This post was sponsored by eMeals.com and I was also provided with an eMeals subscription in order to review this service! As always, all opinions are mine!
I’ve been dying to try eMeals.com and was totally psyched when asked to review! eMeals is a recipe/grocery shipping list subscription service and they have over 50 weekly plans based on preferred food style, family size and grocery store. Plans include classic, clean eating, simple gourmet, low fat, low carb, paleo, portion control, organic, vegetarian and gluten-free meals. This is the only dinner subscription I know of that caters to such a wide variety of eating styles. You can save 35% off eMeals with code CYBER35.
To get started on eMeals you choose your family size, grocery store, and the menu you select. I looked at several different plans and settled on “Simple Gourmet.” I felt it matched my cooking style while still being something my kids would eat – but I can change my plan too. Every week you’ll get a recipe list along with the grocery shopping list. I used the eMeals iPhone app and selected the recipes I would make for the week and checked off the items I already had at home. When I went to the grocery store I shopped from the list on my phone – and that was it! It was super easy and I enjoyed that feature immensely.
One of the things I noticed about the eMeals.com menu plans was that it reused items over multiple days. The first day I made a ham (and though I selected a 2 person menu plan I ended up snagging an amazing deal on a big ham so I cooked that instead of a little one so we could have ham for Turkey day too!).
Several additional recipes for the week called for ham from the first meal! I loved this feature. I never know what to do with leftovers and it was great that it was built in! I found that we didn’t waste a thing when shopping from the eMeals grocery list.
I also found that the whole meal wasn’t too complicated – there was a side included but it was never complicated. I do need help figuring out what to make and providing variety to my family. My kids loved this meal. The recipe called for brown mustard and I think apricot pineapple jam, so I used some Maille whole grain mustard and the leftover jam from a Fancy box (i.e., I used what I had!).
This was WAY easier than it looked, and I will totally make it again, because my kids were absolutely wild over it. This meal was called “Pan-Fried Chicken withHam and Mozzarella with Buttery Broccoli, Cauliflower and Carrots.” The latter two are missing because a baby sitter cooked the veggies the day before and those parts were already eaten!
The next meal was labeled child friendly – “Bacon Penne Alfredo”. One at all the bacon plus some pasta (she loves bacon, she also loved the sauce!), the other ate all the pasta, no bacon. Kids! It was delicious and easy. As you can see, I went with bowties instead of penne.
The final meal – “Savory Chicken Stroganoff over Egg Noodles”was a crockpot recipe, and I let my husband cook that one. Like most crockpot recipes it turned out somewhat brown, but it was fantastic and healthy.
I loved how the crockpot recipes were so delicious and so easy. eMeals just made a totally hectic week super easy. I felt like a good mom because I was cooking non kid food… that my kids actually ate! I will continue to use the service! The other meals in the week’s recipes that I didn’t cook were: Beef and Black Bean Chili with Lemon and Garlic Kale, Sweet Mustard Chicken Thighs Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans, and Easy White Bean Stew with French Bread Toasts. It was easy to skip meals with the iPhone interface – and you also get emailed PDFs of the meal plan so you can print them out or archive them in your email.
eMeals also has several different add-on plans available – Healthy Breakfast, Healthy Lunch, and the eMeals Dessert plan! I selected a recipe from the Healthy Lunch plan to make – I thought it was cute & easy!
And um, it was delicious! Overall I thought the menu was fantastic and I truly appreciated that my store sales were incorporated into my eMeals plan and that I didn’t have a bunch of extra food – no waste! The recipes made just the right amount and reused the leftovers where appropriate! If I were at home this week (I’m on vacation!) I could pick up my app, go to the grocery store, and go shopping! It makes a hectic life just that much easier!
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