Blue Apron vs. South Beach Diet

Before I dive deeper, let me tell you that those two companies are not very similar – one is diet food delivery while another is meal kit delivery service. Yes, they are both connected because both have something to do with food, but the rest is very different.

I believe that some people can find this information useful, especially when first starting to look for meal deliveries and various diets, as I was a few months ago. I tried it all – Nutrisystem, Medifast, South Beach Diet, Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, and Splendid Spoon. Today I would like to share my experience and my opinion about Blue Apron and South Beach Diet.

South Beach Diet is exactly that – a diet. It was created by a Miami area doctor who wanted to design a meal plan that can help his heart patients eat healthier, lose weight safely, regulate blood sugar, and keep diabetes and heart disease at bay. He first wrote a best-selling book and then the diet plan followed, both popular and working for millions of people.

South Beach Diet limits calories and carbs, but promotes fiber, protein, and healthy fats. This philosophy is based on scientific evidence about people losing weight rapidly with just over 1,000 calories per day. The diet is pretty restrictive, but unlike Nutrisystem, it allows and encourages supplementing the ready-to-eat meals with veggies and fruit.

The first phase of the diet lasts for 2 weeks and is designed to eliminate carbs, reduce cravings, and facilitate rapid weight loss by eliminating food and eating South Beach Diet meals only. The second phase is the longest and continues until needed.

During this period dieters are allowed whole grain bread, wheat pasta, brown rice, fruit, and vegetables. Once the weight loss goal is reached after a long and steady losing period, people then enter the third phase, which is pretty much a lifestyle that has been learned during all the dieting months and healthy way of living for the rest of the life.

South Beach Diet works, I think, but just like all diets, is not for everyone. While it’s less restrictive than Nutrisystem, it still requires staying on a plan for a long time, which I wouldn’t have a problem with if it is healthy and tasty.

I am not overweight, but could always use losing a few pounds, so this is why I didn’t get the entire month’s supply of food from South Beach Diet, but just a few meals to try and use them as a backup plan when I don’t have time to shop and cook.

Beach Diet wants to make it easy for dieters and provides ready to eat foods in packages that just have to be heated in the microwave and eaten. This is the whole idea – convenience, no need to calculate calories, easy way to lose pounds. My problem with it is the taste of food and the desire to not eat processed food, which is what South Beach Diet really is. I love the principles and the science behind this diet, but I don’t like bland, salty, or sweet food that needs to be microwaved. After trying a few meals I immediately understood that it wouldn’t be for me even as meal replacement from time to time, let alone following it diligently. However, that doesn’t mean that other people would have the same sentiments as I do. A huge shout out to those that take their health seriously and get it done with homemade diet or with the help of South Beach Diet!

It is worth mentioning that South Beach Diet is quite affordable and can really make financial sense, especially for people who live alone. If you have a family to feed, you will still spend extra money on groceries, so $300 per month for South Beach Diet will be extra. On the other hand, investing $300 in your health is also not bad.

Blue Apron is a totally different story. I got interested in it after I tried Hello Fresh and then found a coupon for Blue Apron in my FabFitFun subscription box. The coupon was for $80 and I definitely put it to good use.

Blue Apron is by no means a diet, they are not claiming to be a diet, and people are not using it as a diet. This service is a meal kit, meaning that customers go to the website, choose a meal, select the number of people the meal is intended for (2 or 4), and get the ingredients and the recipe delivered to their door. Then they have to cook it, which usually takes about 30-40 minutes.

I love the fact that I can choose a meal I want, try different recipes, which is great for people like me who are not very adventurous in the kitchen. Blue Apron is also good for my entire family, so no extra food needs to be bought for just me. Granted, kids are a bit iffy about new flavors, but they at least sampled whatever I made form Blue Apron. Because it’s not a diet, I don’t get the benefit of low calories, but I definitely enjoy the cooking process, the freshness of food, and the inclusion of fresh produce in our family dinners.

If I want to order something lighter from Blue Apron, I can pick meals with salad and more veggies from the choices that change every week. I can order as much food as I want, change the delivery frequency, and cancel or pause any time. Meal delivery kits are not very cheap and would probably be too expensive for most families if used all the time, but ordering them as a backup plan for grocery shopping from time to time and especially with coupons is not expensive at all.

This type of service totally works for me, but I can see that people, who are looking for balanced diet where meals are provided and calories counted for them, wouldn’t enjoy this plan very much.

I always say that to each his own and for me it’s definitely meal delivery kits versus ready-to-eat diets.