Friday- Warm Chicken Pasta, crescent rolls and apple slices
Saturday- Zoo trip (Fuddruckers)/ Family Over for pizza
Monday- Leftovers
Tuesday- Beef Stir Fry, rice and crescent rolls
Wednesday- Swiss Chicken, green beans and rice
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Enchiladas and cantaloupe with chips, guacamole and salsa
Saturday- Leftovers/Meat Loaf, mashed potatoes and corn
Sunday Leftovers/ Creamy Chicken Pasta, veggie and garlic bread
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We are trying out something different with our menu and meal plan. I will have to let you know how it works out. We signed up with E-Mealz (which Dave Ramsey endorses). Hubbie and I have heard the commercials for probably 2 years and every time we discuss it, I think, nah! waste of money! Me and my snobbish ways scream- Why would I pay someone to make my meal plan!?!? HA! Well, I am eating my words this week! Last week while listening to the Dave Ramsey show, I kept hearing the commercials and being an advertisers dream that I am, I went and looked at the website! One of the advertisements that hooked me was that people were saving $400 a month on groceries! I don't think I will save that much. I may not save any. Who knows?! Now that I have signed up for it, I think its probably geared towards a family (couple, etc) that doesn't already menu plan and is kinda lost in that area- how to start, etc! But, I paid $12.50 (use coupon code DAVE) for 3 months. You pick one store (Publix, WalMart and Kroger were our local stores on the list) and it gives you a detailed grocery list (divided into sections of the store) and menu plan- per day- based on the sales of that week. So far, it saved me a lot of time. I looked through the grocery list and matched coupons that I had (using I Heart Publix!) and it probably cut my planning in half. I had a lot of things that were on this week's shopping list, but I had run out of a few staples that we needed for lunches. They estimated I would spend $75 and that it would last a week. Of course staples and breakfast/lunch items are not included. I spent $102 at the store(used coupons and saved $40) and hope to not go back to the store for two weeks. I went ahead and spaced the meals out assuming that we will have leftovers. Of course, I don't know if these meals will or not. If each meal has leftovers, then I will be able to space this one week's menu/list for 2 weeks instead of a week and a few days. Like I said, this is just a trial run.
Hubbie and I were excited about the different menu items. I have definitely gotten bored about our menu over the last week and find myself searching the cabinets for some new inspiration, so if nothing else, we are trying out some new recipes and broadening our menu bank.
If you use E-Mealz, let me know how you like it and if you have saved any money especially if you already menu planned and budgetted.
We had an great weekend- a trip to the Zoo and lunch at Fuddruckers- yum! The weather was gorgeous and it did us some good to get out! My mother's parents came to town and it was so nice to see them and be able to spend some time with them! They met Baby Bean for the first time!
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5 thoughtful comments:
I've been using E-Mealz for nearly five months. We are a family of five and our oldest child is 3.
Because I like having leftovers, we chose the "point system" meals for 6. I cook then immediately divide the meal in half. We eat one half and the other half is lunch the next day.
I bought a magnet clip for our fridge door and use plastic page protectors. I print the shopping list and menu and slip them into the page protector (back to back) so I can shop with both the list AND the recipes (in case I ever decide to do some substituting or want to know if I can get away with a cut of meat that's on sale instead of the one listed). It works great because I tuck my coupons into the page protector too. When I return from the store, the page protector gets clipped to the fridge door and that way, either of us can cook if I have a meeting or something one evening and my husband is at home with kiddos.
I also use the "highlight tabs" that are sold next to Post-its. They stick right on the page protector and one color is meals I've already cooked and another color is what I need to thaw for the next day.
We're saving tons of money and enjoy the variety since we were stuck in a meal rut and spending too much money on takeout.
Sorry this was LONG but I'm a huge fan of E-Mealz. Good luck!
I have never heard of E-Mealz but I was just thinking this weekend what can I do to spend less on groceries. I am heading to the site now to check it out.
Oh adn this might be a dumb question but what is Swiss Chicken? It sounds good but I have never heard of it (that I know of). Thanks for the tips on E-Mealz
I can't wait for your updates to hear how you like it! I've thought about it, too, but felt the same as you. They even have one for WW, though, so who knows. If you fall in love w/ it, I may have to try it. LOL
The menu looks great. Did they include the leftovers or did you add that in?
I did E-Mealz for 3 months and really liked it. The meals were so large that I usually cut them in half and still had leftovers! I only did 3 months because I now have a binder with 3 months of recipes that I still use. They may not correspond with the sales for the week, but I can choose which meal to make based on the sales. I think you will like the variety.
Fuddruckers=yum! I miss having one close by.
E-Mealz sounds intriguing. I've found that Matt and I are a little too picky to utilize a meal planning "service", or at least the ones I've seen, so I'll be interested to see the meals you have on the plan these next few months.
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