Hi, friends!
As you know, we love to cook with our little guy. He thinks it’s a lot of fun and we’re hoping all of his exposure to food will help him become a more adventurous eater, which is just one of many reasons why we love Blue Apron so much and why I am so excited to partner with them once again on this blog post.
New to Blue Apron? Here’s what they are all about…
Blue Apron delivers all the farm-fresh ingredients you need, right to your doorstep, in exactly the right proportions, which makes cooking with a toddler that much easier. I don’t need to rummage through our cabinets looking for specific ingredients or take the time to measure each and every one of them while trying to simultaneously occupy a busy/maniac toddler. And you don’t need to take any trips to the grocery store, which is a serious time-saver in itself. There also isn’t any waste from unused ingredients, so you don’t waste money either. (Blue Apron is actually working to develop a sustainable food system. Check out their mission here.) Basically, you order your meals online and they’re shipped for free right to your front door. Everything is delivered in a refrigerated box so ingredients stay fresh even if you’re not at home when your package arrives.
Blue Apron offer two types of plans:
- The 2-Person Plan will set you up with one delivery a week, each with three inventive meals for two. Each week, the culinary team creates six new recipes for this plan, and you will be sent a curated menu of three recipes based on your dietary preferences.
- The Family Plan is perfect for feeding a family of four. With this plan you can opt to receive one or two deliveries per week, each delivery consisting of two meals to be served family-style.
Each menu is between 500-800 calories per person and all meals can be prepared in 40 minutes or less. Blue Apron now ships to most of the country and there’s no commitment””you can skip or cancel the service at any time. We especially love that Blue Apron is adding new recipes all the time, so we always have something new and exciting to try in the kitchen!
Blue Apron also offers a recycling program. There are two ways to recycle Blue Apron packaging: Use the recycling locator to find recycling options in your community or return your packaging for free to Blue Apron via USPS. Learn more here.
FYI: The Meatball Ragout with Swiss Chard pictured above was so darn tasty and easy to make (and clean up) since it was a one-dish meal. Love that.
If you’re curious about Blue Apron and want to give it a try (maybe your little one would love it too?), here’s some incentive! ***The first 50 readers will get two free meals on their first Blue Apron order! Just click here!***
Ok, now that you know what Blue Apron is all about, let me tell you about some of our favorite ways to get Quinn involved in the kitchen!
Washing fresh produce – Quinn could do this for hours (he also loves washing his hands), so it’s a great way to keep him occupied while I get us set up to cook together.
Putting ingredients into bowls – Oh, how Q-Man loves this task! I cut up veggies and then he puts them into mixing bowls, piece by piece.
This keeps him occupied for quite awhile and he really likes to do it. Plus, playing with the various ingredients is so great for getting him comfortable with new foods, which often translates to mealtime.
Multiple veggies and bowls works best to keep him entertained!
And, of course, putting ingredients into bowls goes beyond just veggies. With Blue Apron, the ingredients are already prepared and measured, so Quinn can just pour them in!
Tearing greens and picking stems off fresh herbs – This is the perfect task for a toddler since the pieces don’t have to be perfect and it’s good for their coordination!
“Seasoning” – Another cooking favorite! Give Quinn a salt and pepper shaker, and he’s a happy camper!
Although, the potatoes below were already thoroughly seasoned with garlic powder and a mini meltdown ensued because we had different ideas about how much “seasoning” they needed. Haha!
Taste-testing – As I mentioned above, playing with food has helped Quinn become much more curious about new foods.
Mal and I are the least picky eaters you’d ever meet, so we’re trying our hardest to raise our little guy the same way. No picky eaters in our house!
Quinn “taste-tests” almost everything he touches when we cook, so we’re definitely making progress. For instance, he loved celery with peanut butter the other day. Prior to that, he wouldn’t even touch celery. He actually use to cry if I put it on his plate!
Adding toppings – Quinn loves pizza night because he gets to add all of the toppings to our crust. I typically spread on the sauce, but then just let him go to town with the various ingredients. He usually makes a huge mess, but Murphy cleans up most of it!
Placing and spreading ingredients onto a baking sheet – Quinn has a blast doing this and is often very enthusiastic with his spoon!
Uh oh! We lost a few potatoes.
Time to roll up the sleeves!
He’s so darn cute.
Cleaning up – Gotta teach them young! A few tasks Quinn helps me with: Putting food scraps into the trash.
Putting dirty dishes into the sink and putting away silverware.
Questions of the Day
Do your kids help you in the kitchen? What’s their favorite activity?
