by Shellie Driscoll

Win a 3 month subscription to E-Mealz!  See details below on how to Win It!

Okay moms! If you are anything like me the last thing I enjoy doing is figuring out what to make my family for dinner every night.  Jane Delaney, a Birmingham wife and mother of four had the same problem. She was committed to having her family enjoy dinner together at home like she did growing up but she always struggled with knowing what to make each night.  Jane began looking online for meal plan solutions but quickly found that they were oblivious to her budget, had lengthy and complicated recipe instructions, did not have a consolidated grocery list, and had recipes that her kids would not eat.  Furthermore, these services also did not stay current on weekly sales to maximize her grocery budget.

In 2003, Jane and her sister, Jenny Cochran, teamed up to launch their own meal planning service website called E-Mealz. E-Mealz is a budget-friendly weekly meal planning system with easy-to-follow recipes and a corresponding shopping list that you print and take with you to the store.  How great is that?  You never have to figure out what’s for dinner again!

Jane and her sister worked tirelessly to gather delicious recipes that generally use only a few ingredients and have less than 30-minute prep times.  Most weeks include at least one slow-cooker recipe as well.

There is a Meal Plan for Everyone.

They have meal plan options for two and also families with 4-6 people. You can choose from portion control plans, gluten-free, low carb, low fat, and vegetarian.  These plans are all designed to save you hours of work each week.  All you have to do is print the weekly recipes and grocery list and you are set!

For only $5 a month you can have access to all of these wonderful meal plans that will ultimately save you time and money!  On average your grocery bill for a week’s worth of dinners for a family of 4-6 people is around $75. Two person plans average $35 total per week!

My Experience

I was given a free month’s membership so that I could see first-hand what the E-Mealz website was all about. I have to say,

I was very impressed!  The E-mealz.com website is nicely done and really easy to navigate. There is also a whole page dedicated to explaining how you can save with coupons that I found extremely helpful.

I chose to receive the 7-day, low carb weekly meal plans for 4-6 people.  I loved printing out the recipes and my shopping list and going to the store. There is room on your list to add other items if you need too. The weekly grocery bill average is supposed to be around $75.  I found that my total weekly bill would run anywhere between $80-$95 but because I saved so much time not having to figure out what to make for dinner and then writing out a grocery list, it was totally worth it!  I also live in Southern California, so costs may be elevated.

One of the meals we really enjoyed was called Grilled Chicken Mediterranean with Sauteed Garlicky Spinach. Yum!