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eMeals.com: Menu Plan Monday

meal planning

source: perspicacious.org

I have issues with menu planning. It’s kind of like a love-hate relationships. I looooove when I do it, it makes my week go easier. It makes me less stressed at dinner time. But I hate planning it. I hate trying to find the recipes and making the grocery list.

Which is why I have loved doing the once-a-month-cooking from Once a Month Mom. She picks out the meals and the gives you the grocery list. The only problem is that I usually need a partner (and a kid-free day) to do it! So, I usually stand staring into my pantry at 5:00pm wondering if having eggs for the 3rd day in a row is a problem.

E-MEALZ EASY AND DELICIOUS DINNER RECIPES

At Blissdom I found out about emeals . Maybe you’ve heard of it? Well, Dave Ramsey is a fan. Yeah, like THE Dave Ramsey! It’s a simple idea–you pay $5 a month and pick a menu plan then print it along with complete recipes AND a shopping list. But wait! There’s more! The shopping list is based on the SALES of the store you shop at! You can pick from ALDI, Wal-Mart, Publix, Kroger or Ralphs (or “any store”). And if you are a coupon-er, you can do even better by adding your coupons to the mix!

emealz

from last week’s menu: tilapia almandine, salad & bread

menu plan

from last week’s menu: chicken, diced tomatoes & feta

I am shopping less and less at the grocery store so didn’t know if this would help me too much. I make all my own bread products (yeah, I do), I buy milk, meat and cheese from a farmer and am part of a vegetable share. Well, emealsthought of that, too. They have different menus to choose from–Regular Family  Meals, Regular Meals for Two, Gluten Free, Low Carb, Portion Control and Vegetarian! I picked the Portion Control and most of the food comes from the perimeter of the grocery store–not many cans or boxes! {See some sample menus–and look! an Easter menu!}

dave ramsey

I’ve used emeals for two weeks and I really like it. I love that the menu and recipes are all on one page…I just printed it and taped it inside my pantry door so I can look at it quickly. I love that the meals are diverse–a soup, a casserole, a chicken dish, seafood, pizza, beef and pork all seem to come up evenly. I love the shopping list is easy to read and is also on one page.  You can see the adjustments I had to make on mine above—some food I bought from the farmer and other things I made from scratch. I love that the shopping list has prices on it–perfect for shopping on a budget.

So, this week, my emeals menu is:

Monday: Tandoori Chicken Strips with Corn on the Cob and a Green Salad

Tuesday: Mexican Pasta Skillet (which I’m gonna serve over baked potatoes instead of pasta) and a fruit salad

Wednesday: Grilled Tilapia and Mango Salsa with Grilled Sweet Potatoes {we don’t have a grill, so I’ll have to do this inside}

Thursday: Italian Chicken Wraps with Cranberry Slaw

Friday: Chicken Dijon with Wild Rice and Broccoli and Cheese

Saturday: Black Eyed Pea Soup, Cornbread Muffins and Sliced Strawberries

Sunday: I don’t cook on Sunday! (there was another meal, but I didn’t make it)

Now here’s the best part! Yesterday I cooked ALL OF THESE MEALS and put them in the freezer! All I have to do is pour stuff in the crockpot, throw it in the oven or piece it all together in a pan! I’m so excited! It was easy last week when I just followed the emeals menu plan every day, but now that I coupled it with freezer cooking? I am in LOVE!

I <3 Emealz

Disclosure: I received a subscription to emeals to facilitate my review. I am also an affiliate for emeals. So, if you sign up via my links I will get a small percentage of the sale. And then YOU can be an affiliate, too. As usual, opinions and thoughts are my own.

why this post is awesome: homemaking is hard for me. this helps me be more awesome in that area.

Comments

  1. Meal planning is essential to my mental well-being! There is nothing more stressful than having nothing planned for dinner at 6 o’clock with the family glaring and/or whining! I have been looking at emealz for a while. I would love the chance to try it for free! 🙂

  3. Oh it is definitely a love-hate relationship with meals!! I would cook all day everyday if I could sit down for long enough to come up with a meal plan. I take an evening class, work full time outside of the home, and now we are in full swing with baseball season! My meal planning usually consists of asking my son in the morning, what’s for dinner? he gives me a meat or veggie suggestion, I take it out of the freezer, and spend my work day subconsciously thinking of recipes!

  6. I am a disaster when it comes to meal planning. I was so excited when, last Sunday, I sat down, pulled out my cookbooks and planned the whole week. Got myself to the grocery store and everything. Then, my hubby worked late EVERY NIGHT. I had a few good meals for myself and then a few nights of Ramen. I feel like I’m back in college. While it’s just the two of us, that’s okay, but when the kids start coming along, I’ll need to be better organized!

  7. I’ve been curious about emealz for a while. I’m not convinced it would work for me, but I’d love to give it a try! I’ve started menu planning again after a long baby-induced hiatus. It turns out I love blogging about my menu plans – such an unexpected surprise! I love to cook but don’t always feel creative on the spot. Blogging about it is just added incentive to plan ahead.

    Thanks for the great explanation and chance to win!

  9. ummm…I hate meal planning and cooking dinner…bad combo….thus dinner time is stressful. When my husband went to Haiti a few weeks ago….the super stay at home moms at my church brought us meals every other day…..now that’s a great meal plan!!! Got to send that hubby back to Haiti…… 🙂

  11. I stink at meal planning. Last week I felt motivated, roasted a chicken, made broth to use later, and guess where it is? Still in my fridge and headed for the trash. Along with some asparagus I had good intentions for. So shamefully wasteful. Ugh.

    Pick me, random number generator, that no more chickens shall die in vain!

  12. I have a hate/hate relationship with menu planning. 🙂 It generally does not mesh well with my perfectionistic ways…..so I just don’t do it. But I SOOOOO want to start trying.

  14. My relationship with meal planning is that I know I need to do it, but I find it hard to make the time to do it. It would help our little family so much if I did.

    Thanks for the chance to try! If I don’t win, I may just sign up 😉

  15. I try to meal-plan each week using the local store ads but it takes time that I don’t have with being a Children’s Pastor, Home Childcare Provider, Pampered Chef Consultant, mom of 2 teenage boys and a wife!! I’ve thought about E-Mealz but decided to go with another ‘meal planning’ site and I’ll just say that I’m not please at all with it. Would love to check out E-Mealz!!

  18. Meal planning and I are strangers. I have often wanted to become better acquainted, but in the end was too busy trying to keep my 4 year olds picky eating habits healthy.

  20. I am fairly diligent about meal planning, though I do take a week off every now and then! It just helps my week – as well as my grocery shopping – go much more smoothly if I at least have a plan, even if it changes as the days go by.

  22. The only thing I love about it is that it’s great when done correctly. However, I usually get around to doing it every other month. I have been thinking of trying EMealz so I’m glad to see another recommendations!

  24. I love meal planning. I’m a convert–it is NOT something that came naturally to me at all! I am always looking for new ideas, though….and I’ve had friends rave about emealz.

  25. I’m like you, I love it when I do it, but I’ve probably only planned our meals about 3 times!! Thanks for the chance to win this! 🙂

  26. I could relate to your feelings on meal planning. I do like how much it helps… I just need to keep up with it! Something that helps sometimes is that I’ve made a list of about 15 dinners we like. I pick from those dinners, which gives us about 3 weeks of meals. It’s not a whole lot of variety, but it helps!

    Thanks for this opportunity!

  27. I do try to plan out my meals a week at a time, but I find that after a week or two, I usually repeat at least one of those meals. Would love to win this, but I’m seriously considering purchasing it as well ; )

  30. My menu planning is erratic–I will be in a great groove for several weeks, and then all of a sudden…I couldn’t think of what to cook for dinner if my life depended on it! E-mealz sounds great, and I loved the dinner options you posted.

  31. I have a love/hate relationship with meal planning. I love it when it happens, but most of the time it doesn’t so I hate it! This sounds exactly like what I need! 🙂

  34. I have a spreadsheet…..that I reuse….actually 3 of them. This helps me rotate and maintain some type of sanity. I have most of my food delivered, but do have to go to the store once/month! This would be awesome!

    Thanks for dropping by and saying hello!!!

  35. I TRY and menu plan every week. But, we always get off track. I think it’s because I need new dinner recipes and am tired of eating the same ones 🙂

  38. I would love to try ezmealz! I am so tired of trying to figure out what to eat and my husband is tired of the same old thing! Wait I am too!

  39. I LOVE menu planning!!! This week we are eating JUST pantry/freezer stockpile. I’m not a great cook {yet} so researching doesn’t bother me since I am learning as I go 🙂

  40. Oooh I have never heard of this and saw it on a friend’s Facebook comment. My relationship with meal planning? I’m a meal planning failure. I try and last 2 days and then the other food I have goes bad because I’ll realize mid week that I forgot to buy some of the main ingredients. This looks like a much easier idea!

  42. Relationship with meal planning:
    We’re on a break!
    Seriously, my excuse is that it’s hard to cook for one or I’m never home. But I end up spending a fortune on eating out and then it’s never healthy food.

  45. I love to menu plan but with a little one it is hard to find the time. That’s why I love emealz and would love to win the free membership!

  46. I love to plan and make lists….but somehow this characteristic does not carry over to meal planning. I end up going to the store 4 or 5 times a week to pick up things I need. I know I could save money by making one big trip, paying attention to sales, and couponing, so EMEALZ would really help me out!

  50. I am a huge fan of meal planning but it’s not something I do regularly anymore. I need to start again. This E-Mealz looks great!

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