of this design, weight loss companies provide food for every meal of the day (some may only provide for 2 meals a day, while others include multiple snacks). Because Blue Apron's focus is on providing healthy, seasonal meals, weight loss is a possible secondary benefit. The company does not say anything about weight loss on their site, nor to they make any guarantees. For those interested in losing weight with a meal plan product, Blue Apron may not have the idea meals for them, In general, Blue Apron seems more expensive than direct competitors. If you look at the price of one meal (a little under $10), it's a much more expensive meal than other meal plans. However, it just depends on what you are looking for in a meal plan. Blue Apron has only been around for 3 years (since 2012), and was founded by a computer engineer. Many of the other companies in the meal planning industry were founded by chefs, dieticians, and people in business. This might be the only one that was founded by someone with experience in a completely different industry. We wonder what credentials Blue Apron's founder has and what experience he had in meal planning, if any, before starting his business. Even though the 2-person plan has 6 options to choose 3 from, the family plan only gives you 4 options to choose from each week. If you select the 2-meals per week plan, this may leave you with some variety. However, if you select the 4-meals per week plan, there is no room to leave out meals you don't like. We wish the family meal plan came with more options.