I doubt that there's anyone still reading my blog but I've been meaning to post for awhile about the abrupt cessation of menu planning posts. That's because I've subscribed to a menu planning service to save a bit of time. I enjoy planning meals myself but it does take quite a bit of time that I don't have. Actually I've tried out 2 menu planners and have decided to review them here on the off chance that someone still checks my blog and might be interested. Both services cost $15 for a 3 month subscription and have the same basic concept of providing meal plans complete with a shopping list but there are some differences.
The first service I tried is E-Mealz. They have several plans to choose from depending on family size and diet preferences (regular, low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, etc). They even have plans for various grocery stores that take into account what's on sale that week. You pick a plan and then every week there's a new menu and shopping list for 7 meals complete with sides. Here's what I liked about it:
The first service I tried is E-Mealz. They have several plans to choose from depending on family size and diet preferences (regular, low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, etc). They even have plans for various grocery stores that take into account what's on sale that week. You pick a plan and then every week there's a new menu and shopping list for 7 meals complete with sides. Here's what I liked about it:
- The only store near us with an available plan was Walmart (I generally prefer to buy groceries elsewhere) but I thought it was a cool idea. Even the "any store" menus weren't terribly expensive (though a bit more than I'd usually spend planning meals myself).
- The meals were generally easy to make and tasted good.
- These plans would probably have more appeal to picky eaters.
Here's what I didn't care for:
- Unless you get the vegetarian plan the meals are pretty meat-centric. I switched part-way from the regular plan to the low-fat plan which was slightly better but still we had meat almost every night which is too much for me.
- Seemed a bit heavy on the processed food as well (instant potatoes, minute rice, etc) and virtually no whole grains. I wound up making quite a few substitutions that which meant I needed to pretty much make the shopping list myself and often it increased the food prep time as well.
- You do get the option to change your plan once in a 3 month subscription period, but you only get 1 plan at a time with your subscription
After my E-mealz subscription ran out I decided to give Saving Dinner a go. I'm still just a couple weeks into this one but so far I prefer it. Here's why:
- Meals are healthier incorporating a variety of whole grains and vegetables and very few processed foods
- You actually receive all the plans each week including regular, heart healthy, and low-carb. All the plans are available in 2 or 4 serving options (for regular plan 2 or 6 servings). It even includes an optional plan and shopping list for breakfasts and lunches. If the foods on one plan don't appeal to me one week I can easily select another which is nice and I get lots of bonus recipes to try.
- The menu plans can saved to your hard drive (On E-Mealz you log into the website and are only able to view as far back as the previous week. You can print a hard copy to save it, but saving it to the computer is so much easier)
- I haven't tried it but there is a premium membership for $10/month or $90/year that not only sends you the meal plans but allows you to customize them by swapping out recipes and automatically updating your shopping list. I'm sorely tempted by this feature.
The drawbacks:
- Grocery bills seem to be a bit higher here mostly because fresh ingredients tend to cost more than processed
- Meal prep may take a bit longer. If so it's only slightly more time though.
- Neither plan offers a smart phone app or can be interfaced to an existing grocery list app but it would be awesome if they did
