I love to bake…I’m pretty sure that has been established. I even like to cook, it’s the planning that throws me. Planning meals, I loathe it. I don’t even know why. I enjoy planning in other areas of my life, but I have always dropped the ball on meal planning.
We all know the benefits of meal planning:
- Time saved – no more treks to the grocery store two or three times a week to grab a quick meal, or pick up forgotten items.
- Money saved – less impulse buying due to the aforementioned grocery store treks. Fewer trips to grab take-out because there was no plan for dinner.
- Stress saved – no more 4:45 “oh no, what’s for dinner?” panic. This is a big one for me!
Given all this knowledge, why has it been so difficult for me to maintain a meal planning program?! Well, I have big news. By the way, this is totally going to sound like an infomercial…but it’s true, I can’t help it:-) I have finally found something that is so simple, so brilliant, that is has transformed meal planning…even for me! It’s called Plan to Eat. I came across this nifty little program awhile back and immediately signed up for a free trial. I had read some wonderful things about it and I figured I could use some help!
Well, I am in LOVE with Plan to Eat. There are so many wonderful features about this program but here are a few of my favorites:
- Transport recipes from the web right into your recipe book with just a click. I love my cookbooks but I find that I am cooking more and more from recipes that I find on-line. Want to include some of your favorite recipes in your recipe book? Just type them in and you’ll now have easy access to them anytime!
-Ready to plan your menu? You can plan for the week, 2 weeks, or the whole month! It’s super flexible. Just drag and drop recipes into your monthly planner.
-Now, on to my personal favorite part. Based on the meals in your planner, it generates a grocery list for you. Are you kidding me?! Seriously, all that is left for me to do is go grab the items on my list and I’m ready to go.
Want to find out more? Check out Plan to Eat for yourself! They offer a free 30-day trial.
Better yet, the wonderful folks at Plan to Eat have offered to give one of YOU a free year-long subscription (a $39 value). So awesome.
Want to win?
Main entry: like Plan to Eat on Facebook, then come back here and comment that you like Plan to Eat.
Extra entry: like Becky Bakes on Facebook, then come tell me what your biggest struggle with meal planning is. If you already like Becky Bakes that still counts!
Winner drawn on Friday, February 24th. Good luck!
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
I think this would be wonderful! Defiantly going to check it out… probably won’t be able to until Wednesday (busy with Thirty-One today and tomorrow)… but I would love not to scrounge for something at 4:45 every day! By the way… have you used your birthday presents yet? How’d they look? I was tempted to have them delivered to me (by mistake of course) and then tell Andy we had to make a little drive to deliver
Just so I could check them out too.
Oh… And I “Liked” the site on Facebook too!
Love them Amanda! Actually, I was thinking that I should probably do a little show-and-tell with my readers soon!
Liked …or Loved… Plan to Eat. Coming home after work at 5:30 at thinking, “What do I have that could turn into dinner” often turns into “Do you want mac and cheese or Taco bell? Oh, we have hot pockets too but that’ll be about 45 minutes”. With this I could cook good meals (because I’d always have the ingredients ahead of time!) and have extra to be sure my husband isn’t snacking his way through the cupboards for dinner the nights I work
I liked them on Facebook – can’t wait to really dig in and see what they’re all about.
I “liked” you on Facebook a while ago. (Love seeing your posts, btw.) My biggest struggle is just not being organized in this area. Like you, I’m a big planner, but not with meals. Plus, I’m only cooking for myself and my 9-year old son and most of my favorite recipes make large batches. We usually have to eat the same thing for 3 or 4 meals to eat it all up. I need an easy way to scale it down. Also, I end up cooking a lot of convenience foods. Would really like to cook with more whole foods and a lot fewer processed items.
I liked Plan to Eat on Facebook!
I also like Becky Bakes on Facebook! My biggest struggle with meal planning is figuring out what foods complement/go with other foods. If I could get this down, I feel like the combination possibilities would be endless!!
My biggest struggle with Meal Planning is finding something that Everyone Likes…Husband and Kids! I have given up trying new meals as the kids won’t eat it…I have been sticking to the meals I know everyone will eat, so I haven’t wasted My Time or Money! It is getting very boring though! I feel like Boycotting Making Dinner altogether sometimes…grrr…
Where has this been all my life? I seriously need something like this. At the very least, I’ll be giving the 30-day trial a shot. I Liked them on Facebook.
I liked you on Facebook (M. P. Rogers), should have done that long ago. The hardest thing with meal planning for me is trying to find recipes that use the same ingredients so I’m not left with half a tub of sour cream or five stalks of asparagus and no idea what to do with them. Whenever I’ve tried to plan meals, I usually still end up doing this to myself and hate the “I wasted my money” feeling.
my biggest struggle is that I always buy too much food and then don’t manage to use it all, because I get lazy and don’t cook! It’s a pain!
I liked plan to eat on facebook – thanks for the giveaway!
I also liked Becky Bakes on facebook (it’s about time!). My biggest struggle is monotony. I feel like I’m constantly making the same things, and I get burned out, thus stop planning.
I also like becky bakes! My biggest struggle (besides not having ingredients) is wanting to try too many things at one time and can’t pick one, which leads to not getting the things I need and turning to boxed alternatives!
I, like you, plan out every other aspect of my life. But meals? I have to go with what I’m in the mood for. I just can’t determine that on Thursday I’ll feel like eating tacos and Tuesday is for pizza. I think meal times are the ultimate in dangerous living for me.
This looks brilliant! I love that you can just import recipes.. I have lots pinned to try just never seem to make it happen. (I’m not good at the planning ahead thing.) I liked the site on facebook. Thank you so much for sharing this!
I like this “Plan to Eat” idea, I would love to try it out
I “like” Plan to Eat on Facebook!!
I “like” Becky Bakes on Facebook. I feel like I make the same meals over and over again. I need some fresh new ideas that are easy to make and that won’t break the bank!! Thanks for the giveaway!!
I liked them on Facebook. And I like them in real life!!
I like Plan to Eat on Facebook!
Plan to Eat sounds it was designed for me! Like you, I am great at planning in other aspects of my day-to-day life, but not when it comes to regular meals. I don’t get it. I think I am just too driven by “what am I in the mood for today”, which really doesn’t work with two kids and a husband. However, this tool may just change me after all!
Thanks for sharing, and for this great contest.
P.S. I also liked Plan to Eat on Facebook.
I like you on Facebook!!! And my biggest meal planning struggle is finding meals that my husband will actually eat. There are only a handful of meals that he likes and he will NOT try anything new!!! I am all for trying new things and eating healthy and he is content with his spaghetti, cheeseburgers, and stew…..
I liked Plan to Eat on Facebook.
My biggest struggle with meal planning is underestimating the amount of time the preparation will take. Even if the recipe gives and estimate I always seem to be running late with preparing meals.
I liked Plan To Eat on FB. Looks like it’s right up my alley!
Just liked you on FB too! Biggest issue with meal planning for me and my family, is keeping track of all the good things I do hit upon. We usually sit down at some point on the weekends, to think about the week ahead, and we’re always scratching our heads, trying to remember the things we liked before. So I really think Plan to Eat can help us “remember” the good stuff!
I ‘Like” Plan to Eat, this would totally eliminate the
meal planning stress of a working mom! Thanks!
Like Plan to Eat on facebook….thanks for a fun giveaway!
Julie
Tried to like Becky Bakes on facebook but am getting a time out error…will try again tomorrow.
Biggest issue is figuring out meals big enough for our family of seven…and quick menus as we are always on the go.
Thanks for a fun giveaway!
Julie
Awesome concept! This can make my life so much easier. Like them on Facebook!
Like you on Facebook! My biggest challenge with meals is knowing how to combine leftover ingredients to create a new meal.