Ever since I was a kid, I loved spending time in the kitchen. I devoted hours to searching for wonderful recipes, browsing the grocery store shelves for unique ingredients, and ultimately creating something delicious.
Cooking used to be my me-time, until I had 3 kids and started my career. Gone are the days when I could experiment with food and sample cuisines I’d never tasted before. I now stick to the good ol’ staples that have limited ingredients that I know the kids will eat.
But lately I’ve been exhausted - sick of eating the same meals week after week. I wanted to try new recipes without the hassle of grocery shopping. When I was looking for a solution online I came across an ad for eMeals - a meal planning service that offers 15 meal plans with 7 new recipes each week. I was intrigued by such variety!
Since it’s not a meal kit, would I still have to waste tons of time shopping? How would this save me time? eMeals generates a customizable shopping list for my recipes that I can share with any of their grocery partners like Walmart, Shipt, Instacart and more for grocery pickup or delivery.
Okay, this seemed unbelievable. Not only do they offer fascinating recipes but the necessary ingredients are automatically pre-filled in my cart. Then I simply review the cart and remove anything I already have. It feels like magic! Although it felt like this was exactly what I was looking for, I was still skeptical that a service that does it all for me like this would be in my price range.
Turns out eMeals has a 14-day free trial. So, I quickly signed up to see if it would actually help me before making a commitment. I also had to see if the kids would like the meals. If they went for anything other than breaded chicken, it would be a win in my book.
Browsing through the eMeals website, I noticed that their recipes are crafted by a team of registered dietitians. They have plans for all preferences and dietary needs - Quick and Healthy, Keto, Clean Eating, 30-Minute, Budget Friendly, Kid Friendly, Slow Cooker, Paleo, Heart Healthy, Diabetic, Low Calorie, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Plant Based, and Mediterranean.
I was thrilled to see that I can mix and match plans as well, so some dinners would be Kid Friendly. Some could be 30-minute meals for those incredibly busy days. And over the weekend I could splurge, taking all the time I like on sumptious Mediterranean recipes. I decided on my 7 meals for the week and chose Walmart to deliver my groceries.
I removed rice, potatoes, and a few sauces from my cart because we already had them. With eMeals, you don't always have to do delivery. You can also pick your groceries up at the store or shop them yourself with the automated shopping list in the app.
I love that I can still cook, but now I know ahead of time precisely what I’m making each night. We started with Cheeseburger Tarts with Tater Tots which seems simple enough, but I was still nervous to give it a try. The instructions are easy to follow, and the dish turned out far better than expected - the kids ate every single bite!
The kids kept asking what's for dinner tomorrow night, Mom? We gave the Chicken Parmigiana with Roasted Tomato Sauce and Broccoli a go and they adored it! I can’t believe how amazing the meals are. Plus, eMeals has a bunch of cool, free add-ons like dessert inspiration, bonus collections, and occasion plans for holidays and special parties. So I can get all my holiday ingredients without having to go to the store?!
eMeals has seriously helped me sooo much with meal planning and grocery shopping. It didn’t even take me the full 14 days to know my decision. I’m definitely sticking with their service. For only $5 a month, I have a fantastic variety of recipes with automated shopping lists that I can send over to my store of choice to add groceries to my cart for convenient pickup or delivery.
I’ll admit that I was a bit doubtful about eMeals, but I’m super glad I gave it a try. Finally, even though my work schedule is crazy and I’m continually taking care of the kids, I totally enjoy cooking again. My family and I couldn’t have found a better solution!