eMeals

I have been meal planning since last year.  (And I mean since last January - I'm not trying to make some lame joke here.)  It was my "resolution", if you will, last year.  I must say, I stuck with it pretty well - minus a few weeks for vacation and what not.  It seriously saved me so much money!

The part I hated about it though was the planning taking FOREVER.  I always did mine on Sundays and then headed to the grocery store.  Once I was at the store things went pretty quickly because I have an OCD list template that divides things into "zones" of the store.  But it was the actual planning that took me so long.

This year I'm trying something different.  I came across something called eMeals.  At first I was turned off by it because you had to pay for the service....but then I found a coupon.  ;)  I still wasn't quite sure I wanted to pay for something, but the sample looked amazing and I went ahead and did it.

I.  LOVE.  THAT.  THING.  SO.  MUCH.

For real - my planning time was cut by more than 75%.  No lie.  It does everything for you - the plan and the grocery list.  Now, the OCD me still writes my own list because I like the "zone" method, but I will say their list is actually pretty zone friendly.  And get this - they choose things based on what's on sale.  I know - shut the front door right?  You save money with someone else doing the hard work for you!  You pick the grocery store you shop at most (for me it was Kroger) and then the style of meals that you want - vegetarian, low-fat, etc.  I chose classic meals.

Now, I know what you're thinking - what if I don't like what is planned?  First of all, nobody is watching you and making sure you do it exactly.  Of course you can substitute meals for the ones you don't like.  When I first signed up they had last week's plan posted and I printed that out.  Right there I had seven alternatives if there was a day of the following week I didn't like.  I'm also keeping the plans and starring the recipes my family REALLY likes so we can sub later down the road.  For example, I do not eat fish.  I'm weird I know, but I have some weird complex about things that have been swimming their entire life.  It's strange, but I can't help it.  So this past week there was a fish recipe.  As much as my husband would have liked it, I didn't cook it.  But that also worked out because we had a date night.  :)  And I know there are also some family favorites that I will be subbing in for the ones we don't like every now and then too.  I'm not going to just cook eMeals, but I think it's safe to say that I mostly will!

Another thing I love about eMeals is that it lists the instructions right next to the meal - and they are all easy!  Some are even crockpot meals!  Seriously?  How can you not love this???  I used to have to write down where I got each recipe - pinterest, food blog, etc.  Now it's all in one place.

So for the first week I did this I "documented" what we had.  K is such a big help in the kitchen now and is loving Mama letting her help out so much!

First up: Mexican Chicken Chowder

Verdict: SO SO SO good!!!  Cody loved it too.  We both broke tortillas chips and put them in it.  Super easy!  I will be making this again!  K was already in bed when we ate this (it was a late night), but I doubt she would have eaten this anyway.  She's been weird about beans lately.  :)

Next up: Beef Fried Rice & Ginger Salad

Verdict: My brother came over for dinner and really liked it.  I really loved it.  As soon as I served it Cody told me how much he hated stir fry when he was a kid....guess I never cooked stir fry before!  It wasn't something my mom made when we were growing up either.  But he actually liked it!  This is another one I know I'll be making again!

New Year's Day: Ham, Cabbage, and Black eyed Peas

Verdict: I was so pumped that it was a traditional New Years Day meal.  This one was also a crockpot meal which allowed us to enjoy the day as a family.  It called for a ham steak which was perfect because I don't normally eat ham (I told you, I'm weird), but even if I did we had plenty left over!  K and Cody really liked the ham.  Cody actually said it was the best ham he's had in a long time.  (Maybe that's because I don't cook it often, but I'm just going to bask in the glory)  :)  I did change this recipe a little bit, because I like my black eyed peas a certain way, but that was an easy fix.

Next up: Creamy Burrito Casserole & Avocado Rice*

Verdict: OH. MY. YUM.  So stinking good!  I knew I would love this one because I'm such a Tex-Mex girl, but my family dug it too.  WIN! I just had to take another picture so you could see just how yummy it was when you cut into it.  *I made the rice without the avocado because Cody is deathly allergic, but it was still pretty good.  Next time I think I'll put an avocado in mine though because it's seriously one of my favorite foods.  

Last but not least: Oven Fried Chicken & mashed potatoes

Verdict: This one I think I messed up a bit.  I froze the chicken after I bought it - those best by dates really freak me out.  So when I got ready to make this I don't think I defrosted the chicken enough, so it did some weird things in the oven.  I went into the living room while it was cooking and told Cody it might be a disaster and get ready to order a pizza.  But when the time was up and I took it out of the oven I thought it might not be that bad.  Cody was my taste tester and he said it was fine.  I was still unsure because, let's be honest - my husband will pretty much eat any kind of chicken and be okay with it.  I'm the picky one.  It wasn't that bad.  It was not the best I've ever had, but I think it needed a little more spice for me to like it.  K, on the other hand, ate it quicker than I have seen her eat any other homemade dinner.  She LOVED it.  She even told me I make delicious dinners when she was eating it.  (Cody is my witness - it actually happened!!!)  The picture is SO NOT pretty either. 

Now, I know that's only five meals, but as I said, we had a date night and then Cody was hunting this weekend so instead of cooking K and I had leftovers.  It was perfect for us.  We saved money, I more than doubled my time with planning, and the food was SO good!  I'm glad I made the choice to do this!