Overhyped or Underestimated: My Honest Review Of Blue Apron

I have had this idea for this blog series for a few months now and am finally getting around to posting the first edition. I have lots of product review ideas but want to make sure that I 100% review and test the product before posting my review. I got this idea because so often I see the same products promoted all over Instagram by the influencers I follow. I always wonder how great the products truly are and if people would actually spend their hard-earned money on the products they promote. In the last few months, I have tried a handful of "popular" products that I wanted to share my true thoughts on. All the products I will be reviewing in the series I have completely bought with my own money. I think part of the issue is with products being promoted on Instagram is there is not enough time to fully try the product out before hand. I am not saying bloggers promote products all the time without testing them out. What I am saying though is that I think oftentimes bloggers will try a product once or twice and really love it. They then promote the item but have they really used it enough or long enough to truly give an honest review? 

So that is where I come into play. Anything I post in this series is going to be items I have fully used many times over and over again.

The first brand I am going to be reviewing is Blue Apron. Once in college, I had tried to order Hello Fresh but quickly got frustrated with it and gave up. Basically, it did not come on the day it was supposed to and I had plans for the weekend but had to wait around for the food to show up, and then the box was damaged in shipment so it never ended up coming. That kind of ruined my experience with meal deliveries as it seemed like a hassle and expensive. My mom started to try Blue Apron a few months ago and I quickly decided to give it a try after she kept raving about out it. I love it because I don't have to find recipes each week, my grocery store runs are for very few items, and I don't have to eat the same thing for a week when cooking for one. I also find that I don't hate the actually process of cooking as much as I used to. I did some research on different meal delivery brands as there are a TON out there. I didn't really want to try Hello Fresh again. I was tempted to try Sun Basket because they had a specific Gluten Free option but the price was not as good as Blue Apron. The only other one I have heard bloggers talk about is Home Chef but I decided to go with my mom's recommendation.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 ⭐️ (Underestimated) 

My Go To Dinner Receipes (Dairy & Gluten Free) - Part 3

Happy Valentine's Day! I had a day inside relaxing because Dallas got snow today which is crazy. I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed the holiday in a special way. I am about to dive into a red velvet cupcake so yep... 

This will be my third installment in this series but I love to continue to share recipes I have tried and loved. Adding my take on how to make them dairy and gluten-free. With the holidays I had a long few months where I did not have to find recipes and cook. So I am sharing some recipes I tried this fall along with some more recent recipes I have tried. I have been loving Half Baked Harvest recipes lately. They all seem to have so much flavor but don't require a lot of crazy ingredients. 

Check out version #one and #two of my posts! 

* Note all images are from the recipe blogs 

1. Vegan Alfredo Pasta // I just made this the other week and it turned out really good. It is naturally dairy-free and does not require too many ingredients. I used to be allergic to cashews but grew out of that nut which is great because a lot of dairy-free items often use cashews. It really is creamy and was easy to make with my Vitamix blender. I paired it with shrimp and broccoli. 

My Go To Dinner Recipes (Dairy & Gluten Free) - Part 2

Back at the beginning of Covid, I shared a list of my favorite go-to recipes that I always reach for when looking for what to make. I have discovered quite a few amazing new recipes that I have added to my dinner rotation. Since Covid I have definitely been eating more at home so I have been able to try lots of new recipes. Just like the last posts all these recipes are easy to follow and can be modified to be gluten & dairy-free! 

Check out my original list here

1. Elevated Hamburger Helper // OMG I have made this at least three times and I love it because it has amazing flavor and is pretty easy to do. I had tried to make a goulash recipe a few months back and it did not turn out it was just too bland. This is the complete opposite of bland. I follow the recipe exactly and use the Jovial brown rice elbow pasta the recipe calls for. Since you are not boiling the pasta in water but instead you let the pasts soak up the beef broth I am afraid to use a different kind of GF pasta in case it would not work with this method. This step I think is key to it having lots of flavor. I usually add a little bit of non-dairy milk and for cheese, I use this Violife non-dairy cheese. 

Image source 

My Go To Dinner Recipes (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Now that I fully live on my own I pretty much cookie one or two meals for dinner a week. I don't love cooking but I have found that it is a lot easier to have a list of go-to recipes. These are all recipes that I have made and really enjoy. For me, the main thing is that I don't need a ton of ingredients and the time to prep the meal is not super long. I thought it would be helpful to share my go-to recipes with you in case you need so suggestions or inspiration. As I find more recipes I like I may add to this list or do another post. I will also mention that I am gluten-free and dairy-free so all these recipes are gluten/dairy-free or can be modified to be gluten/dairy-free. Let me know if you end up making any of these recipes!

1. Orange Chicken With Rice & Snap Peas // This recipe is quite easy and so tasty. I pretty much follow the recipe other than I use gluten-free flour instead of arrowroot starch. This is just because I normally have gluten-free flour on hand so it is just fewer ingredients I have to buy. I normally pair the chicken with brown rice and snap peas. 

2. Stuffed Peppers // I use to think stuffed peppers were super hard to make but this recipe is quite easy to follow and they taste so good. I like that the whole meal is done all in one with the veggie and meat. To make dairy-free I just use dairy-free cheese for the top. 

Currently Cooking This Week

I don't know about you but the holidays hit me hard this year with lots of sweet treats, meals out, and over eating. So I am trying to focus on eating less sugar and more clean food for right now. My goal is to try to stick to a Whole 30 breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am not going to be super stick if I am going out to eat or have an occasional treat. After shopping this weekend I had no idea how hard it is to fully follow this meal plan. There are so many foods that have sugar I never even thought of like pasta sauce. I thought I would share the receipts I made for this week. I got most of them from the Whole Kitchen Sink website which has some amazing content on Whole 30. 
Breakfast: Sausage Tomato Egg Bake  This is my least favorite recipe I made this week as it is pretty bland. I didn't add the basil but I included everything else. I used turkey sausage in the recipe but I think if I made this recipe again I would maybe use prosciutto or something smaller. Finally the shredded potato was not fully Whole 30 because it had some corn in it.  Rating: 3 / 5
  

Weekly Wellness: Recipes I Have Tried Recently

Happy Thursday everyone! I don't know about you but this week seems kind of long. The whole week I kept thinking it was a day later than it was. We can do it though only one more day! Today I thought I would sit down and share some recipes I have tried recently for something a bit different. My wellness posts have been all about me but know that you know my story, for the most part, I want to start exploring different tops. So I thought I would share some recipes I have tried recently. If you don't know as of last spring I started following a gluten free, dairy free, low sugar diet plus I also have a nut allergy. So it can be a struggle to find good tasting recipes I can eat so needless to say Pinterest has become my best friend.  

 

 

Apple Cider Donuts // With the fall weather and going apple picking I was craving an apple cider donut. So I did some searching online and found this recipe and they came out really good! They legit tasted like apple cider. The only thing was I probably could have let them cook a bit longer but I didn't want to burn them. 

Six Healthy Breakfast Ideas

I hope you had a great weekend! I ended up taking the weekend off from blogging to enjoy my break away from school, work, and the blog. Friday I hit the gym in the morning and then I went to Wegman's to get some breakfast items. Then I had to work later on at night. Yesterday my mom, sister, and I got a pedicure at a spa and then went shopping! I didn't get a lot of things but I sure spent a lot. Let me know if you like me to show you what I picked up. I ended the weekend running a bunch of different errands with my mom today. I have to work the next few days so I am glad I spent the time and enjoyed the weekend. 

I have been trying to eat healthier and I have been trying to come up with different recipes to try. Breakfast is one of those meals that I often have a hard time coming up with what to eat. Though I came up with a pretty solid list of six things I love for breakfast. I tried to think of things that were pretty simple to make as I need all the time I can get in the morning. I recently tried overnight oats and I really like them with some fruit on top. I also love making acai bowls with acai packets! I hope you find this list helpful and I would love to know what other options you love for breakfast. 

Easy Key Lime Pie Recipe

I head back to the cold weather tomorrow morning so I am going to make this post super quick as my alarm is set for 3:30am. I wanted to change things up a bit today and share a family favorite recipe with y'all. I have been a long time lover of key lime pie so when my grandma made this one year for dessert I was hooked. It's light and refreshing after a big dinner. The best part about it is that you only need four ingredients and it literally takes five minutes to make! We seem to always mange to have this every time I visit at least once so I wanted to pass the recipe along. It makes the perfect dessert for parties because it's so easy. Let me know if you try this recipe out!

Source

Thanksgiving Day Menu & Turkey Trot

This year for Thanksgiving we continued the tradition of running in the Turkey Trot for the YMCA in the morning. I really enjoyed doing this last year as it gets you active and the money goes to a great cause. It also helps you feel less guilty when you have a HUGE feast later that day! Thanksgiving has pretty much always just been my mom, dad, and sister so it's very relaxed. Our family has always had specific things that we always have for thanksgiving especially mac and cheese. It is a tradition I look forward to every year. On the other hand their are a lot of foods we don't make for Thanksgiving that are very popular like stuffing. We have just never been a fan of it so we opt out of making it! I wanted to share with you what our menu was for Thanksgiving this year as we tried a few new recipes that turned out great that I wanted to share with you! I also wanted to share with you some pictures form the race. I hope you enjoyed your holiday and I would love to hear about any unique food traditions your family has on Thanksgiving. 

PS: Stay tuned tomorrow for an outfit post of what I wore for Thanksgiving 

Homemade Mac & Cheese: Every year we always have mac and cheese on Thanksgiving although most years we always just by frozen Stouffer's but this year my sister wanted to make homemade mac and cheese from scratch. I really don't have much to say other then this recipe WAS AMAZING and is so easy to make. It tasted really good even days after heated up as left overs!

Recipes I Want To Try Out

Today I felt like doing something completely different from my normal posts! I have had a baking urge recently so I thought I would link my top recipes I have been wanting to try as the holidays are right around the corner. I will keep you updated if I end up making any of these over thanksgiving! Also please let me know of any recipes you love as I am always looking for more.  

Can you tell I have a major sweet tooth?!

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies 

Easter Brunch Menu & Easter Vlog

In typical me fashion I waited until the last minute to do quite a bit of homework so this post is going up a day late! I hope everyone is recovering from their Easter festivities as I know I ate way to much food. Today I thought I would share with you what our family's Easter brunch menu consisted of with links to all the recipes! I also have a super quick but fun vlog sharing a look into what I did on Easter! I hope you enjoy today's posts as I have not done a recipe post in a really long time ;)

Holiday Party 2015: Plaid Themed

Every year my family throws a holiday party at our house (Check out last years post here)! This years theme was plaid. So we tried to add touches of plaid throughout the house. Also everyone wore plaid to the party to make it extra fun. We had a great time celebrating the holidays with family and friends. We ate lots of desserts, caught up with friends & played lots of games! In today's blog post I am going to share with you everything related to this plaid themed party from recipes to decor! 

Best Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins/Bread Ever

Our close family friend is a major cook and she makes some amazing food. She is always making the BEST banana chocolate chip muffins and I am not even a crazy fan of banana. So a few months ago I got the recipe from her and having been making these when ever I have ripe bananas. I hope you love the recipe as much as I do and please commit if you make them ;) Enjoy 

Ingredients :

* 3 very ripe/mushy bananas 

* 2 sticks of butter

* 1 1/2 cups of cups of sugar 

* 2 eggs 

* 1 teaspoon of baking soda

* 1 tablespoon of vinegar 

* 3 tablespoons of milk 

* 2 cups of flour 

* 1 cup (can me more/less) chocolate chips 

Steps: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Cream together bananas, butter and sugar in a mixer 

3. Add in eggs, baking soda, vinegar and milk to the banana mixture from step 2 until combined 

4. Fold in the flour until just combined but don't over mix

5. Add in the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or dried Craisins

6. Bake it the oven for: 1 1/2 hours for a loaf pan or 20-25 minutes for muffins 

So this recipe is SUPER easy and I hope you like it. BTW I feel like I have not posted any OOTD in a long time because of the lighting outside. However I had a snow day today and got some pictures taken so I should be posting a bunch of OOTD starting tomorrow. 

Recipe: Pumpkin Bars

Yesterday was recipe Sunday but I had a HUGE project due today and could not bring myself to post the recipe late last night so I am bringing you the recipe today. I have some great OOTD's coming up so stay tuned for that. This family recipe for pumpkin bars is literally the definition of fall in a dessert. These bars are so moist, sweet and AMAZING. I made these Sunday for a church bake sale and they were very popular. I want everyone to make these this fall because I think you will love them as much as I do, Enjoy ;) 

Ingredients (cake): 

4 eggs 

1 2/3 cups of sugar

1 cup of cooking oil (You could substitute oil for apple sauce to make it healthier) 

1 16 ounce can of pumpkin

2 cups of flour 

2 teaspoons of baking powder 

2 teaspoons of cinnamon 

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda 

Ingredients (frosting):  

8 ounces of softened cream cheese 

1 stick of softened butter 

1 teaspoon of vanilla 

2 1/2 cups of confectioners sugar  

Step 1: Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin in a bowl until light and fluffy.  

Step 2: Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined. 

Step 3: Spread batter into a cookie sheet with a lip on it or in a jell roll pan. Do NOT grease the pan. 

Step 4: Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Once done let the bars cool before frosting. 

Step 5: Combine cream cheese and butter and mix until creamy. 

Step 6: Add the vanilla.  

Step 7: Slowly added the confectioners sugar. 

Step 8: Frost the bars and eat them!!!! 

You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon on top for an added touch

Homemade Apple Sause with a Special Ingredient

Apple sauce is a fall staple and I think it can be for adults too not just kids. You could go to the store and buy it but like everything else it tastes better homemade. This apple sauce is homemade but I add something unique to make it extra special. My grandma heard about this ingredient from a friend so I thought I would pass the recipe along. This is great as a snack, dessert or even with meat at dinner. Comment below if you make the apple sauce  :) 

Ingredients: 

None of these measurements are set in stone so adjust it as you would like

* About 8-10 medium sized apples 

* 1/2 cup of water

* 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon  

* 1 teaspoon of brown sugar 

* 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice 

* 1/2 cup of hot tamales or red hots. I normally use red hots but I bought the wrong thing and it still turned out. (You can always add more but start of with less until you adjust to the right flavor)  

Step 1: Peal and core all apples. Then place them in a large pot. 

Apple peeler found here

Step 2: Start to mash the apples by hand to break them up. 

Step 3: Add the water to the apple pot 

Step 4: Add the cinnamon, brown sugar and lemon juice 

Step 5: Bring all the ingredients that are in the pot to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot with the lid and leave it on the heat for 20 minutes.  

Step 6: Use a potato masher to mash the apples. I like mine chunky but you could put the applesauce into the food processor for a smooth texture. 

Step 7: Add the red hots and stir until they are combined. 

           

Done !!!!! 

For an added touch you could store the apple sauce in cute containers and even give it as a gift!!!

Healthy snack- amazing granola recipe

This last week I have been obsessed with this homemade granola recipe. It tastes so good and it is a healthier snack then cookies or chips. Though as I am writing this it sounds really weird I mean I never knew you could make your own granola until a few weeks ago. But trust me you have to try this recipe. The other reason I love this is because you can customize your granola to what you like. I have a tree nut allergy so the fact that I can make a granola without nuts is great. I have just been eating it by its self but you could also have it with milk! It would make a great homemade gift if you but in into a cute container (that is how I found out about this granola).



Golden Honey Granola 
Ingredients: (recipe website)

6 cups of old-fashion oats 

8 ounces of sliced almonds- Don't have to add 

1 cup of dried cranberries 

1 cup of chopped dried apricots 

1 cup of light brown sugar 

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon of salt 

1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter 

1/2 cup of honey 

Directions:  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss together all ingredients except butter and honey. 

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt unsalted butter. Stir in honey. Pour over oat mixture and toss to distribute. Spread granola onto a parchment lined baking pan and bake, stirring occasionally, until oats are toasted and sugar begins to caramelize, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely on pan. Transfer to an airtight container. 

PS: I am seriously eating this as I write this post :)  

Best lemon cake recipe ever!

Last weekend I made one of my favorite recipes for a simple, cheap and really easy cake recipe. Every time I make this I remember how much I love it (and the rest of my family). The cake is SUPER moist and its the perfect combination of sweet with a bit of sour from the lemon. The recipe is from emeals and her it is...

Pantry Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting: (recipe website)

Ingredients:

1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 T lemon zest
¼ c lemon juice
1 t vanilla extract
2 1/3 c all-purpose flour
2 ½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
1 c buttermilk

FROSTING:

1 c butter, softened
2 T lemon zest
¼ c lemon juice
2 T milk
5 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with nonstick baking spray. Coat with flour. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer til creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, alternately with buttermilk, beating just until combined. Spoon into prepared pan. Bake for 35 – 45 min, or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. Turn cake upside down on a rectangular serving tray. Cool and spread frosting over top and sides of cake.

Frosting: Beat butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and milk with a mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar til smooth.

The yellow on the top is food coloring not cheese! Haha    

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do and have fun making it for your next party, baby shower, birthday or just to eat. 

PS: Sunday I am starting a special series that I am going to do every other Sunday which I am really excited about!