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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Meal Planning

So, I love to cook.
Doing it so much for the Daycare, along with kids leaving after 5 every day, has left me in a bit of a dinner rut.
I know that 2 things need to happen.

1 - I need to be more organized in my dinner plan for each day so that I actually DO it.

2 - I need to get over playing with the kids every second and let them help me start dinner around 4:30/5ish.

Easier said than done.

To help me get a little more organized, I joined E-Mealz.  Thought I'd give it a try.   Anything recommended by DAVE has to be great right?  I'm still on the fence about it. 

Here's the deal. 
You subscribe for something like $1.25/wk. 
You pick the kind of meal plan you like.  (Family, 2 people, low fat....)
You pick the store you typically shop at.  (Walmart, ALDI, grocery store....)
The bummer for me is that they don't list stores in my area.  We shop mainly at SAFEWAY.  I'm not a huge fan of Walmart.  I am a HUGE sale and coupon shopper, and I think Walmarts regular prices are much higher than what I can' get on a sale at Safeway.

OK, so I picked the family meals at Walmart. 
Now every Thursday, I can log in and get something like this:


A page of meal ideas for the week with full veges and sides. 
Then, a secind page with all the ingredients listed and the prices for that week at the store you picked.
Kind of cool!

PROS:
*All the meals are thought out and right there on one sheet.
*If you go buy everything, there is NOTHING holding you back from having a nice warm meal on the table        EACH night.
*You can still shop other stores and use your coupons to make things a little more affordable, you have a list.

CONS
*Not particularly our taste in meals.  Of the 3 weeks I've printed already, on each week there are probably 3 that my family wouldn't really eat.  We aren't really that picky, though!
*Not SUPER healthy.  We eat pretty healthy, and this has quite a bit of processed foods.  I may choose the "low fat" menu once just to see if it's better. 

My first 3-month subscription ends 10/30.  I'll let you know how we did on it and if we're renewing.  Check it out for yourself @ http://www.e-mealz.com/

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