Thank you to Blue Apron for sponsoring this post! Want to cook more at home this year? The first 50 people to sign up for Blue Apron here will get $40 off their first two weeks of orders!
Raise your hand if one of your goals for the new year is to cook at home more – anyone else? I know that’s a goal for us! Normally we cook at home a decent amount, but last year we did a lot less of it given that I was pregnant and, for the most part, not super interested in food or cooking. Dinnertime was especially hard for me because it was when I often felt most nauseous and never knew what would hit the spot food-wise, which made eating out (with so many options) easier. I had a stretch during the second trimester where I felt more like myself, but for the first and third trimesters we did a LOT of eating out, or just having cereal or pizza for dinner. You know it’s bad when your pizza-loving husband actually starts getting sick of pizza… :)
Now that I’m no longer pregnant and am not having weird aversions/eating like a toddler all the time, and now that the busy holiday season and family visits have slowed down, I’m excited to get back on the veggie-packed dinner train.
One of the ways we are doing that is with Blue Apron! You guys know we love Blue Apron – they send you all the ingredients you need to make delicious, chef-designed recipes at home. No wasted food from unused ingredients and no meal planning or grocery store trips! We have been using Blue Apron on and off for years now; we do the 2 person plan but they also have a family plan option. There are now 8 recipes (instead of 6) to choose from each week, and you can choose any combination of recipes, which is awesome. They are always adding new dishes and the recipes are always really creative and unique!
Our first Blue Apron delivery of the new year came last week – I was LOVING the look of the recipes and they were just as delicious as they sounded. Very veggie-forward! These Togarashi Chicken Lettuce Cups were a bit hit – Matt and I always enjoy lettuce cups.
We also really enjoyed this Mexican-Spiced Barramundi with Kale, Sweet Potato, and Avocado Salad. Yum – all those ingredients were definitely right up my alley! Look at that mountain or kale! Really good flavor, too. I was obsessed with the toasted pepitas – I always forget how much toasting nuts and seeds brings out their flavor!
Those first two recipes were part of a partnership Blue Apron is doing with Whole30 to kick off the new year. You guys know I am not an advocate of following a program that has you eliminating food groups (unless for medical reasons) as it’s not sustainable long term and often sets you up to feel guilty later when eating those off-limits foods. That said, I do love a lot of Whole30’s recipes because they are creative and packed with hearty, filling veggies and whole, nutrient-dense foods. I actually selected those two Whole30 meals for the week before realizing they were part of the Whole30 partnership – they just sounded amazing! And they were. :) Blue Apron will be offering two Whole30 meal options each week through the end of February, FYI!
Our third meal last week was Seared Chicken and Mashed Potatoes, which sounds basic, but I LOVE Blue Apron’s mashed potatoes and chicken recipes – they are always super flavorful and have a delicious pan sauce. Mmmm.
This dish was supposed to have maple-glazed carrots on the side, but we don’t love cooked carrots, so instead we snacked on them raw – Matt while he was cooking us dinner, and me while I was feeding Riese her dinner! :) They were actually amazing carrots – really juicy and flavorful and crisp.
I will leave you with a fun photo of Matt cooking with Riese in the “dad shirt”! Don’t worry – I grabbed her from him before he started cooking anything hot. She likes “helping” us cook, though – often I’ll stand holding her so she can watch Matt in action. She’s fascinated by it now that she’s more alert!
Are you ready to try Blue Apron this year to start cooking more at home without the hassle of meal planning and grocery shopping? Blue Apron ships to most of the country, and there’s no commitment – you can skip or cancel at anytime. Meals start at $8.99 per serving and all the ingredients are delivered in a refrigerated box so you don’t need to be home when the package arrives. Click here to get $40 off your first two weeks of orders. Enjoy!!
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Are you planning to cook at home more this year? If yes, how are you going to do it – do you have a specific plan/strategy in mind?
Love Blue Apron!! I work 50 ish hours a week and I love not having to meal plan and have everything arrive to my house, clearly marked and I usually use it on Friday night and Saturday night when I have more time to cook. My picky husband and 16 yr old son have LOVED most of the recipes, too – I try to pick them out together with them so they will eat everything! :)
Awww…love the last picture. Still think the side swaddle that Matt had with Riese was so cute! Baby bicep curls! Haha!
I cook at home A LOT. I actually love to cook so it works out, but I am working on preparing more lunch food. I am not a huge fan of leftovers and I’m trying to cut back on buying lunch. I have started preparing more on Sunday which has helped. For me, if I have a nice pasta salad, couscous salad or hummus to go with a sandwich then I am more likely not to buy lunch.
I like your comment about eating like a toddler when you were pregnant. Just be warned, you will eat like a toddler again when Riese gets bigger. All of the snacks you pack her will be tempting! :) My kids are 6 and 8 and I still eat all of the same snacks they like!
That dad shirt is awesome! We have a 3 week old at home, I’d love to get it for my husband! Where is it from?
It’s the BEST! Not cheap but worth it — it’s from Lalabu and is on Amazon.
The dad shirt is awesome! I wish we had one of those when our babies were tiny. Blue Apron is the best.
OMG I love blue apron!
Oh my word, the dad shirt!!! LOVE it! I would love to try Blue Apron, but financially I don’t think it’s feasible with 5 of us. Someday when my kiddos are out of the house, lol!
We loved the whole 30 meals from last week as well – I couldn’t believe how colorful my kitchen was after prepping all the veggies for the lettuce cups! It felt good to not have to choose between getting a BA box and wanting to get some more veggie heavy meals in after the holidays. I really hope they keep up similar options (with or without strict whole 30 guidelines) all year!
Have also been enjoying that Aldi sprouted wheat – avocado with smoked salmon and cracked pepper and avocado with turkey, tomato, and pepper have been our favorites :)
I hope they keep the Whole30 or at least super veggie-packed options all year, too – that’s one of my only complaints about Blue Apron is that sometimes I find myself adding extra veggies! Maybe if the Whole30 meals are super popular they will consider it! And those sandwiches sound great :) I just had avocado with smoked salmon yesterday – plus a little hummus!
i just have to say i’m SO JEALOUS of people who can/could babywear!! i could never find something to fit my frame, plus my son spit up CONSTANTLY (like, all day long and it didn’t let up until 6/7 months) and whenever i’d try wearing him we’d both get covered in spit up :( i’d try it now that he doesn’t do it anymore, but he’s almost 25lbs and legit almost half my length (i’m short :/ ) so i’d probably die.
we always plan to cook more at home, but almost always fail at it! i need to find easy, quick meals that are also healthy and use no pans and we don’t have to turn the oven on :) lol
25 pounds would be ROUGH for baby wearing – Riese is only 8 and it already sometimes hurts my back… hoping that gets better as I get stronger again, though!
Also for easy quick no oven no pans meals, try my grain salad bowl recipes!
I was just telling my husband that I think we’ve eaten more frozen pizzas during this pregnancy than in our whole 7 year relationship! I’m glad I’m not the only one that’s struggling with dinner and cooking while pregnant, and I’m glad there’s hope it will go back to normal! :)
It will definitely go back to normal! Hang in there!!
Great to see the newly alert baby peering out from Matt’s baby shirt!