THE MEAL PLAN STRUGGLE
What am I going to cook for dinner this week? What is there to eat? I am to tired to cook. Do these sound like familiar questions and statements? If you are a mom then you are busy and often times are being pulled in 4 different directions at once. At the end of the day sometimes the last thing we actually want to do is cook a meal. I get it. However, I can tell you that since I started meal planning that has gotten to be exponentially easier. There’s still just one problem that remains, I still have to figure out WHAT to plan! Some weeks are easier than others, but let’s be honest, I sometimes get stuck in a rut.
THE BEST SOLUTION!
Well, let me introduce you to my new best friend… Meal Squeeze. It is meal planning simplified! For $5 per month Tonya, a registered Dietician and busy mom herself, sends you the most wonderful recipes that are simple, healthy and budget friendly. Not only does she send you the recipes, but she also sends you the grocery list broken down by categories and the meal they represent as well as a weekend prep guide so that the hardest part of your meal is done well in advance. This sets you up so that you are able to get to the house and whip up a healthy meal in 30 minutes or less! Everything you need has already been chopped, mixed, etc and stored away for your meal day. On top of all of that, Tonya herself sends you an email with important reminders so you don’t forget to thaw that chicken or put the slow cooker out! There is even a members facebook group where Tonya shares relevant deals and coupons from various grocery stores in order to help you save even more.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
I can tell you that I have tried a very similar meal plan subscription and while I liked it, Meal Squeeze has been the first one that I look forward to all of the recipes. There’s enough variety that I feel like my kids are trying something new, but not so radical that I can’t pick up the items at my local small town grocery store. Meal Squeeze is also a FRACTION (4 times less) of the cost of other meal plan subscriptions. For the cost of one Starbucks ($5) you can have a month of budget friendly meals pre-planned for you!
WILL I SAVE MONEY?
What if I told you that I went to the grocery store yesterday and spent only $57 and got 4 meals? It’s true. I got 4 meals plus a few extra things Davis “needed”. How did I do this, well I made sure to scan what she listed for the week and picked the meals that I had most of the items on hand for. I can also go back to previous weeks and choose from those meals if I would like. I don’t always create all of the side items she suggests simply because I know I have other items in the freezer I can use. So, if I were to create all 7 of the meals that were listed for this week I would estimate that my grocery bill would have been about $90-$100. For a family of 4 I am calling that a WIN! If I am doing my math correctly that is about $3 to $4 per person. You can’t even obtain that at McDonald’s!
IS IT HEALTHY?
Yes, yes and yes! Like I said earlier, I have tried other meal plan subscriptions and while they were healthy, they were using such crazy ingredients that I either couldn’t find it here in small town NC or the kids did not care for it. Remember, Tonya is a Dietician who specializes in balancing out the meal. Also remember that I think the vast majority of America over eats. Think about feeding your kids and yourself portion sizes that are about the equivalent of yours and their fist size.
Overall, Meal Squeeze is the best thing that has happened to dinner in a long time if you ask my opinion. I know that there are the Subscription Meal Boxes where the food comes to your doorstep and everything you need is sorted out. Those are convenient, but you don’t have control over your meals and they are pricey. The way I see it, Meal Squeeze is taking the cost out of that and allowing you freedom but giving you options. It is such a blessing to open up my email and see my grocery list already made! You can even give it a 7 day trial run just to see for yourself how it all works.
Your $5 per month is worth this! Sanity saved! Dinner saved! Money saved!