Have you wondered about those food delivery programs, like HelloFresh and Blue Apron? The ones that give you all the ingredients to make your own fresh meals at home, eliminating the pain-in-the-ass trip to the grocery store, then getting home and cleaning and cutting and measuring. All the work that goes into making a home-cooked meal?

Me, too. Not only am I basically pretty lazy, I’m also tired of cooking the same damned things over and over again. So when my friend Cindy offered to sign me up for a FREE box of food to try out Blue Apron, I said COUNT ME IN, DUDE!

And now I’m here to tell you about the experience. Maybe it will help you decide if you want to sign up, too. Ready? Okay.

I soon received an email from Blue Apron telling me how to arrange for the first, FREE shipment of meals. Yes. Once again, we’re talking FREE. Who doesn’t love free, right? I learned that there are two levels from which to choose:  you must get a minimum of three meals a week if you’re only feeding two people. Or, you can lower that to two meals a week for four people. There may be other options, but to be honest, since I live alone with occasional visits from my son, Chris, I pretty much stopped at the three meals for two people option and . . . got a little worried.

What if Chris is busy (like he already is this week)? What am I supposed to do with six meals all for myself?

But, I approved the first week’s menus, clicked on the “next” tab, and learned that all of the meals arrive together in one box on a day you designate. You can choose any day from Wednesday through Saturday (they must prepare it all on Mondays and Tuesdays), but the point is – all this fresh food comes at one time. I had assumed meals would arrive on different days.

I started panicking, just a little bit. You mean six meals will show up on my doorstep, needing more or less immediate attention, and requiring very timely consumption, on just one day? Would I need to learn how to get by each week eating six meals in three days, then maybe just not eat on the following three days? On the seventh day, perhaps I could leave the house to meet friends at a restaurant, or at the very least, order a pizza or zip through Wendy’s.

I’m leery of the commitment. I admit it.  A long-time “Everybody Loves Raymond” fan, I was immediately reminded of Marie’s concern when Raymond bought her a Fruit of the Month Club subscription for her birthday.

Will Blue Apron be a blessing, or a curse? The first box just arrived!

Join me tomorrow for “To Blue Apron, or not to Blue Apron – Part Two.”

Please click below to watch the scene on

Everybody Loves Raymond

Marie can’t understand a club (cult?!) that mails fruit to unsuspecting households every month.