Cooking from Meal Kits (Hello Fresh, Purple Carrot, Gousto, and so on)

[SJMitch]

Very cool!  Sun Basket now lets you pick 4 recipes in a week, and if you do drops the price to $10.99/serving.  And, as always, allows ordering multiple(s) of any dish.  So now you can choose any 2 ($12.49/serving), any 3 (11.49/serving), any 4 (10.99/serving) or just skip.

 

Several of the services have been sending out surveys lately asking for opinions on various options for flexibility and different categories of purchases (deserts/sides/wines/etc).  I also noticed that Gobble now offers higher priced entrees sometimes ($35/serving) in addition to the lower-priced soups/sides as add-ons.

 

[SJMitch]

Quick Gobble meal: Thai red curry with shrimp and brown rice.  Quick and easy.  We extended it with additional mixed seafood and cherry tomatoes (they provided one roma).

 

Edited August 2, 2017 by SJMitch (log)

[BetD]

Oh boy, I post so rarely that I don't know if his link will show up properly, but I thought you might like it!  

 

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/please-forgive-us-at-blue-apron-for-this-weeks-meals-weve-been-having-a-tough-time-lately

[rotuts]

indeed

 

Im not a student of the Economy.

 

not an Investor , etc

 

but I do Follow the Markets 

 

mostly my own w Circulars

 

hiowever 

 

its interesting to me

 

one click away

 

how  Greed 

 

has effected  IPO's

 

some not food realated

 

SANP

 

but APRN just now :

 

 

the Amazonians will either snap them up at < 4 USD

 

or take their time via WF

 

and create a local delivery system far more efficient and cheaper

 

then APRN

 

 

[liamsaunt]

I am back from vacation with one last Purple Carrot TB12 box to post.  I have cancelled the service for at least the next six weeks as all of the local tomatoes, corn and so on are finally coming in to the farmer's markets.  I may end up cancelling the service entirely, have not decided yet.  

 

Tonight's recipe was for a summer squash-pea-lemon risotto with minted ricotta.  Fairly straightforward.  The recipe called for a half rice-half lentil mix, but I saved the lentils and went with all rice (I had arborio on hand).  I swapped out the powdered vegetable dust you were supposed to use for broth for frozen homemade chicken stock, added white wine (a no no in Tom Brady's world I guess) and used regular butter instead of the included vegan butter.  I topped it with Faroe Island salmon from my fish share.  The risotto was really good, albeit not really the recipe that was sent.  

 

[rotuts]

I enjoy following various companies if its easy to do.

 

BlueApron is one , as its selling one of my favorite subjects :  cooking

 

this article is interesting :

 

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4096537-blue-apron-smells-like-somethings-burning\\

 

it has some good points.

 

however , any analysis like the above rarely mentiones that they might be trying to move the Market as they might have a position

 

they hope to profit from.

 

none the less , BlueApron is not just selling meal kits.   it is selling a ( hopeful ) panache : BA

 

just as WholeFoods  isn't selling just food , its selling WF

 

they mention that Walmart will take notice if BA succeeds 

 

possibly

 

but who would think they are getting any panache w a Walmart meal kit ?   just get a Walmart refrigerated ' pizza '

 

now  a WholeFoods meal kit ...............

 

BigBucks  Right There !

 

Edited August 9, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[SJMitch]

We have two teenaged guests this week.  They cooked two dishes from Blue Apron.

 

Chicken tenders with potato salad, marinated cucumber and spicy honey dip

 

 

And Salmon with freekeh salad and herb salsa

 

 

They loved both the salmon meat and chicken tenders.  One is a more adventurous eater than the other and she liked the freekeh pilaf after picking out the dates (the other kid didn't like it).  Both liked the potato salad and neither seemed fond of the cucumbers.

 

My husband and I thought it was all just fine.

 

At the same meal, my husband and I prepared a dish from Sunbasket: Brazilian shrimp stew with yuca-coconut mash

 

 

Proportions were off for the yuca mash had to boil it down a long time, but it was tasty and the two girls even tried a bite of the mash.  They passed on tasting the stew.  I thought it was very good.  

 

It should also have had some cilantro mixed in fresh at the end but the cook for the salmon accidentally grabbed the cilantro and added it to the herb mix for that dish.  We had 4 people making 3 meal kits at the same time.  With an Echo Show coordinating named timers for everyone.  A bit of a zoo, but all the food worked out in the end!

[SJMitch]

The two girls helped with last night's meal (above) but didn't want to cook tonight.  So my husband and I made two mealkits.

 

For the girls, I cooked up Gobble's Parmesan crusted chicken with orzo salad: 

 

 

Both girls loved the chicken and the more adventurous eater liked the pasta salad.  The other did not (her preferences are more limited).

 

My husband made Vietnamese shaking beef with roasted ginger sweet potatoes from Sun Basket for us:

 

 

Surprisingly, the both girls loved the beef in this dish and loved the simple lime juice + salt + pepper dipping sauce and dipped both the beef and their chicken in it.  Neither of them wanted any sweet potatoes.

 

 

[SJMitch]

A Gobble dish from the last few weeks:

 

When the girl's were here we ordered "General Tso's Chicken" for them from Gobble (they like orange chicken from Panda Express so I thought they might go for this).  They did like the chicken part, but again, only the more adventurous eater liked the veggies.  No photo, but ... we got also ordered the vegetarian version they offered: "General Tso's Cauliflower" and we made and ate that after they left:

 

It was tasty.  About 12 years ago I got hooked on Dhesi-Chinese dishes, especially Mandarin cauliflower and would order it every chance I got (first mostly from restaurants with Chettinad dishes).  Fried cauliflower in place of fried chicken has exploded lately with both Mediterranean and American restaurants offering it as an alternative to things like buffalo wings.  Interesting to see Gobble jumping on the trendy substitution.  Thank you Indians!  Fried cauliflower sauced up like chicken usually is (any flavoring or style) is still a big favorite and I still order it every chance I get.

[Dave the Cook]

i can't say that this surprises me:

 

Quote

More problems for Blue Apron: The company’s payroll is getting as lean as skinless turkey in a thermal-lined delivery box. Fourteen members of the meal-kit service’s recruitment team have now been fired, and its top HR executive has exited the company for presumably greener pastures. This follows co-founder and CEO Matt Wadiak’s resignation last month (he headed up recipe creation and ingredient sourcing, two problematic areas for the company lately) — making for a trio of developments that seem to suggest a dim future for the start-up. 

 

Article here.

[rotuts]

@Dave the Cook 

 

I don't think that ARRN is the best model for

 

deliver kits to cook yourself  

 

they seem to haver possible  internal business issues :

 

just now :

 

granted the price pot the stock might have very little to do this the Business itself:

 

Like Coffee ?

 

consider this book , hopefully from your local library :

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Grande-Expectations-Year-Starbucks-Stock/dp/0307339726

[Anna N]

Sad. Very sad.  And even worse if the reports of the treatment of employees is true. 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

My elder son and his family still use Blue Apron.  The service may help busy people but amazon will deliver almost anything and my grandchildren can follow a recipe.

 

[rotuts]

I have a coupon for Hello Fresh for first time users 

 

$ 30 off first order 

 

for a 2 or 4 person box.

 

it came today w  my Fine Cooking OCtNov issue

 

PM me if this is helpful

 

Ill return via PM the code.

[gfweb]

On 8/23/2017 at 2:38 PM, Dave the Cook said:

i can't say that this surprises me:

 

 

Article here.

 

Article says that they are shifting 1270 NJ employees to another site in the state.

 

That's a LOT of employees. If they have that many around the country I can see why they are losing money.

 

[BeatriceB]

I've never used one of these services, but I eye them all the time (and have read this whole thread). I live alone and currently have a bit of a hard time getting around, but am lucky to have FreshDirect (which, incidentally, has introduced its own meal kits at ludicrous prices) to bring me groceries, imperfect though they are.

 

Having read this thread, I think these services are best for people who, as has been said, have more money than time, but even more importantly, tend toward the vegetarian or vegan end of the eating spectrum, which involve a lot of ingredients to make a good meal.

I am a meat and two veg kind of girl (or meat with salad and bread), and I have food whims in which I don't want what I planned, so I have a sandwich.

 

I think this thread has done me the benefit of realizing that I can just stop considering these services :-)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

This afternoon I received snail mail from FreshDirect that they are now in my area.  Can't say I am tempted though.  However for just ingredients, as opposed to meal kits, I have found Amazon Fresh is just about perfect.  And if you are displeased they don't charge you.

 

After all, amazon is sort of like a meal kit:  they sell you a shelf of cookbooks and then sell you the stuff to make the recipes.  (And if you can stomach a meal kit from Martha, they have that too.)

 

 

[rotuts]

MRE's are easier to stomach than anything connected to Martha

[BeatriceB]

Hmm, JoNorvelleWalker, I may try Amazon Fresh to compare to FreshDirect, though I've gotten so familiar with the FreshDirect routine, it'll be hard to break! And, no, I don't want any meal kits of any kind ;-) I've noticed more and more Amazon Fresh bags in my building lobby and fewer FreshDirect deliveries, so you may be right about Amazon being preferable.

Edited September 14, 2017 by BeatriceB (log)

[SJMitch]

On 9/13/2017 at 11:48 AM, BeatriceB said:

Having read this thread, I think these services are best for people who, as has been said, have more money than time, but even more importantly, tend toward the vegetarian or vegan end of the eating spectrum

 

It depends on whether you mean it's a good option for vegetarian/vegans because of complexity or that the meals from services tend to be vegan/vegetarian. If it's the former, I agree with you. In general (except for Purple Carrot), mealkit services are very meat focused (I just tend to order the few not-so-meat-heavy dishes).

 

We're still regular users of Sun Basket, Gobble, Purple Carrot, and Blue Apron.  I do have photos up on instagram  (quick and easy to post).  I rarely order from Blue Apron (more meat heavy, less interesting dishes).  Purple Carrot has also been less interesting just of late (so this may just be random variation), with more pasta and burger type dishes.

 

Sun Basket has been making more changes.  You can now "upgrade' the meat and fish in some dishes for an extra charge.  E.g. change from top sirloin to new york strip or filet mignon.  Or, say, change from salmon to halibut.  They have the most selections of any service (usually 11 or 12 to choose from).  Although you can't order unlimited number of dishes, you can choose 2, 3, or 4 dishes (with multiples allowed).  They also have their selections and scheduling the furthest in the future of any service, about 7 weeks out, which is important so you don't forget to skip!  Blue Apron is almost as long at 6 weeks, but Gobble and Purple Carrot only allow skips out 4 weeks on average.  Sun Basket's website also has your ordering history and you can go back and get any recipe. I like their website the best from a usability perspective.  Purple Carrot is the worst.

 

We haven't had any major missing/bad ingredients in the past month or two, but two services had a week where they gave us double dishes mistakenly (we were not charged for them).  Sun Basket accidentally doubled up on two different dishes and Gobble on one. 

Edited October 8, 2017 by SJMitch (log)

[SJMitch]

Here's a recent vegan dish from Sun Basket:

 

We added the tomato-salsa dipping sauce, but the filling was pinto beans, red onions, and riced cauliflower (came already riced).

 

And a fish dish from Gobble:

 

 

This is miso baked cod with bok choy, shiitake, and baby corn.  Brown rice came pre-cooked.  It had a dashi as a broth, but I wanted something less soupy so reduced it with a bit of added white miso for a thicker sauce.

[SJMitch]

A couple  dishes from Purple Carrot from 2/3 weeks ago (we'll get them again next week, but then they are out of the rotation again for 3 weeks):

 

 

The above dish was fun: sweet potato chaat with mung beans and puffed rice.  I've had puffed rice chaat in restaurants but never made one at home.  The vegan 'raita' had a texture that was off, but the flavor was great.  I like unusual and this dish delighted me.

 

 

This is an italian-style white bean stew with vegan sausage and vegan parmesan.  Both my husband and I are fans of mock meats (we'll even cook up stir fry and curry with a mix of fake meat and real meat, we love the texture variations).  The sausage was great but the parm was 'eh'.  Ended up adding real parmesan to it later.

 

[SJMitch]

It's been a month since Blue Apron, but we enjoyed this baked panko crusted eggplant dish from them:

 

 

I really liked how the eggplant turned out, I plan to use that technique for doing eggplant again in the future (just a standard flour, egg, panko coating and then baked 24 min at 475F).

 

But, I don't see anything compelling in the next 4-5 weeks from them.  One or two dishes here and there, but never three in a week that make me want to order.

Edited October 8, 2017 by SJMitch (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

@SJMitch,

 

You make these meal kits look very attractive. I admire your dinnerware, especially the adorable little sauce dishes, and your plating skills are enviable. 

 

What are the wraps on the pinto bean, riced cauliflower and red onion stuffed things from Sun Basket? They don't quite look like tortillas. Also, I can see where the tomato salsa would help this dish out a lot.

[SJMitch]

8 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

@SJMitch,

 

You make these meal kits look very attractive. I admire your dinnerware, especially the adorable little sauce dishes, and your plating skills are enviable. 

 

What are the wraps on the pinto bean, riced cauliflower and red onion stuffed things from Sun Basket? They don't quite look like tortillas. Also, I can see where the tomato salsa would help this dish out a lot.

 

Aw, thanks!

 

I just love those sauce dishes; I got them at Bed Bath and Beyond (a year ago?).  They caught my eye but were several bucks each so I just admired but didn't buy.  Then one day they were on sale for a dollar so I got a few.  But when I got to the register they were 50 cents each!  I quickly went back and bought all the rest!  5 different leaf styles.  We use them a lot.  Sometimes just to hold cut limes and as seed/skin discard dishes, which is why the red dishes are out for the chaat meal: for the lemon skin discards. BTW, you only see them in that photo since I mistakenly uploaded the un-cropped versions with background clutter.  Eh, more realistic anyway.

 

The wraps are Mi Rancho corn tortillas.  I softened them in the microwave in a damp muslin towel (they suggested warming in a pan but I can never quite get them pliable enough that way, even then one cracked -- oops nuke another minute).  Stuffed with the sautéed mixture and then baked until crispy.