I love meal delivery services.
I’ve used a ton of them on and off over the past couple of years, and I love how convenient they are.
No more thinking about the weekly menu or what groceries you need!
And more than that I love feeling like a chef in the kitchen, whipping up gourmet meals even though my own skills are, well, a little lacking.
Blue Apron is one of the best around, but if you’re fitness and health-minded like me, you might be wondering:
How many calories are in Blue Apron meals?
According to my calculations based on their recent menu, Blue Apron meals have an average of about 638 calories per serving.
If it’s the best meal delivery service for weight loss you’re looking for, check out my full guide by hitting the link. Blue Apron is my favorite of the bunch because it offers medium-calorie meals that cater to everyone, every diet, and every palate!
Grab a big discount off your first Blue Apron order right here by using my link.
Now let’s take a closer look at the calories and nutrition in Blue Apron.
About Blue Apron (how it works)
Blue Apron is pretty much the original meal delivery service, and they’ve been around seemingly forever now.
Here’s how it works:
You sign up and pick a package or delivery schedule that works for you; you’ll choose how many people you’re feeding and how many meals per week you’d like.
(A common package is 3 meals per week for 2 people.)
Then, they send you a box full of all the ingredients to make the current menu for a week!
You’ll get:
- Fresh ingredients
- Step-by-step instructions (with photos)
- And complete nutritional information for each meal
Typically, the meals require a lot of preparation. Expect to spend anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes cooking.
You’ll usually chop all of your own vegetables and prep your own ingredients by hand, even though they send you all the raw materials.
It’s a lot of fun, and the meals are delicious!
If you choose to stay subscribed, you’ll do it all over again the next week.
The average calories in a Blue Apron meal explained
To figure out how many calories are in Blue Apron meals, I simply went on to their website and pulled the complete nutritional information for about 8 of their recent meals.
Here’s exactly what they’ve been serving up recently (at least, at the time of this writing), and how many calories per serving each meal contains:
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Seated steaks & mashed potatoes (600 calories per serving)
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Spiced chicken & cabbage slaw (680 calories per serving)
-
Seared tilapia & orzo salad (600 calories per serving)
-
Three-cheese pizza (710 calories per serving)
-
Asian-inspired brown rice bowl (500 calories per serving)
-
Indian-style cauliflower (420 calories per serving)
-
Sweet & spicy chicken grain bowl (640 calories per serving)
-
Picadillo-style beef ragu’ (960 calories per serving)
Average calories per serving = 638 calories
Average of 3 lowest calorie options = 506 calories per serving
As far as meal delivery services go, this ranks right smack in the middle, but on the slightly lower end of average.
These meals aren’t as low-calorie as vegan, vegetarian, or weight loss options, but what I like about them is that they rarely serve up huge calorie bombs.
Plus, almost everyone can eat and love Blue Apron. No specialty vegan meals here, just delicious, relatively nutritious meals for the whole family.
(Though they do offer specialty diet options if you need them.)
What you need to know about calories and weight loss
Short disclaimer:
The lowest calorie meals aren’t always the best for weight loss!
I’m a true believer in Calories In Calories Out for weight loss.
Meaning, if your body burns more calories per day than you eat, you will ultimately lose weight.
(It’s also about eating filling, nutritious, hunger-reducing foods and not starving yourself.)
How you choose to get there is up to you!
You can:
- Eat tons of small snacks every day
- Enjoy three square meals
- Use intermittent fasting and have one or two big meals
- Go low carb, low fat, or whatever feels best for you
So the easiest way to use Blue Apron for weight loss (or to maintain a healthy weight) is to simply account for the calories of your dinner ahead of time!
Hit that link above for my full guide on how to calculate your maintenance or weight loss calories and make room for whatever dinner you want.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it.
Blue Apron meals usually have between 500 and 700 calories each per serving, for an average of 638 calories.
Of course, this depends greatly on the current menu, your selections, and any specialty additions you might make to your subscription.
Again, it’s not so much the number of calories that really matters here, but that you’re a) making room in your diet by monitoring your eating or increasing your exercise and b) eating foods that you enjoy and that fill you up!
In that regard, any meal delivery service can work for weight loss if you strategize correctly.
Don’t forget to grab your first Blue Apron order for $60 off by using this link!
Hope this helps, everyone!