Friday, November 28, 2014

Plan to Eat!

Simple Meal Planning - Plan to Eat
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I've been hunting for ages for a meal planning service.  I've done the FlyLady ones, I've done the Saving Dinner ones, I've done eMeals, and I've done them several times each. Each time, it's been wonderful for a few days, and then it falls apart. It's either entirely too expensive, or entirely too time consuming, not to mention there being entirely too many things we often won't eat, either because of various texture issues in the house, or because of food preferences. It got really expensive when we were paying $40+ per year, then adding in the groceries themselves, and, well, it's just far too costly. Especially considering the amount of food waste that inevitably comes.



Then, I stumbled into Plan to Eat. It let me plan my own meals, with recipes we already have and like. It lets me plan my grocery lists, and they're usually small enough that we are able to actually afford to eat healthfully.  The food waste is remarkably small, and we're able to scoot right on through keeping with the plan.

Meal planning is much like curricular planning - the best plan is the one you use. And Plan to Eat has been the one we've used, consistently, for the last year and more. I've been able to import my own recipes, and there's even a browser button that lets me import from all over the web. The recipes then automatically populate a grocery list, and all I have to do is print and go. I have a calendar available to show me what I have planned for dinner on any given night, and it also allows me to plan for breakfasts and lunches if I want to, as well as snacks. It's been spectacular, allowing me to keep our waste down, our eating out days to a minimum, and the headless-chicken-dance of "What's for dinner?" is gone.

Best of all, Plan to Eat runs a Black Friday sale. From November 28th to December 1st, a yearly subscription is only $19.50, 50% off their usual price of $39. It has absolutely been worth the money, given how much we save in each year. Check it out, see what you think!

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