Dana K. White

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Outsourcing Meal Planning – (eMeals)

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Outsourcing Meal Planning emeals at aslobcomesclean.com

This post contains affiliate links!

Have you noticed I haven’t shared many menu plans lately? (Like, all year.)

It’s not that we haven’t been eating.  It’s also not that I haven’t been following a plan.

Do you remember back in January when I talked about our new teamwork philosophy? (January was last week, right?)

The overall concept was that I need to start being realistic about how I can’t do it all.

I can’t.  So I don’t.

Last fall, as I was settling in to my routine, I realized that I was relying too heavily on our Survival Meals.

I love my pre-cooked meats and other ingredients that allow me to get home-cooked meals on the table in minutes. And we were only ever eating the very easiest of these meals.

Over and over.

Time always felt squeezed, so I was letting meal planning slide. I would run into the store, grab the ingredients I use all the time, and then decide at the last minute which of my easy meals to throw together.

So when eMeals offered to give me a year’s subscription, I decided that was a good idea.  Partly because it meant I could share my experiences with you, but mostly because I was desperate.

I had heard about eMeals for years, both on commercials during the Dave Ramsey show, and from a friend who used the service. The friend was a huge fan, and said it saved her tons of money and helped her family eat more healthy because she was cooking at home.

Here are the reasons I never thought I needed it:

  • I . . . cook. (Read that with a condescending tone.)
  • I know how to meal plan.
  • I know how to bargain shop.

 Except:

  • I was cooking, but I wasn’t enjoying it. My family was getting rather bored as well. Every meal was thrown together, and if we ever wanted something different we didn’t have what was needed to make it.
  • I wasn’t meal planning. I know how, and have rocked it at certain times in my life, but I just wasn’t. It kept moving to the end of my list. And then never getting done.
  • I wasn’t bargain shopping. I gave up coupons a while back. I wasn’t even shopping with a list.It’s a documented (by somebody somewhere, I’m sure) fact that shopping with a list saves money. Shopping without one meant I was wasting money AND not having any variety in our meals.

I’ll admit that it took me a little time to warm up to the idea of someone else planning our meals.

eMeals has a BIG variety of meal plans. Some are for specific stores, some can be used at any store, and they have vegetarian plans, gluten-free plans, clean eating plans, classic family plans, etc.

I started out signing up for the clean eating plan. BIG mistake. I might think that sounds noble, but one look told me my family I wouldn’t eat anything on it. I switched to the Aldi Classic Family Plan.

(Be sure to check out sample menus for plans you’re considering, because you can only switch plans once per month!)

In my experience, the plans  are pretty realistic. There is a variety of difficulty each week, though none of the meals on my plan require amazing cooking skills or lots of time. Each week generally includes at least two VERY easy meals like sandwiches or breakfast-for-dinner.

At first, this offended me a little.

I felt I didn’t need someone to tell me what to buy to make sandwiches for a quick supper.

I know. I have issues.

But then I figured out how to use the plan for our family, and I got over it.

Basically (as really picky eaters), I choose 3-5 meals when I get my meal plan. Then we eat our family faves on the other nights.

Having those 3-5 meals planned for me means that I’ve tried new recipes. I love this and my family loves this. We’ve found some new favorites.

Here’s where I should explain the picture at the top of the post. That’s a marinade for chicken. I made chicken before I started using eMeals, but only ever sprinkled it with some seasoning. My meal plan helped me break out of that rut and try something more involved (though still easy). My family raved about that chicken.

Sure, I could search the internet for new recipes, but I don’t.

Every Wednesday morning (which just happens to be my errand day anyway), I get an email with my week’s meal plan. Each meal has a number. I choose the meals that sound good, and then look on the shopping list for those numbers. The email attachment is a PDF that opens in my Kindle App on my phone, and I don’t even have to remember to print anything out.

Sometimes I don’t even open the email until after I walk into the store.  

Another thought: Soon after I started using eMeals, I heard someone saying they were trying to start cooking at home. Like, they never cooked, and were starting from nothing. I think emeals would be PERFECT for someone in this situation especially. You could truly go from never cooking to eating at home 7 nights a week fairly painlessly.

The giveaway’s been over for a long time, but eMeals often runs a promotion so be sure to check them out here!


Save 30% with code Cyber

I’m so excited that eMeals has offered to give one of you a free 3 month dinner subscription! 

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment!

You can get bonus entries by:

Liking emeals on Facebook

Following emeals on Pinterest

For each bonus entry, just leave an additional comment. Comments must be on this post on the blog.

This giveaway will end on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013 at 9 p.m. Central time. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my email or I will choose a different winner.  Winners will be randomly selected using the And the Winner Is WordPress plugin.

See my giveaway policies here.

They’re also giving away a Yeti Cooler on the eMeals blog!

eMeals gave me a year’s subscription to their service and I earn a small affiliate commission when you purchase a plan after using my link (though the price is the same for you), but all opinions and experiences are my own.

easy-meal-planning-with-emeals-at-aslobcomesclean.com

--Nony

Comments

  1. Chantel Poisel says

    I’ve been on the fence about eMeals for a few years now. Not sure if I’m ready to take the plunge…

  2. Rachel Struhs says

    I’ve thought about doing emeals for a while now but just too chicken! What a great giveaway! Thanks!

  3. Liberty Hudson says

    This would be such a blessing.This year is kicking my butt-trying to balance everything!!! eMeals would save my sanity as a homeschooling Mama of 5!!

  4. Debbie Peterson says

    Meal planning has always been a challenge and I’ve been married almost 35 years! We rely too many times on quick things and we get bored so quickly with what we eat. We also eat out way too much!

  8. Rachel Struhs says

    Ok emeals followed on Pinterest (can’t believe I have never done that before…their boards are so inspiring!) Thanks again for a chance!

  9. Nancy says

    This would be so great for me and my girls! Dad works out of town a lot, so I have a hard time coming up with stuff for us.

  10. Amy Lumley says

    I keep telling myself I need to plan our meals again. It makes my life so much easier to have a plan, we have also found new family favorites while following meal plans, and we save money!

  13. Sharon C says

    Ooooo, this sound like something I NEED! Thank you for sharing! It’s always good to get someone’s opinion when you try something new!

    Liked on Facebook & followed on Pinterest.

    Thanks, Nony!

  15. Tamara D says

    I would love to win this 🙂 I’ve heard of E-meals but haven’t really looked into it. It sounds awesome though!

  16. Jodi T. says

    I would LOVE to try this. I, like you, have my go to meals and my family is SICK.OF.IT. 🙂

    Thanks!

  17. Fontaine says

    We’ve had emeals for a while and keep switching plans too. We have picky eaters too, and I also don’t like the ‘make sandwhiches’ for dinner (or breakfast for dinner). BUT, when I use the emeals plan as a base, and take their plan to add into our rotation, life is good.

    I also bought a 6 month subscription for my little sister after she had her first baby. It helped her immensely during that chaotic time 🙂

  20. Jana says

    I would love for someone else to do my meal plans. My whole family is hungry when we get home in the evenings, so already knowing what we’re going to eat is key, but the knowing always falls on me.

  23. Amy W says

    I am super new to your blog and I’m loving the great advice! The Emeals would be awesome for my hubby and I! Thanks so much!

  28. Angie W. says

    I need to win this. Just like you, meal planning keeps falling to the bottom of my to-do list, then never getting done. I could use some help!

  34. charlena says

    I’ve been wanting ti try it but felt it might be a little expensive…this makes it worth it.

  36. Deanna R says

    I’ve been thinking about signing up for emeals for a long time and have just never done it. It’s sounding better all the time!

  40. Penelope says

    I too have always thought I didn’t need someone to make a meal plan for me….that said, the only time we have any variety at home at all is when I hi-jack someone’s meal plan….I’m ready to say it, I need help!

  41. Jennifer says

    Heard of Emeals for years now. A 3 month free subscription would be great to give it a try risk-free 🙂 Thanks for the offer!

  42. Holly G says

    Makes perfect sense! I have seen some blog posts about outsourcing what we aren’t the “best” at, but they always mentioned like hiring a maid, etc. All of which were not practical for my family…..Outsourcing meal planning will work….IF, like you I can get over the whole it tell me what to do. lol!

  43. Mary says

    I liked them on Facebook and Pinterest. This does sound as a good idea to change up a menu if all you do is cook for your family, not just them but for you too

  46. Ann Beall says

    My only concern about a service like this is that we are very picky eaters and I’m not sure how helpful it would be. A free trial would be great!

  47. Jen says

    I’ve heard about emeals for a while now and thought about trying it. I hate meal planning and put it off until the last minute and then stress myself out trying to have enough time to do it. This would be awesome to try!

  51. Dawn A. says

    I would love to try this. I was just grocery shopping yesterday after trying to meal plan this week and I am in such a rut, same thing over and over. I dread the planning, dread the shopping and most days really don’t like to cook. Looking for a change!! Followed on Pinterest and a fan on facebook!!

  53. Amy Hackbarth says

    I have used them in the past and liked them pretty well. Like you, I had to pick and choose what worked for my family and choose some of the recipes. Thank you for this giveaway!

  54. Amy Hackbarth says

    I am on a break from emeals since the birth of my twins. But once they start table food I am considering using them again. I am following them on Pinterest and thank you for the giveaway!

  55. Amy Hackbarth says

    I liked them on Facebook and thank you for the giveaway! I am glad that you are liking them and I will have to try the ALDI or Publix one if I win. Kroger isn’t doubling coupons in Georgia anymore starting very soon so I am not shopping there as much!

  57. Jessica says

    Ok i’m intrigued. I always try to make a plan but it falls apart . I am starting to think hmmmm i should do this. why was I not following them on pinterest???

  58. Jasmine says

    Thank you for this opportunity! I think there are so many of us out there with the best intentions to plan weekly meals every week and it just doesn’t happen.I remember looking at emeals before and being impressed with the pricing anyway. Three free months would be amazing.
    And I know sucking up won’t help my chances 😉 but I really love your blog and Facebook posts. Thank you for being real.

  62. Tashia says

    I would love this. I never meal plan and my attempts to do so have been feeble since there are only a few meals I know how to make, and whenever my husband cooks he just wings it with whatever we have. Needless to say a lot of food goes to waste and we often end up making several additional trips to the store to get what we need to complete a meal.

  63. Kate F. says

    I have tried e-meals before and liked it. I still use some of the recipes. I would love to give it another try.

  64. Shannon Ledford says

    I would love to try out emails. I keep asking for opinions and have found that everyone trying, likes it.

  65. Karla says

    Moving to the other side of the state over the next 2 weeks. Not much fast food there – must cook! This would helllllllllp!

    kt

  72. Hilary Cook says

    I have looked at the emeals program before, but I wasn’t sure what to do with picky eaters. Would personal meal planning be best or is emeals customizable.

    Thanks,
    Hilary

  73. Teresa says

    I’m NOT a cook and desperately need help with meal planning, so this would be great for our family! Thanks for doing this.

  76. joy says

    i absolutely LOVE using eMeals…. One less thing for me to think about 🙂 if you are on the fence,
    ust try it for 3 months. If you dont like it, just renew. Its absolutely worth the $5-7 you’ll spend on the subscription and you’ll save $$ on your weekly groceries. Im down to $100 a week for a family of 6 🙂

  83. Katie says

    I just started meal planning – my son started full day school this year so I wanted to make sure I planned ahead to have healthy meals ready every night. It’s a challenge for me – I’m not a natural cook. So eMeals sounds really helpful!

  85. ShannonP says

    I have thought about starting emeals for years and I really should now that the school year has started up and we have already had frozen pizza, um, several times. LOL!

  91. Jennifer M says

    I have used it before and had to stop due to budget. I loved it when I did it. Would love it again now that I have an active 9 year old.

  96. Laura Zervas says

    We live 45 minutes from any major grocery and this would help with shopping. If I dont win I may look into getting it.Thanks!

  107. Sylvia herring says

    I could sure use some help with the meal planning lately. Too many last minute thrown together meals. Thanks.

  110. Kristy K. James says

    I, too, have wondered about meal planning services…but have never tried it. My kids have always been picky eaters (not as bad as some kids I know, but they think chips, chicken nuggets, fries and sodas are the ONLY foods on the bottom part of the food pyramid), so I figured it would be a waste of money for me. However…a free trial would give me an idea of whether it would be worth the investment. For me it probably would be. I’m so bored with eating the same foods ALL…THE…TIME that I can hardly stand it. So I guess I’m entering the contest. 🙂

  113. Susan says

    I am SO tired of figuring out dinner at 5 pm. I have been meaning to start planning a weeks worth of meals ahead of time. Just can’t seem to DO it. Maybe this emeals subscription would give me the help/shove that i need! I love to cook but I hate figuring out dinner. And am terrible at planning ahead.

  116. Diane S says

    I’d love to try eMeals. I have thought it to be a great idea, but haven’t given it a try yet. We are stuck in a bad rut and that would certainly be a help to get out of it. Thanks for the chance.

  117. Hannah Reid says

    I can very much identify with the rut of only eating easy, fast meals! We are so there ourselves. Thank you for the review.

  125. Amy Morrison says

    I’ve thought about trying eMeals, but afraid I wouldn’t like the recipies & it would be a waste of money. The 3 month free subscription would be a great way to try it.

  131. Crystal says

    Would love to win this subscription. We seem to fall back on the same meals over and over just like your family.

  133. Sandra L. says

    I’ve hesitated with ANY meal plan because not only am I a vegetarian, I am dairy-intolerant, diabetic and following a very very very low carb diet. So I’m not sure emeals will work for me. I am sure I could make adjustments, though. We’ll see!

  138. Kristi says

    I’d love to try eMeals – I’m completely overwhelmed with daily life stuff that I never meal plan which leads me to running to the store just about every night to figure out what’s for dinner. It would be amazing to have a little extra help!

  139. Sarah says

    I would love to try emeals! I’m in a phase of life right now in which I’m trying to simplify everything I can. And something *has* to be done about our meals.

  140. Mary Ann says

    As a single woman who eats out too much I have wondered if emeals can help with plans for single meals. This would be a good way to try it.

  141. Linda says

    Yes, I have noticed you weren’t posting your weekly menus. I’ve been curious about emeals and I’m really glad to hear about your first-hand experience. Thanks for the review! I’d love to win the chance to try it out.

  148. Angel says

    I’ve thought about emeals before but thought they would be to restrictive. Sounds like there is some flexibility for my family. Thanks for this post and the give away.

  154. Maureen says

    I have the same hang-ups about a meal planning service as you. I know how to meal plan, it’s one of my preferred chores, and I usually do it…but when pressed for time, I resort to our favorite meals too often. My solution was to plan one new recipe each week, except I never actually do it. Now you have me thinking…

  160. Amy says

    I was just checking out eMeals free sample menus and I love how simple the classic meals are because I have a very picky husband. I would love to try eMeals!

  163. Ronda says

    I am intrigued by this. Not nearly intrigued enough to actually pay for it, because I totally relate to what you said about, sheesh, I’ve been cooking forever and I Know How to plan meals! But it does intrigue me, because I get in a rut sometimes, aaaannnnddd when things get busy, I kind of just…don’t cook. Much. So yeah. Enter me. If I win, it will be a sign that I need to branch out. 🙂

  166. Florence says

    This would be SO helpful. I struggle so much with meal planning…yet I know it would make such a difference. Would love to have the chance to try eMeals for a period of time!!

  172. Magda says

    I sure would like to have more adult skills, like cooking and eating nutritious meals. That “starting cooking from scratch” that you said would be perfect for emeals? That would be me.

  176. Kristy Stephens says

    I am a mom to three boys and a picky eater husband. Add to that a full-time college student and you can imagine…..time for meal planning is kinda a hilarious after thought.
    Looking forward to checking this out more!

  179. Liza R says

    I haven’ t tried eMeals for many of the same reasons you hesitated. It would be great to try them out without a pricey-commitment! Thanks for the chance.

  186. TNLady says

    Here’s hoping I win! Even though I consider myself the master of using up every bite of leftovers somehow, some way.

  190. kristine morawietz says

    I’d like to try it so see what it is and if I like it. Going to Like it on FB and follow it on Pinterest. I know that one day I’ll finally win something. Maybe this will be the time.

  191. Angela G says

    Liked on FB, my sister’s been after me for months to try eMeals, this would be a great thing for us!!

  193. Leslie says

    I am not an experienced cook and so most of our meals come out of a box. I am trying to eat more “fresh” meals and the classic meals sound so easy.