Tried a free sample of Blue Apron and it's been alright! Could I possibly find all the ingredients cheaper and do it on my own? Sure. However, one of the recipes was outside of our normal fare for how we cook (we usually lean Asian/Indian and spicy) and it was a welcome breath of fresh air to the weekly meals.

I did a little digging and here's what I gathered as possible pluses for me (a competent home cook):

• exotic or high quality ingredients are cheaper than I'd be able to find them (and some I don't have access to at all)

• recipes, cuisines, and flavors I haven't already considered, even though I'm adventurous in the kitchen and eating out

• allows me to try or work on cooking techniques I don't employ very often, like fish in a pan, steak/burgers (don't buy a lot of red meat), pizza making, any sort of bread or biscuit making, etc.

Cons:

• yes I can probably do this on my own for cheaper

• leftovers. We cook in a way at home that allows for a solid dinner portion, then a few more lunch portions or another dinner later in the week. Instead of a different meal every night I cook 3-4 larger dishes a week and love that system. It's weird for me to put in an hour in the kitchen and only have two servings as opposed to 4-8. I know the family sized plans have more food and lower the price a bit, but haven't tried that.

• meal kit being less fun to prepare. A lot of what I see in menu choices boils down to a "protein and sauteed/roasted veggies." I love deglazing and making a sauce or braising liquid. I also love all day slow cooking on a lazy Sunday, for a "grandma's sunday gravy" red sauce. A lot of the meal kits seem to expedite getting dinner on the table and don't branch out beyond basic techniques. This is totally understandable, given the majority of their customers.

Edit in case I sound like I'm contradicting myself: yes, I'd like more practice with a basic skill like searing a steak on the stovetop, but I don't want to do it three times in a week with different proteins for all my deliveries.