This post is sponsored by Blue Apron! Thank you so much for keeping Simply Taralynn possible!
I had the best meals last week. They were fresh, dairy free, gluten free, filled with vegetables, and all Whole30 approved. When I heard that Blue Apron was going to be offering Whole30 meals, I was so excited. First off, I do not follow the Whole30 program, but I do love the recipes and meals. It’s not too far off from my typical food lifestyle. It’s not a diet or quick fix meal-plan. Whole30 is all about clean ingredients, eating better, not less, and meant to reset your health, habits, and relationship with food for 30-days. This program was designed to help people figure out how the food they’ve been eating is affecting how they look, feel, and live. It’s only a 30-day experiment; it’s not meant to follow forever. The program doesn’t require any calorie-counting, tracking, weighing, or caloric restriction because it’s not a diet.
If you eat gluten-free, or dairy-free, the Whole30 meals are perfect for you! Blue Apron is partnering with Whole30 for eight weeks, but I hope this turns into a long-term partnership. ♥ You can get $40 off your first two weeks here!
If you want to try out the Whole30 meals before the end of February, make sure you select your meals six days before delivery.
You can select the 2-person plan to receive only Whole30 meals, which is two meals per person for the week, or the second 2-person plan option to receive two of the Whole30 meals with an additional Blue Apron meal. We did the three meals! Once you sign up, you’ll be able to manage your delivery and select your meals from the menu. Blue Apron offers a large selection of recipes and is always adding new dishes to their menu every week.
The first meal I tried out was the Togarashi Chicken Lettuce Cups With Oranges & Watermelon Radishes. This meal was so fresh, filled with colorful produce, and very filling. You’ll never be left hungry with the Blue Apron portion sizes. Whole30 is based around eating whole, nutrient-dense food: meat, seafood, and eggs; lots of vegetables and fruit; natural healthy fats; and herbs, spices, and seasonings. They really highlighted those with their meals this month! I think Whole30 can be hard when you’re just preparing meats and veggies in the oven. I love that Blue Apron makes the meals creative and exciting. I would never have thought to make anything as delicious and fun as this!
Thank goodness I was home alone all week. I didn’t have to share this dish with anyone!
When you stop eating processed foods, you start to crave them less. Like I mentioned before, the Whole30 is not meant for weight loss, but a true reset for your cravings, metabolism, digestion, and immune system. Look at all the fresh ingredients in this post! It was like eating the rainbow 🙂 All of the ingredients are incredibly fresh and sourced from quality local suppliers and artisans.
I chopped up the oranges, watermelon radishes, carrots, onions, limes, and garlic. One thing I love about Blue Apron is that you can customize the meals if you do not like something. You’ll never get me to eat mushrooms, so I left them out. Luckily, my dad is obsessed with mushrooms, so I sent them home with him.
This Blue Apron box was one of my favorites. I love eating clean food, and it was fun to follow someone else’s recipe and not have to come up with something on my own. The chef-designed recipes are so good and taste restaurant-style. It’s great that you don’t have to go to the grocery store to pick up a ton of ingredients, and you get the exact proportions, so no waste from the unused ingredients. That also saves you a ton of money!
You’ll always learn about new spices, produces and different cuisines with Blue Apron. This was my first time cooking with Togarashi, a Japanese staple!
I have learned how to make so many fun and exciting meals over the past three years with Blue Apron. I save all of my recipe cards just in case I want to make them again. This is a recipe I’ll be making over and over again!
I’ve never used butter lettuce for wraps, but they held together so nicely. They also don’t wilt when you store the leftovers in the fridge. Speaking of leftovers, hello, food prep! I am a big fan of food prepping Blue Apron meals! If you make them all on Sunday, you’ll be able to eat them throughout the week without worrying about what to make for dinner.
Look how beautiful that is! I had so much of the filling left, so I saved it all and turned it into a large chopped salad. Imagine if I would have added the chopped mushrooms? SO MUCH FOOD.
This meal had me excited for spring, gardening, and everything bright.
I’m sorry (not sorry) for all the photos in this post. I am naturally attracted to colorful things, so my eyes were loving all of these meals.
The next Blue Apron Whole30 meal I made was the Mexican-Spiced Barramundi with sweet potatoes and kale avocado salad. I had never even heard of barramundi until this meal, but now I love it! It tastes a lot like tilapia and cod.
If you’re worried about the Blue Apron box being shipped while you’re away, you don’t have to! The meals are delivered in a refrigerated box so ingredients will stay fresh even if you’re not at home when your package arrives. There’s no commitment either. You can skip meals, or cancel the service at any time. I always go through the menus each month and select my plans based on my schedule. Sometimes I’ll even send my parent’s a box if I’m going out of town. They usually watch my dogs, so it’s my little way of saying “thank you.” They love making the Blue Apron meals as well. The meals start at $8.99 per serving, and it’s a BIG serving! Much cheaper than restaurants for the amazing quality. They also have a family plan if it’s more than two in your household.
The meals usually take around 30-45 minutes to make. I love blasting the music, or turning on my nightly news while cooking.
This kale salad had lime and avocado as a dressing. I loved that idea! It took away the bitterness of the kale. It even stayed fresh overnight stored in a container in the fridge. I’ll be stealing this idea for my own salads.
I also loved the idea of adding fresh tangerine zest and roasted sweet potatoes to the kale salad.
When I first started using Blue Apron, there were only six meals to choose from. Now, there are eight. This makes it easy to find something that Kyle and I both like. I think he’s a bigger fan of Blue Apron than I am. He’ll always ask me on Friday nights if we have a Blue Apron box. It’s funny because we NEVER go out to eat anymore. We usually stay in cooking and watching movies. I love it. Last weekend, we made the steak meal from the Blue Apron box and played Checkers at the dinner table (Should I have admitted that?)
It’s crazy to think that this meal is Whole30 approved. It tasted restaurant style and so good! I made this meal for my dad and me when he came over for lunch last week. He said it was one of the best meals ever.
If you’re interested in trying out the Whole30 program or want a healthier meal choice, sign up for Blue Apron here and get $40 off your first two weeks! This is for the first 50 people only! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
The ingredients look super fresh! 🍃
Such a nutritious, colourful meal ❤️
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Charmaine!
Linda @ the Fitty says
Are you personally doing the whole 30?
Also have you ever tried Turbot fish? I don’t know about burramundi but I’m really digging the Turbot right now.
Taralynn McNitt says
Nope! I do love Whole 30 recipes though and it’s not too far off from how I normally cook my meals.
Rachel says
Wow these photos are incredible!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Rachel!
Traci says
This is awesome – I didn’t know Blue Apron was doing a collab with Whole30! I did the January Whole30 last year and felt amazing as a result. I don’t have diagnosed intolerances or allergies to any of the foods you eliminate on it, but I could definitely tell I felt more energetic and clear headed when leaving them out of my diet (and my skin looked amazing, as people kept telling me!) My husband and I did a brief trial with Blue Apron last year when we found a great deal on it – this has me reconsidering if we should start up our membership again! Thanks for sharing – LOVE all the photos! 🙂
Taralynn McNitt says
Yes it’s amazing! I’ve heard awesome things about the Whole30 and my mom has done it many rounds. Hope you get back on the BA train! 😀
Diane says
I’m on my third round of Whole30 and this is very helpful. I just signed up! Thank you, Taralynn. I love your blog as always.
Taralynn McNitt says
Thank you, Diane!!
Lace says
Your food photography is amazing. I agree with the other commenter. I think you should do a photography course for beginners!
Taralynn McNitt says
Awww thanks, Lace! Maybe a course how to “wing it” 😀
Lindsay says
I love Blue Apron and these meals look amazing, so fresh and colorful! I’m on the hunt for the perfect gold flatware- where did you get yours?
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks, Lindsay!
World Market 😀
P. says
These are so fresh looking.
Taralynn McNitt says
They tasted even fresher!
Emily F. says
These look delicious! I haven’t tried blue apron yet. I’ve tried out hello fresh, but they don’t have the whole 30 meal options. Will have to try!
Taralynn McNitt says
They are so good! Let me know what you think! I’m obsessed with BA!
Lisette says
Alright girl…I just signed up! I hope you’re right about this! My husband will be giving me grief about this so hopefully it will be so delicious that he will just enjoy it and leave me alone! LOL! The meals look a little strange and I’m definitely skeptical but you make it look so good! I made sure to add your blog as being the reason I signed up. I also REALLY REALLY love that everything is 100% recyclable! I’m trying very hard to reduce my waste so I’m absolutely thrilled that I can recycle everything!!! I will have to let you know how this goes….:)
Taralynn McNitt says
You will NOT be disappointed!
The meals are ALWAYS freaking fantastic. I get a box almost every week (even when they are not sponsored) because I love them THAT much! You’ll love it and I’m looking forward to your input!
Courtney says
I had the same meals this week and reviewed them over on my blog as well! They were delicious.
Taralynn McNitt says
Awesome! I’ll check it out! 😀
Susie @ Mile High Dreamers says
One of the things I love most about these meals is that they give you SO many good ideas for cooking when you’re on your own! AND it gets me to try new ingredients. Now I’m itching to make lettuce wraps haha.
And it’s so true about ditching processed food, you really do realized HOW processed it is when you try some again and you haven’t in a while. I’ve been doing way better at only shopping the perimeter of the grocery store lately and my body is thanking me for it!
Taralynn McNitt says
Yes they do! Oh…these were so good! I love lettuce wraps!
Lace says
Yum!
Taralynn McNitt says
<3
Rachel says
Blue Apron is so awesome. I love that they’re offering Whole 30 meals just in time for people’s New Year’s resolutions. And your photos are beautiful!
Taralynn McNitt says
Thanks so much Rachel!
Jordan W says
I just ordered my first BlueApron order afrer reading this! I am on the Whole30 (day 16!) and so excited to try 2 of their Whole30 meals. Highly recommend the whole30 to anyone. I feel so much better and have more energy and my face is even clearing up.
Taralynn McNitt says
Hi, Jordan!
I can’t wait for you to try it!!!!!
Congrats on making it to day 16! That is awesome!!