emeals---does anyone use this? do you like it?

[Ottakee]

I saw on Debt Proof Living today a link to emeals that have meal plans, recipes, and shopping lists (including Walmart and Aldi).   I just wondered if anyone used these and if so, if it was worth the cost and if you family would eat the meal.

 

I love crock pot cooking but don't necessarily need 7 days of crock pot stuff a week.  We have no special dietary needs but do try to stay moderate carb, healthy fats, etc.

 

Are the meals expensive compared to making up your own meal plans?

 

www.emeals.com

 

[mamaraby]

We used it for awhile and had the Aldi plan. It wasn't expensive (either the meals or the service), but it wasn't uncommon for me to have to replace at least half the meals with something else. One week I ended up with only one meal on the list that was usable for our family. It also tended towards Pampered Chef style recipes - take all these packaged goods, open them, and mix together. It's not a bad thing, and I think a lot of folks would love it. I the end, it didn't work for us.

 

I did look at their vegetarian plan recently and was unimpressed. Really wish they had an actual veg/vegan to write it because some of the sample meals were really odd.

[sparrow]

I have not used e-meals, but I have a subscription to Fresh 20.  I like many of the meals, unfortunately I have a teen boy that eats FAR more than what the Fresh 20 servings allow. Sure, I could double everything, but that would end up being much more expensive for this particular meal plan.

 

I have found a *free* alternative, that my family really likes, and is more filling for my boy:

 

http://www.makedinnereasy.com/dinnermenus.html

[*Michelle*]

We're in our second week of emeals.  The biggest pro for me is that my regular grocery store is on their list, so I get a weekly menu and grocery list that matches up to the sales.  It's easy enough for me to switch out the odd side or sub an ingredient as necessary.  I opted to try out the classic Crockpot menu and it's nice so far.  I also subscribed to the lunch menu because lunches are the bane of my existence.  My husband is definitely appreciating the variety there, though I have to cut down the amounts since I'm not making lunch for four.

 

You can change your menu once a month and I plan to try out each of the ones available.  Last week's grocery shopping was an eye opener for me.  I'd been stuck in a rut for some time, but with their list I was able to get a huge variety of produce and meats for about the same amount I'd been budgeting all along.  It was a little higher because I needed some different staples than I had on hand, but not too much.

 

I also like that you have the option of family-sized meals or meals for two.  We're a family of six, but the kids are all 6 and under and they don't eat a lot.  The amounts listed for the meals-for-two really work.  We're awful about eating leftovers, so I'd rather cook a small amount each day instead of having a big pot of something staring at me every time I open the fridge.

[kitten18]

I use emeals, the low-carb family plan.  I use 1-3 meals a week from the plans and I still feel it is worth it for me.  Maybe it's because it's the low-carb plan but my menus don't have very many pre-packaged items.

The thing I find the most useful is the ideas for the vegetable side dishes.  I tend to think about the main dish and forget to make sides.

[4kiddies]

I use emeals and really like it. The recipes I have made have been successful with my family and it helps to break up the routine and gets us to try new recipes/flavors.  I have a promo code if you are interested, send me a pm and I'll send you a link. 

[*Michelle*]

I use emeals, the low-carb family plan.  I use 1-3 meals a week from the plans and I still feel it is worth it for me.  Maybe it's because it's the low-carb plan but my menus don't have very many pre-packaged items.

The thing I find the most useful is the ideas for the vegetable side dishes.  I tend to think about the main dish and forget to make sides.

 

Looking at my slow cooker classic plan for this week, the only processed things are:

 

Canned pinto beans

Taco sauce and seasoning (but I can easily make my own)

Frozen shredded hash browns (my store has organic/simple ingredient options)

Cream of chicken soup (my store has organic/simple ingredient options)

Refrigerated pie crust (can make my own)

Frozen meatballs (can make my own or get the organic/simple ingredient kind)

Barbecue sauce (same)

 

Everything else is fresh produce, cheeses, fresh meats, spices, and dairy.  That's really not bad at all, especially considering this is the "classic" Crockpot menu.  I was initially hesitant to choose this one because classic Crockpot usually means cream of something soup in every meal.

[mamaraby]

Maybe they've changed since 2011?  On the Aldi plan one meal was broccoli cheese soup with broccoli, butter, flour, milk, 12 slices of American cheese, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese.  That was served with blueberry muffins made from a box mix.  Two meals before that was pepperoni bake with crescent rolls, mozzarella, pepperoni, eggs, and pepper.  Another week was "Chipper Chicken" with cream of mushroom soup and crushed potato chips.

 

Like I said, we gave up at the time because I was having to come up with meals to replace the ones on the list and then it seemed a bit silly to buy the meal plan when I had to redo so much of it.  As always, YMMV.

[MIch elle]

Do the meals include nutritional content (calories, carb, fat, protein, etc.)?

[*Michelle*]

No, but I just use the recipe calculator from SparkPeople when I want to know that stuff.

[mrs.m]

I use the weight watcher plan for Wal-Mart. It fits in my daily points for day and usually offers a lot of veggies. My family gets burned out on it and we go back to favorites again. It does save me time and money. The recipes are simple enough that my 11 & 13 yo make dinner. There have a few processed food ingredients and that is generally the only thing they get dinged for on this board, But honestly, I'm looking for convenient meals to keep us out of the drive thru. I don't have time to over think my food. If I can sub with something less processed without it adding a lot of time to dinner hour, then I do it. Emeals has been using less packaged over the past year but not totally eliminated. The plan does occasionally have a crock pot or grilling Meal based on the season.

 

They have a clean eating plan, so that might work better for some families.

[mrs.m]

Maybe they've changed since 2011?  On the Aldi plan one meal was broccoli cheese soup with broccoli, butter, flour, milk, 12 slices of American cheese, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese.  That was served with blueberry muffins made from a box mix.  Two meals before that was pepperoni bake with crescent rolls, mozzarella, pepperoni, eggs, and pepper.  Another week was "Chipper Chicken" with cream of mushroom soup and crushed potato chips.

 

Like I said, we gave up at the time because I was having to come up with meals to replace the ones on the list and then it seemed a bit silly to buy the meal plan when I had to redo so much of it.  As always, YMMV.

I think the family plans are like this but I never used it so I'm always confused when someone says this. They have healthier Meal plans. The weight watcher one is not at all this way.

[QueenCat]

I find it repetitive. You'll see the same dishes, with very minor ingredient changes. Like a turkey pesto sandwich. Version one used a gala apple... a month later, it used a red delicious apple. I found that there were only 1-2 meals a week that really suited us, and I'm not that picky.

[kitten18]

Do the meals include nutritional content (calories, carb, fat, protein, etc.)?

Mine just has carb counts.

[Ottakee]

Thanks for the input. I will have to check around at their sample menus and some of the others suggested. I did menus4moms before and did find it helpful and some of those meals are still favorites here.

 

I just want something nice and easy and budget friendly. I am not opposed to some convenience foods to help that along sometimes but do like to use fruits and veggies.

 

The shopping lists aren't a huge deal for me and I don't coupon, etc so I don't need it to match a specific store, etc. I just like the menu ideas. An ideal one would have 1 grilling meal, 3 crock pot meals and then 3 other easy to make/bake meals for each week.

[mrs.m]

Thanks for the input. I will have to check around at their sample menus and some of the others suggested. I did menus4moms before and did find it helpful and some of those meals are still favorites here.

 

I just want something nice and easy and budget friendly. I am not opposed to some convenience foods to help that along sometimes but do like to use fruits and veggies.

 

The shopping lists aren't a huge deal for me and I don't coupon, etc so I don't need it to match a specific store, etc. I just like the menu ideas. An ideal one would have 1 grilling meal, 3 crock pot meals and then 3 other easy to make/bake meals for each week.

 

 A free tool that I like for menu planning is http://ziplist.com . I use this when we get tired of emeals. It has a bookmarklet so I can save recipes from blogs and from there create a customize menu. It also creates a shopping list from the ingredients. That will allow you to be more specific about your plan. You won't get the menu you posted above with emeals.

[anne1456]

I use the emeals paleo plan and really like it.  We don't really eat paleo, but it is easy to add baked potato, rice or bread to the meals. There are usually about 2 crockpot meals a week, and during the summer there were grilling recipes too.  I agree the recipes can get repetative, like one week it is baked haddock and next week it is baked cod.  But overall it is much easier for me to print out a grocery list, shop, and than add in a few of our family favorite meals.  I tried the clean eating plan for a few weeks and didn't like the recipes as much, so it you do have to see what works for you.