Domestic Diva....or not...

Well, friends~ I have never considered myself to be a domestic diva. I TRY to be organized, have a clean house, cook exciting things and be crafty and I'm not too bad at it (well, at least I'm sort of crafty from time to time) but a domestic diva I am not. However, I didn't realize how bad it was until tonight...

First I will preface this post by saying that I have not been asked to review e-mealz and I am not receiving any compensation for my words of praise but tonight we began using this menu planning website and we could not be more excited :)

Last week, we decided to take the plunge and sign up for e-mealz. For $5 a month, we are going to receive menu plans and coordinated shopping lists according to the plan that we have chosen. We are signed up for the Kroger family plan (you can see the menus available by going to their website) and my sister has signed up for the Walmart low fat menu plan (for 2). She and I have decided that from time to time we will share our menus with one another. I knew going into this new plan that my grocery bill will increase as they give you a number of meals (7 on the family plan and 5 on the plans that are for 2 individuals) but let's also think about what I bought when I went grocery shopping before e-mealz.

Come on, you know those trips to the grocery if you have young kids- you run in as quickly as possible. Get what is on sale (or what you have the coupons for) including the boxed foods, prepared, or frozen foods-stuff that isn't necessarily good for you but is easy and convenient. This list is much different. I knew this week my grocery list was going to be tight on the budget because I needed so much without even including food (we include paper towels, cleaners, diapers, formula, etc on our grocery list) so we decided to go with the low fat plan that my sister has since it was the less expensive of the two. I got my "regular" items including baby necessities, food for school lunches, laundry detergent (the big jug) and some pantry staples and then got the items indicated on our e-mealz list for our menu this week. The total cost was $94 and both our pantry and fridge are pretty stocked in addition to everything else. So today, I started cooking!

You may think, "hmmm...low fat plan..." at least that's what I was thinking! But I assure you, it is still family friendly. On the menu this week are beef enchiladas, fish and veggie pouches, and today I made chicken salad so that it will be chilled and ready for dinner tomorrow and for dinner tonight we had chicken pot pie. Asher is in heaven :) He loves fruit and veggies and this week's menu is full of them. He is very excited about chicken salad tomorrow as it has grapes in it. I was especially surprised when I pulled the chicken pot pie out of the oven this evening and McKenna said "Oh! Wow, Mom! What is that?" I thought to myself, "Oh no! My poor children! They don't even recognize chicken pot pie! Where have I gone wrong?" As I said, I am not a domestic diva but I didn't know it was this bad! Not only did she think it looked "beautiful" she actually tried it (and liked it)! This is quite a feat as she will eat hot dogs for lunch and dinner 5 days a week if she doesn't like what you have offered. Although it is the menu plan for 2, we still have leftovers (and it fed 4 of us- with a couple getting seconds)!

We are pretty excited about the new menu plan and I am using dishes that I haven't used since we got married (you know, the white corningware that you usually break out for the church potluck). Tonight, I even used a pretty pie pan for the chicken pot pie~ so I'm actually cooking and not bored or dreading it. In my opinion, it's definatley worth the $5 a month for a happy, healthy family. Here's to a revamped dinnertime!

Something New..

As you have read, I often consider myself a pretty good meal planner & grocery shopper. We are a family of 5 and I usually spend $70-$75 a week on our groceries. This includes items to pack lunches, formula, diapers, etc. During the summer, I think I do especially well- I have a little more time to plan, clip and cook (and yes, I actually do enjoy cooking, but it just seems as though I never have enough time-especially when school starts back up again). I also find myself lacking in creativity. There are times that I've gotten home from the grocery store and wondered what we're going to have for dinner! So...as I was flipping through websites about menu planning, etc I found E-mealz. This is a menu planning service that cost $5 a month. The first thought that Nathan and I had when reading about this is "Why pay for someone to plan our meals?" but as we've read many reviews, none were negative and it is our hope that it will live up to it's purpose (to simplify dinner time, save time, save money and give you a meal time make over-making dinner more of a family time). We are also hoping that it will cut back our eating out, give us more of a strategy to meal planning and increase the creativity of dinner time in our house.

"So, what is this?" you may ask. As you explore the website, you find that you can pick from a variety of meal plans (we are doing the Kroger family plan that feeds 4-6 people and gives you 7 meals a week). Other choices include plans for 2 people. You may pick a specific store in which you shop (Walmart, Aldi, etc) or you may choose the "any store option". Specialty menu plans are available as well (gluten free, vegetarian, low fat, portion control and several others). Each week, E-mealz will post a menu for the week. This menu takes into account what is on sale in your store (or area) and gives you the most cost effective menu selection (this includes side dishes, etc). They give you recipies and directions as well as a detailed grocery list including price. The website gives you tips on how to use your coupons effectively and even vacation menus so that you don't bust your budget when you go on vacation.

Most weeks will average a cost between $70-$85. I anticipate that this will actually increase my grocery cost after I add in baby supplies and school lunch foods. However, what I gain from it will outweigh the increase I hope. From what I have calculated by looking over my budget, if we are able to cut out some of our eating out habits, we will definately be saving money (I am afraid to say that throughout the month of March through the beginning of April we spent approximately $250 in eating out! That is almost more than my grocery budget-ouch!). I hope to give you a more positive update after trying this for a few weeks.

Drawbacks that I anticipate are that my kiddos may not eat everything offered. Asher actually will try-he's such a good sport! But McKenna will resort to the old standby- a hotdog or bologna. I do plan to tweak the menu from time to time (for example, this week, peas is going to be a side that I will replace with green beans). However, I have read that there will be leftovers for lunches and that later in the week, they give you reciepes using those leftovers.

My menu plan for the coming week has just posted, but, since I have already planned out this week and done all of our shopping, I will start cooking from that list beginning next week (I usually do all of my grocery shopping Friday nights or Saturday-I know, party animal). I will be sure to keep you posted. I'm excited to try something different and hope to make dinner time a little more exciting :)