I am horrible at menu planning. Horrible. We usually decide "today" what we're having for dinner "tonight." Thankfully that rarely means running to the store or eating take-out. But it throws a sense of drama into the day that neither Brad nor I handle well. It is often a source of strife between us. Enter Groupon.
How in the world did Groupon help? One of the Groupons last week for our city was a one-year subscription to eMeals.com for $29 (50% off). eMeals is a subscription service that provides kid-friendly, frugal weekly meal plans (that is a quote from their website). After looking over their website and looking at all the sample plans, I decided to buy the Groupon and take the plunge. As soon as I signed up, I had access to "this week's plan" and "last week's plan" - along with an email that my plans would be emailed on Wednesday each week. That was Tuesday. So, pretty much right off the bat I had three plans to play with.
We decided to start with the plan I was emailed on Wednesday. We decided our "day one" would be Friday. This would give me time to go to the grocery store and get everything we'd need, compare the "estimated" cost on the grocery list with what I really spent (I spent about $6 more -- part of that was buying a 5.5lb chicken instead of the 3lb chicken called for...they didn't have a 3lb chicken) and just get "geared up" for this new endeavor.
Our first meal was shrimp with feta and vermicelli. I know Elizabeth loves shrimp - but I'd never thought to serve it for dinner. It was a hit. It was easy. Winner!! Our second meal was French Onion Grilled Cheese. My onion haters were sure they were going to hate it. Every single one of them loved it. Our meal tonight was herb-roasted chicken, roasted potatoes and salad. They ate it all! And loved it!! We won't be home tomorrow night - but they've asked if we can fix that meal for lunch! Um, sure thing, kids. Tuesday night is breakfast for dinner (cinnamon French toast with strawberries). Wednesday is a crock-pot roast...perfect for a busy Wednesday! And Thursday uses left overs from Wednesday.
In just three days, they have totally won me over. My kids, all four of them, are completely "into" helping with dinner - everything from helping prepare the food to setting the table and preparing the drinks. I highly recommend this program for moms. Not having to think about what we're having for dinner and having the grocery list already made out for me is fabulous. And it gets me into the kitchen, which makes my husband a happy camper as well.
For the record, the links in this post are referral links. I have not been asked to blog this or been paid for it. The opinion is completely my own. If you try it out, please let me know how it works for your family. They have a couple of options - 6 months for $35 or 12 months for $58.
No comments:
Post a Comment