Good morning, everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I am still stuffed from eating all the delicious foods and treats. Over the holiday season, Kyle and I cooked a couple of Blue Apron boxes. We didn’t want to buy a ton of groceries before heading out to Charleston, so Blue Apron was the perfect solution. If you hadn’t already noticed, I’m kind of Blue Apron-obsessed. Everything we’ve ever tried has been outstanding, and it’s fun to learn new tricks in the kitchen! Not only do I want to share some photos of the meals we tried out last week, but I’m so excited to tell you about Blue Apron‘s collaboration with Whole30! It starts January 8th, and I’m already signed up to try out the meals. If you plan on making a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier or cook more at home, Blue Apron can help you succeed.
We decided to try out the Baked Cajun Catfish & Marinated Persimmon Collard Green Rice first. I was excited when persimmons were included because I love them! I was introduced to persimmons with our last Blue Apron box. Learning all about new fruits and vegetables to cook with is what I love about Blue Apron. We love being able to create beautiful and delicious, chef-designed recipes at home.
Blue Apron offers a family plan and a 2-person plan. I always go with the 2-person plan, which is still a lot of food. I love prepping the meals for the week to make things easier. You can select which meals you want on their menu each week. They are always adding new dishes, so it’s fun to see what they come up with next. They used to only have six meals to choose from, but now they have eight.
You don’t have to be at home when the meals arrive because they are delivered in a refrigerated box. Every time we get a box the ingredients are so fresh! If you’re not going to be around during the week, you can skip or cancel the service at any time. There is no commitment.
I would never go out of my way to make catfish, so I was excited to try the Baked Cajun Recipe. I love Cajun seasoning, and there has NEVER been a Blue Apron recipe that I didn’t like. The ingredients they use are farm-fresh, which makes everything taste better.
The one thing that drives me away from trying out new recipes is the waste. I feel like I have to buy so much just to make one meal. Blue Apron delivers only what you need in the right proportions, so there is no waste or unused ingredients. This is a big money saver, and it saves all the trips to the grocery store.
All of the meals can be made in forty minutes or less! It’s not time-consuming at all. The recipe cards make it so easy to follow so that anyone can make these recipes.
The cajun catfish smelled so good! I’m excited to try cooking other fish fillets like this.
Not only are the meals tasty, but they are gorgeous! I always try to plate mine like the photo 🙂
The next meal I made was the Roasted Turkey & Farro-Endive Salad. This meal was so perfect for the season, and it was warm and comforting. I loved the sweetness from the apples and honey with the turkey.
Wondering about the Blue Apron collaboration with Whole30?
I am excited to try out their Whole30 menu! It’ll be available for eight weeks starting January 8th! I’ve already planned my entire delivery schedule. The order cutoff is 6 days beforehand each week, so make sure to get your orders in 🙂 The Whole30 collaboration will be until the end of February.
There will be two Whole30 Meals on the menu per week. If you plan on having only Whole30 meals, select the 2-person plan to receive only Whole30 meals.
After the holidays, I always feel a little “sluggish.” Mainly because I’ve eaten things that my body isn’t used to taking in. I’m excited to eat a little cleaner and fill it up with nutritious meals. So what is Whole30? It’s a 30-day program designed to help people figure out how the food they’ve been eating is affecting how they look, feel, and live. It’s a reset for your health, habits, and relationship with food. My mom went on the Whole30, and she said she never felt better, so it’s a pretty cool program.
The Whole30 isn’t a weight loss diet or “quick fix.” The program is for eating whole, nutrient-dense food like meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, herbs, spices, healthy fats, and fruits. It can help with cravings, metabolism, digestion, and immune system.
No calorie counting, tracking food, weighing yourself, or restricting calories. The Whole30 is only a 30-day experiment and not meant to follow forever.
The Blue Apron meals are already filled with healthy proteins and vegetables, so I’m excited to see what they come up with for the Whole30 collaboration!
If you’d like to try out some of the Whole30 meals this January, you can sign up here! Blue Apron is giving the first 50 people to sign up for Blue Apron here $40 off their first two weeks of orders!! 🙂
Questions for you!
- Have you ever heard of Whole30?
- What is your favorite Blue Apron Recipe?
Thank you, Blue Apron, for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
The meals look delicious, Taralynn! ❤️ Hope you enjoyed them, homecooked food is the best. 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Taralynn McNitt says
It certainly is!
Jan says
I love the idea of trying out Whole30! I think I have some kind of food allergy so it may be interesting to try.
Taralynn McNitt says
You never know!
Angelina says
I did a Whole 30 plan over the summer! I didn’t purchase the book or adhere to the rules regarding organic-only produce (due to budget and personal beliefs regarding organic foods and the environment, respectively). I was travelling 4 days out of the week when I did it and I made it through 28 of the 30 days.
It was really difficult, honestly. I eat pretty healthily on my own, but my fiancee is a HUGE pasta consumer and he can’t cook to save his life – which means I had to choose between begging him to eat what I was eating, cooking two meals, he went out/ordered in when I cooked, or we both went out and I drooled over all the food I couldn’t eat. It was also really difficult to manage when we went out with friends or ate at their houses. Everyone teased me about my diet and told me I was crazy. My fiancee was proud of me that I was able to stick to it, impressed with my resolve, and supportive of my choices…but it didn’t make it easier to deal with the dual-diet household with me as the primary chef.
I did feel a lot better about my food choices and I discovered that I need to eat a significant amount of protein at every meal in order to stay full all day. Overall it was a great choice and I would sincerely like to try again using the cookbook…but I’m not sure I’m ready to face the difficulty of being a “pick eater” again so soon.
As far as Blue Apron goes – we’ve tried it a couple times but haven’t had the same success as you. We find it hard to recycle their packaging in our area, and we’ve not always been impressed with the food. In addition, we get more mileage out of our money when we shop at our local farmer’s market than we do with Blue Apron shipments.
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Angelina!
I’m sure it was tough, but good for you! I love the idea of the meals and food choices for Whole30! Great for incorporating more of thoses meals into my every day diet:)
You can actually recycle and ship back the containers for free 🙂
Hope you give it another try! xo
Charity says
I actually got the Whole 30 book for Christmas… I’m interested in doing it! As cheesy as it sounds, it’s actually on my 30 before 30 Bucket List… I better get on that! Ha!
Taralynn McNitt says
That’s actually pretty cool!!! My mom had so much success with it!
Aileen says
I LOVE the Whole 30 and am a HUGE supporter of it! I already am a pretty healthy eater (all about green juice, smoothies, salads, grass fed meat, fermented foods, herbalism, etc. , but I tend to get a BIG sugar tooth at night after dinner.
I did the Whole 30 before my wedding. I quit smoking cigarettes at the same time (I know, yuck) and I was bouncing off the walls with energy. I. FELT. FANTASTIC. (I also lost 12 pounds which is not the point but an awesome “side effect”! I learned that dairy and sugar are big “no-no’s” for me. The habits I developed stayed with me for months and I didn’t care to have all that junk once the 30 days were up. I definitely overindulged for the holidays, so back to the Whole 30 as a guideline for the New Year.
I want to mention to those of you who are tempted to try this: a HUGE benefit is that after you end the Whole 30, you slowly reintroduce the foods you’d retrained from– you don’t just go b.ack to eating whatever you want. BUT your metabolism will change. You’ll have metabolic flexibility to where you can have a treat here and there and it won’t affect you– whereas before the Whole 30, I’d look at cake and gain 3 pounds (an exaggeration obviously, but you get the point).
Everyone should try it. It will revolutionize the way you look at food. It’s hard, but not ridiculous. This is what happened to ME. I think it’s worth a try for everyone. It’s just 30 days.
Sorry TL for the rant but I truly think this was the best thing I did in 2017. <3
Taralynn McNitt says
Lol no worries! Loved all of your tips! Congrats on quitting smoking!!! You have me wanting to try Whole30!!!
Linda @ The Fitty says
What’s the hardest is probably eliminating diary! I still have butter here and there because it works for me but I’m thinking of cutting it out completely at some point. I follow a mainly keto-paleo protocol.
Glad to hear it worked so well for you, Aileen!
Susie @ Mile High Dreamers says
I love discovering new produce to cook with! Ben and I fell in love with farro recently, it’s such a yummy ingredient! That’s one of the best things about the meal delivery boxes is they get you to cook with ingredients you’d normally never choose.
I would love to try the whole 30 because I’m SO curious about the way my body would react if I cut out all of the crap (added sugar especially). We’re plant based, but it looks like you can still do it with some modifications. This might be something we need to try this year! Ben’s always down to do stuff like this haha, so that makes it easier!
And we’re definitely ready to de-bloat from the holidays. But it was so worth it :)!
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Susie!
Yes!! We love it too and I never would have learned about it if it werent for Blue Apron!
Ohhhh me too and the added sugar! That’s my biggest downfall.
ohhhh de-bloating on my list tooo lol
Natalija says
The dishes look amazing and so colourful!
Taralynn McNitt says
They always are!:D
Ethany says
This is the best news I’ve heard all day! I like the Whole30 but it’s hard to follow with my lifestyle.
Taralynn McNitt says
Yay!:D
Haley says
Nice photos! I wish we had Blue Apron in Canada.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you, Haley! Maybe one day 😀
Heidi says
I do the Whole30 four times a year and love it! How cool that Blue Apron is partnering with them.
Taralynn McNitt says
That is awesome!
Courtney says
I’ve done Whole30 twice before and I am planning on doing it again in January. I wrote a “Tips for a Spectacular Whole30” post on my blog last week!! I also signed up on the Whole30 website for their wholesome emails as well as for Blue Apron to test their Whole30 meals! I was so excited when I got the notification the other week. I’ll be posting a review of the Blue Apron meals as well as at least one recipe per week on my blog. I cannot rave about Whole30 enough and love telling anyone willing to listen all about it.
If you’re interested in reading my tips or swapping recipes, let me know!
http://www.thisspectacularlife.com
Taralynn McNitt says
I can’t wait to follow along!!
Ellen says
What editing tool do you use? Your photos are gorgeous
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you! I use Lightroom!
Caitlin says
The Roasted Turkey & Farro-Endive Salad was amazing. Probably my favorite Blue Apron dish so far.
Taralynn McNitt says
Yes it was so good!!
Amanda|The Kitcheneer says
LOVE Blue Apron and LOVE that they are offering us Whole30-ers an option now too! I plan on ordering off their Whole30 menu next month to see what it’s like and I am sure I will in the future for those busy weeks where fridge hunting isnt an option lol.
I have done the Whole30 8 times and still am astonished with how positively my body responds. I sleep better, my workouts are more intense with more energy, and I love the smaller clothes too ;).
Taralynn McNitt says
OMG 8 TIMES? that is amazing!
Emilee says
That food looks sooooo good! 😍 Also, I love those brown/green/blue plates! Where are they from?
Taralynn McNitt says
I actually had a woman from my hometown make them for me!!
nicole @ bento momentos says
these look amazing!!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Nicole!
Jordan says
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
I did my first round of Whole30 last fall and plan to do another one starting Jan. 1st! Thanks for sharing that Blue Apron is having Whole 30 compliant meals — one of the toughest things about the Whole 30 is the meal prep and time that it takes — Blue Apron is going to be a lifesaver!
I haven’t tried Blue Apron yet, but now I definitely plan to!
Taralynn McNitt says
That is so awesome to hear! I’ll be trying out the meals too!!
Amber O. says
It’s so exciting to see people talking about the Whole30! Like a lot of previous people I love the program and I’m doing my third round starting January 😊 it’s seriously amazing how our eating habits can completely change our lives. Thank you for sharing!! I definitely want to try Blue Apron since cooking for the Whole30 can be overwhelming at times.
Are the meals all for dinner? Do you have a favorite? So excited to hear your review of the January meals!