Is Blue Apron Keto?

For Keto fans, Blue Apron offers a few meals each week that could be easily adapted for an ultra-low carb, ketogenic diet, and most recipes would sacrifice key ingredients or flavors. Some of Blue Apron's best meals are the pasta/pizza/sandwich dishes, and many recipes use a sauce that adds sugar. Not to mention all of the vegetable substitutions you'd need to make.

A quick look at the current menu shows a few dishes that could skew Keto, including seared steak and chicken dishes. These come with sides that could be included on a Keto plan, like green beans or roasted bell pepper and eggplant, as well as sides that would need to be tossed, like gnocchi and mashed potatoes. Even so, there are very few dishes without a glaze, a bread coating, noodles, or some sort of carb-based wrapper. If you adapt Blue Apron, you'll need to throw away some signature ingredients.

A Keto diet, or ketogenic diet, is a diet that significantly restricts carbohydrates while offering nearly limitless access to fat and protein. When you keep a ketogenic diet, your body will enter a fat-burning state called ketosis. This is a state in which fat is metabolized in the liver. You can tell that your body is in a state of ketosis because your liver will turn fat to ketones, and ketones are detectable in urine using a simple home test stick.

It can take a few days of strict adherence to a Keto diet before your body shifts into ketosis. Eating even small amounts of carbohydrates, about 25 grams or so, can kick your metabolism out of the ketosis state. Therefore Keto dieters must follow a rigorous regimen, and similar diets like Paleo or other low-carb diets won't have the same effect.

If you want more grains and vegetables, and the occasional sweetener, Green Chef distinguishes its Paleo meal plan from its Keto. While Paleo comes close, it won't restrict enough carbs to keep your body in a ketogenic state. It won't work for a true Keto devotee.

These options are more expensive than traditional meal boxes. Green Chef charges $26 for a 2-person meal when you order a 3-recipe box. Hello Fresh charges around $18 for the same. Green Chef is certified organic and has several other meal options, including a vegan-friendly plant-focused option and a more balanced box.