meal planning: there may just be an easier way...

Month after month I set a goal to meal plan.  There have been times where it has worked and others where, well, notsomuch.  Part of the wrench is my variable work schedule.  Weekdays, weekend, weeknights here there and everywhere.  It gets a little messy.  It works for our family but, meal planning within the norm/chaos of that schedule throws me off track at times.  Somehow though, dinner gets made without a lot of muss or fuss (thank you, thank you to my programmable slow cooker).  It helps that twice a week, on the days my in-law's care for G, we eat at their house.  Delicious, homemade Greek food..mmm...

But not in August or half of September.  The in-laws are headed to Greece.  I'm happy for them.  I'm sad for us.  As we made preparations for their upcoming trip, such as alternate child care plans, looking after their home, etc. another though dawned on me.  I will be cooking SEVEN nights a week while they are gone, rather than my usual five. I needed a plan.  A plan that would actually work and that I wouldn't have to spend hours developing.  There had to be a simpler answer.  So I turned to (where else) the internet and my fellow bloggers.  I reviewed several meal plan sites of varying costs and complexities.  None quite seemed to be the answer. 

Then, I happened upon a Facebook status update from Becky Higgins about the site makeover of the meal planning site she uses for her family.  I clicked through to the link read about the program and the reviews, saw the very low cost and decided to give it a go.  I joined E-Mealz within minutes, after a brief search for an online coupon yielded an extra discount (entering the code "Dave" at checkout gives you $2.50 off, bring the cost of a three month membership to only $12.50). 

I liked that the meals sounded EASY, very family friendly and included a complete shopping list.  I love lists. Ready-made lists for exactly what I need and organized by grocery department?  Even better. I'm printing out the menus and lists now, in advance of my in-laws departure, so that they are organized and at the ready with a lot of choices.  I'll absolutely post back with a review once I have a week or two in my belly under my belt.

{Feel like you might want to give it a look see?  Pretty, please click on the banner above or on the adlink on my sidebar so that I get the referral credit, which will go toward extending our membership...kisses!}

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with E-Mealz and have received no compensation for this post...just something I want to try out and pass along.  The end.