Does Blue Apron work with WW Freestyle?

Weight Watchers has rebranded many of its programs under the "WW" moniker, and WW Freestyle is the latest rendition of the diet company's popular 'points' system diets. Depending on certain physical factors, Weight Watchers will assign you a specific number of points that you can eat. Food is assigned a point value based on a proprietary calculation that includes the amount of calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein an item contains. There is nothing you cannot eat, but certain foods have astronomical point values, so if you eat some candy for breakfast you'll be eating low-point foods the rest of the day (or week).

Some foods have a zero point value, so you can eat as many as you'd like. Obviously, this proved a popular concept, so Weight Watchers created its newer WW Freestyle program. Freestyle offers many more foods with a zero point value, but you get fewer overall points than you would on the older WW plan.

To help keep track of your points, there is an app, of course, and online assistance. You can look up food as you eat, but there is so much variation in different recipes that it is hard to know exactly how many points to assign. It would be much easier to buy foods with a set point value already assigned.

Blue Apron works with Weight Watchers to sell 2-person meal plans with recipes that account for 0-15 points from your WW Freestyle points plan. You can see exactly how many points the recipe should require when you choose your meals each week. Your actual allotment of points will vary, but there is a nice range of points options to choose so you can fit these meals into your points plan nicely.

Checking out my Blue Apron menu, I found a few examples including a tilapia dish with vegetables at 4 points, or pork chops with sautéed cabbage at 6 points. A white bean and shrimp pasta was 13 points, while breaded chicken with creamy garlic potatoes was 15 points. That could be half your points for the day or more, depending on your Freestyle plan, but most weeks had at least three dishes that were in the single-digit points range.

When you cook the Blue Apron recipes, you'll want to be more measured in your use of oils and pantry extras. If you usually eyeball your EVOO, you may want to teaspoon it out if you're counting points this week. Also, be aware that occasionally the Blue Apron includes more in the box than you need for the recipe, especially with some sauces and dressings. If you're being strict, check those recipes carefully.