This post is sponsored by Blue Apron.

Every blogger it seems takes their turn writing a post that is essentially their own version of a “How to have your act together, like me!” post. We’ve all read them, and they’re equal parts inspiring and depressing, sometimes with little relevance to our own personal set of daily demands. We’ve even written a few of those posts ourselves, because I think we all have one or two things in our lives that we’re really great at. But the truth is, no child is always bathed, no sink is always empty, no parent is always showered, and no email inbox is always caught up. With the heap of external and internal demands we all have, anything that lifts even small burdens can be a big help.

Most of our long-time readers know that we’ve been using Blue Apron for awhile now. Even though I love inventing my own recipes – and I still do most nights – we lean on Blue Apron for those times where I couldn’t make it to the store and the thought of greasy, fast food makes my stomach turn. But lately we’ve found another great way to use the service that makes our busy days more manageable, and our dining budget less exorbitant – meal prep.

Meal services are gaining popularity fast, and Blue Apron is by far our favorite. For anyone who is unsure of what Blue Apron is, they’re a subscription meal service that delivers farm-fresh ingredients and chef-designed recipes right to your door, ready to cook. Everything arrives in a refrigerated box so ingredients stay fresh, and they’re perfectly portioned so there’s no waste.

Jules and I are usually knee-deep in work all day, and it’s not infrequent that 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon will roll around and we realize neither of us has eaten lunch. We would often end up eating a handful of potato chips from the pantry or snacking on candy left over from whichever holiday happened last. But having home-cooked meals in the fridge, portioned out and ready to heat and serve, has helped us at least get that part of our act together.

All of Blue Apron’s recipes are designed to be cooked, start to finish, in 40 minutes or less. And because the portioning has been handled and the instructions are so simple, some nights I’ll cook two meals simultaneously – one for dinner, and another for lunches for a few days.

We encourage all of our friends to give Blue Apron a try, and that includes all of you as well. It’s been so great to not have to worry about dinner, and to know that we have fresh ingredients and a delicious, quick recipe waiting for us when we need it. And even though there’s no commitment and you can cancel at any time, you might find what we did – that you just don’t want to cancel it.

The first 50 of our readers to sign up will get three free meals right now, just click here to get started or visit their site to see upcoming recipes. And with Mother’s Day coming up, Blue Apron is a great gift to give. Julia and I have gifted Blue Apron to both of our mothers and they loved how unique a gift it was, and that they were able to try something new.