Thursday, July 26, 2012

Online Meal Planning (emeals Giveaway!)

-Giveaway Closed-
One of my goals for 2012 was to work on meal planning. I was so excited when emeals contacted me to see if I wanted to try out their online meal plan service and to offer a free 3 month subscription as a Giveaway for one lucky reader! Keep reading for details...

SAVE TIME AND MONEY WITH EMEALS MEAL PLANS

If you aren't familiar with emeals, it's a fantastic online meal planning resource! After you choose a subscription, you find the kind of meal plan you want and the store you want to shop at, and they email your plan each week--with a categorized and priced shopping list. They have over 30 menu plans for a family ranging from 2 to 6, with options including low carb, low fat, clean eating, natural and organic, and vegetarian. They have a nice selection of grocery stores and mass retailers to choose from.

It doesn't get much easier than that, people.

I was worried that my picky husband would starve for lack of tasty options or that my kids would ask "where are the nuggets?" but we have been pleasantly surprised. There have been a few times I've glanced at the menu and knew one particular dish would not appeal to small kids (or a grown man with the palate of a four year old). Easy peasy---I just made a few changes to the dish, sides, or decided to try something different for that particular meal.

Without giving away the secrets of emeals, I did want to show you how cleverly organized it all is. Here's a peek at the Menu Plan for a week (I chose Wal-Mart). Items are marked as "make ahead," "grill," and even "slow cooker." Each ingredient is clearly listed, along with instructions for the meal.























The grocery lists are organized by section, and the price and number of each item is clearly listed. Love this!

I think you could find ways to save even more by substituting or couponing, but I like that by using the grocery list, you have a predictable budget.

You can also visit the emeals blog for recipes, tips on organizing your life, and planning family fun!

Want to WIN a 3 Month Subscription to emeals?

*Here's how you can enter to win (separate comments for each entry, please):

1. (Madatory entry) Visit emeals and leave me a comment here with the name of the meal plan you'd like to try.
2. "Like" emeals on Pinterest
3. "Like" emeals on Facebook
4. Tweet this Giveaway with a link to this post: @eMeals Meal Planning #Giveaway via @Serenitynowgirl! http://bit.ly/OlsApW
5. Facebook this Giveaway with a link to this post.
6. Link up a post to my Weekend Bloggy Reading link party this weekend and include a link back to me within your post for an extra entry!

Get your party hats on! My Weekend Bloggy Reading link party is scheduled as usual for tomorrow morning (8 am ET), so be sure to swing by with your best post of the week.

Here's the button code for the party if you want to get a head start! Recipes, crafts, home decor, party ideas, tips and tricks, you name it. Come prepared to showcase your blog and find some great weekend reads.
Weekend Bloggy Reading


*Giveaway open until 10 pm (ET) on Sunday, July 29, 2012. Open to U.S. residents only. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries received. I received a subscription to emeals in exchange for a review of the system. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

35 comments:

  1. I've heard of emeals before, but I've never checked out their site until now. I wish they had a store-specific menu for Harris-Teeter! But since they don't, I'd probably try the Whole Foods menu plan. Jack would love it if we tried to eat more of the kinds of things Whole Foods carries, but I tend to think of the store as "Whole Wallet." The idea of a plan that incorporates affordable foods from there sounds good!

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  2. This sounds so awesome. I'd choose the regular meal
    Plan for 2 and I love that Aldi shopping is an option. I am terrible and buying meals based on sales so this would be amazing to win.

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  3. What a great idea! I like that it's store-specific and that there are meal options for special diets, like gluten free. The Mexican Chicken Salad gluten free sample recipe looks really good.

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  4. I'm following emeals on Pinterest.

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  5. I "liked" emeals on Facebook.

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  6. I'd like to try the clean eating for a family.

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  7. The Walmart family friendly meal plan is SO up my ally. I am incredibly busy and don't have time to think about dinner. What a life saver this would be. I'm tired of frozen pizza!

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  8. This is a great giveaway- thanks so much for offering it! I would love to try the "Any Store Meals for 2" since were military and only shop on base to save money :)

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  9. I like emeals on Facebook:)

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  10. I follow emeals on Pinterest...making it even harder to leave the site:)

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  11. I would really like the low fat menu to help me meet my health goals. I really like that they cater menus to 2-person families, sometimes it is harder to meal plan with a smaller household!

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  12. I shared the link on Facebook:)

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  13. I would like to try the store-specific family meals, love it!

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  14. I shared on Twitter.
    https://twitter.com/Krystle_CTF/status/228601017963528192

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  15. I shared on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Color-Transformed-Family/233669536675716?ref=hl

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  16. I have never actually taken the time to look at planned meals but this really does seem like a winner to me! I love the fact that you can choose your favorite store for grocery shopping!! For my family, I would choose the Portion Control meal plan. :)

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  17. I am now following emeals on Pinterest and I Liked them on Facebook too! Woohoo!!! :)

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  18. I have visited the emeals website before and was very interested in the way they did things. With school starting up soon and me starting a new teaching job, I could use all the meal planning help I can get! I would use the low-fat meal plan for 2. Great idea, Amanda!

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  19. I'm torn between the Whole Foods Natural and organi plan and the Low Carb "any other store" plan. If only they had Trader Joe's!

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  20. i would probably do the publix plan or walmart. i shop at both.

    never knew they had all these options! interesting!!!

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  21. I would love to try this! I've heard about and it and need so much help with menu planning. I would choose the Regular Family Menus for Walmart.
    mommy.2kidsnc(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  22. I Like emeals on Pinterest.
    mommy.2kidsnc(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  23. I like emeals on FB!
    mommy.2kidsnc(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  24. I tweeted about the giveaway! https://twitter.com/Mommy2kidsnc/status/228842843614093312
    mommy.2kidsnc(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  25. I have never heard of this plan but I wonder if you can combine them vegetarian and low carb or pescatarian and clean eating. Sounds very cool.

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  26. I'd love to try the Whole Foods for 2 since we are trying to eat healthier and lose weight. (Too bad we can't combine the low carb with it...)

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  27. I would choose the low carb or the clean eating - I'd do some comparison to see which goes better with my weight watchers!

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  28. I'd like to try the Wal-Mart low fat plan

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  29. I'd like to try the Whole Foods regular meal.

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  30. Tweet: https://twitter.com/Steph2Pigs/status/229735625752973312

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