I don’t look forward to meal planning. I’m stuck in a rut again with dinner plans and looking at this pile of cookbooks isn’t very inspiring. I deciding to so something about it. I contacted eMeals and asked if they wanted to give me a hand getting my family’s meals in order. They agreed and I’ve been cooking more over the last few weeks.
Each week eMeals comes up with a meal plan and shopping list for my family. In fact there are several options to choose from within the eMeals database; healthy family meals, portion control, low-carb, low-fat, gluten-free, or vegetarian dishes; and people who shop at Wal-Mart, Kroger, Publix, Whole Foods or any other store and more.
I started off using the WalMart Meal Plan for a Family 3-6. I was able to incorporate a couple options into our dinner plans but realized that there were too many ingredients listed that we wouldn’t eat. I switched the subscription to a Lower Fat version, still shopping at Walmart. The plan was more our style, incorporating fresh food, chicken and soups. I’ve even downloaded and printed the sample menus for all their other options just to get a little inspiration for different ideas, sometimes a recipe title is all I need to whip up something good. While I have been using eMeals as a base starting point for my meal plan I often change ingredients or switch dinners from another week or pull in an old favorite like turkey tacos. I’m not a recipe follower unless its for baked goods. Meals are adjusted based on my family’s likes, ingredients purchased that week and often technical difficulty. I do not like to fuss over meals and side dishes are usually steamed veggies or simply rice and pasta dishes.
One meal I have tried and really enjoyed is eMeals Balsamic Chicken and Mushrooms. This is a simple sautéed chicken breast meal cooked down with balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic and thyme. The remaining cooking liquid is simmered down with some chicken stock and is really tasty with mashed potatoes and steamed green beans.
Whatever your method is for preparing a meal plan you can only benefit from using eMeals subscription service. Each week you get a 7 day dinner menu and grocery list based on your eating and shopping habits. Simple cooking instructions are included as well as side dish options. I do wish there were some lunch or leftover makeovers so that I was likely to feed my kids something other than sandwiches and mac and cheese.
I think something else that would be a really great addition to the eMeals menu plan is a party planner. Dinner parties, kid’s birthdays, Thanksgiving and even summer bbqs are all centered around food and fun. I’d pay a few dollars to take the guesswork out of what to serve 20 people coming over this weekend.
$35 for a 6 month subscription isn’t a bad deal considering we spend way more than that on one meal out for the family on the nights I haven’t cooked. $35 for a gift subscription to a new mom or mom that just went back to work is something that would be so appreciated you might even get an invitation to dinner.
Dave Ramsey insists eMeals will save you a ton of time and money, it’s a no-brainer. Enter to win your own 3-month subscription to eMeals. Visit eMeals and tell me which meal plan you would choose.
EXTRA ENTRIES:
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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Wednesday, May 2, 2012. The winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Continental US residents only. For complete rules please read our blog contest rules page.
