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Post by daylilydude on Sept 20, 2018 4:08:42 GMT -5
Would you, or have you ever used one of those meal services like Blue Apron where they deliver meals in a box with directions and you just cook it?
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Post by mgulfcoastguy on Sept 20, 2018 4:18:33 GMT -5
Probably not or at least not at this time.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Sept 20, 2018 6:52:19 GMT -5
I didn't even think about that when I was incapacitated. I always have a lot of leftover things in the freezer that I can eat, in times like that.
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 20, 2018 7:06:02 GMT -5
I think that they are fairly expensive compared to cooking from scratch yourself but maybe they are a good idea for people who don't know how to cook nice meals with fresh ingredients.
A friend of mine got one of these services as a gift for a month and she said that it was really good but that it was not very kid friendly and she ended up making the boxed meal as well as a separate meal for her 2 girls.
I have never tried one.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Sept 20, 2018 7:08:56 GMT -5
Me? No, not until advancing age makes it dangerous for me to engage with knives and "fire". However, I do have a family member who tried a meal service for a while. She is a Career woman with little time for herself. It was much easier to come home to everything prepared and cook as directed. Didn't last long though, too expensive. She bought an Instant pot and dusted over her Crockpot. With a little organization, she's eating better than ever.
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Post by guruofgardens on Sept 20, 2018 7:33:01 GMT -5
Not yet!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Sept 20, 2018 9:29:46 GMT -5
I think about it just for fun. In fact, I have 2 Hello Fresh $30 off coupons sitting right here. I can only use one of them, so if there is anyone here who would like to try it, let me know and I'll share the second coupon code. Friends of mine who don't cook have tried them and enjoyed them for a while. One friend in particular though said that even with the food partially prepped, there was no way they were the 30 minute meals advertised. Years ago before these were a thing I had an idea to work with a local grocery store and put together meal kits for people. I never explored the idea or contacted the store. Too bad, because apparently it could have taken off!
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Post by paulf on Sept 20, 2018 10:00:17 GMT -5
No, but in the future maybe Meals on Wheels if they know where I live.
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Post by hairymooseknuckles on Sept 20, 2018 10:20:38 GMT -5
I'd just soon cafe hop
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Post by farmerjack41 on Sept 20, 2018 11:15:47 GMT -5
Can't say never, but at this point no way. See these prepared meals now at FM, really high priced! As long as I open a can of soup, that's what it will be.
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Post by octave1 on Sept 20, 2018 11:51:29 GMT -5
No way.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2018 16:26:15 GMT -5
Nooo, not as yet and not likely to happen soon. I think they could be a good idea in many ways,, but I eat so oddly, it would be hard for me and being old, I like my own ways, LOL!!!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 21, 2018 10:14:55 GMT -5
My oldest son (in college) recently trialed one of these services. I think it was Blue Apron, but I'm not sure. He had a coupon for a big discount on his first order. He knows how to cook, but doesn't cook much, due to a combination of laziness and the fact that he doesn't like cooking. Recently he has come to realize that he needs to eat better and lose some weight. He gets tired of the few things he typically cooks, and wanted to branch out and learn to appreciate a wider variety of healthy foods. I think he was hoping that the convenience might help motivate him to cook more often instead of getting so much fast food/junk food. That seemed plausible to me, because the part of cooking he dislikes most is prep. He also told me he was hoping that it would help him with portion control. After he tried it, he told me that he generally liked the food and the convenience, but not enough that he was willing to pay to continue the service at the regular price. And ladymarmalade 's friends said, the meals took him more than 30 minutes to get to the table. Since these services are marketed to folks who are not enthusiastic or experienced cooks, their 30 minutes preparation time claim is probably overly optimistic for many of their actual customers. So he discontinued the service. Hopefully he at least gleaned a few new meal ideas out of it, though. ________________________ I looked into Blue Apron and another meal service a while back, out of curiosity. Both services were too pricey to feed a family on; I can feed my family much cheaper, especially considering that I have two teenage boys in the house. (One normal serving is NOT enough to feed a teenage boy!) Even putting that aside, like brownrexx said, many of the meals sounded good to me but my kids wouldn't have touched them with a ten-foot pole. So, I would have had to cook separately for the kids for many meals. So, in my case these meal services would have been both pricey and inconvenient. No sale!
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Post by ladymarmalade on Sept 21, 2018 11:03:26 GMT -5
My oldest son (in college) recently trialed one of these services. I think it was Blue Apron, but I'm not sure. He had a coupon for a big discount on his first order. He knows how to cook, but doesn't cook much, due to a combination of laziness and the fact that he doesn't like cooking. Recently he has come to realize that he needs to eat better and lose some weight. He gets tired of the few things he typically cooks, and wanted to branch out and learn to appreciate a wider variety of healthy foods. I think he was hoping that the convenience might help motivate him to cook more often instead of getting so much fast food/junk food. That seemed plausible to me, because the part of cooking he dislikes most is prep. He also told me he was hoping that it would help him with portion control. After he tried it, he told me that he generally liked the food and the convenience, but not enough that he was willing to pay to continue the service at the regular price. And ladymarmalade 's friends said, the meals took him more than 30 minutes to get to the table. Since these services are marketed to folks who are not enthusiastic or experienced cooks, their 30 minutes preparation time claim is probably overly optimistic for many of their actual customers. So he discontinued the service. Hopefully he at least gleaned a few new meal ideas out of it, though. ________________________ I looked into Blue Apron and another meal service a while back, out of curiosity. Both services were too pricey to feed a family on; I can feed my family much cheaper, especially considering that I have two teenage boys in the house. (One normal serving is NOT enough to feed a teenage boy!) Even putting that aside, like brownrexx said, many of the meals sounded good to me but my kids wouldn't have touched them with a ten-foot pole. So, I would have had to cook separately for the kids for many meals. So, in my case these meal services would have been both pricey and inconvenient. No sale! I think there's a completely untapped market for a meal service type of thing for college aged kids. Something healthy (well, healthier than ramen) with minimal prep. Maybe even something that would accompany a cooking device like an Instant pot. It would be something that could be purchased as a gift- imagine Grandma being able to gift their grandkids with two meals a week the whole year they're at school?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2018 12:12:35 GMT -5
I suspect strongly that the claimed 30 minute meal time thing is for a no child ( LOL, you know about interruptions if you have a child!) and for people who are organized and comfortable with kitchen basics - many young people aren't.
As for feeding teenage boys..My mother always said it was like a shark feeding frenzy with some manners, but dangerous to reach into the melee!!! And 4 boys, all pretty much the same age, could make you think some of those nature programs where the predators were getting a meal on!!!
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Post by brownrexx on Sept 21, 2018 12:26:17 GMT -5
I just looked up pricing and for Blue Apron for 2 people having 3 meals each per week it is $59.95 or $9.99 per person per meal. this includes shipping.
Wow, I can definitely cook cheaper than that!
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 21, 2018 12:37:43 GMT -5
Absolutely you can cook from scratch much cheaper.
However, for folks who in a big city or other high cost area and eat out a lot because they don't have confidence in their cooking skills, it might be cheaper than their current eating habits. Particularly if they have discipline about portion size and use the leftovers.
Also, grocery shopping is the pits when you have to bring your food home on buses or subways, and/or walk a long way home. Plus you might get the extra joy of carrying your groceries up several flights of stairs to get to your apartment. And it is even more annoying if you forgot something and have to go back to the store. With Blue Apron and similar services, your food is delivered to you with all ingredients included. No shopping hassle.
I suspect that is their intended market - young professionals with no kids in urban areas.
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Post by Gianna on Sept 21, 2018 13:23:07 GMT -5
The guy across the street whose wife was very ill used one of those services. I also know two women who use them. One older and healthy who has lots of time to cook... but doesn't. And the other younger with kids, both parents employed so can afford it. BUT... in my opinion (not that it matters) neither are very careful with money.
If the circumstances warranted it, I'd use them as opposed to starving. But even then I'd probably try to find more frugal alternatives. Prepared foods at Trader joe's, Costco, and even grocery stores' frozen meals come to mind.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Sept 25, 2018 9:18:13 GMT -5
Somehow, I don't think that "frugal" describes the demographic they are targeting.
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