Meal Planning

Ugh, I am not sailing into this school year smoothly. I feel the weight of the impending schedule that is taking effect this week and it's causing some massive anxiety. Which means I try to ignore the fact that it's happening and procrastinate. I am not feeling very prepared, even though I know I am probably more prepared than I think I am. But I wanted the house perfectly clean and organized before the school year began. That didn't happen. Oh well. Let it go.

My days are going to be a little more complicated this school term since I am taking classes on campus (far, far away) and also doing internship #1 of 2. Even though I'm not feeling super prepared, I decided to take one thing out of the equation for myself. I'm giving the meal planning duties to someone else. Meaning, there will actually BE a meal plan every week because I'm paying for it.

I signed up for eMeals today on the Gluten Free Family plan. The best deal is a 12-month subscription at $5 per month (paid all at once), but I wanted a shorter term commitment in case it just didn't work for us. So I went with the 3-month plan at $7 per month (also paid all at once). That will get us through this fall school term and we can see where we stand from there. If it makes things super easy and we're trying new meal ideas that we love, then we'll continue. If it doesn't make a huge difference in things, we'll probably give it up.

Now, I normally don't do anything like this. I'm of the opinion that there are many, MANY resources for recipes out there and you can just make your own darn meal plan each week. Except if you're like me, it will take you two hours for one stinking meal plan because you can't decide what you want to make/eat, and then you'll "forget" to meal plan one week and spend every night eating pasta and sandwiches - which doesn't really work when you have a family member allergic to gluten. Note to self: Hungry husbands are not happy husbands.

So why did I choose to sign up for eMeals? One: It's recommended by Dave Ramsey. I like him and I like his financial ideas. Two: I spoke to many people who had actually used it, and heard nothing but good things. Three: Based upon everything I've read and heard, it should simplify not only our meal planning, but also our grocery budget. From the people I've spoken to about it, everyone raved about saving at least $200 per month on groceries. That.Is.Awesome.

Here's hoping it works the way I need it to. And maybe my kids will learn to love something other than grilled cheese sandwiches.