Meal Planning Resources
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Meal Planning Resources
Oct 2006
Does anyone have a suggestion for a good weekly or monthly
calendar or planner that provides daily suggestions of simple,
healthy meals to cook for dinner each night? I am hopelessly
uncreative when it comes to deciding WHAT to cook for dinner. I
need someone or something to just tell me what to cook every
night, and perhaps provide some simple recipies and a weekly
shopping list.
I don't need recommendations for any of those ''prepare meals
ahead of time'' places like the place in Emeryville, as I already
have time to go grocery shopping and do the prep work myself and
I don't need to pay extra $$ for the convenience of someone else
doing it for me.
Thanks
Uncreative but capable dinner cook
try www.savingdinner.com
there are free sample menus (a week's worth of dinners plus
grocery shopping list) so you can try it out before
subscribing. plus, what i like best are all the different types
of menus available (vegetarian, crock pot, low carb, etc...)
Kat
Go check out www.savingdinner.com They have EXACTLY what you
are looking for in a variety of selections. They send out
weekly menus, along with a shopping list, and have several
varieties- i.e. one for vegetarians, kosher meals, a crock-pot
list, oh the list just goes on and on. You subscribe for 3
months at a time for a very small fee and every week you are
emailed a menu with six entrees and their recipes, as well as
side dish suggestions, and the shopping list to go with it. It
is an invaluable resource for those of us who want to cook but
have no imagination! I think you can even get a free menu to
see if you'd like it!
Hope this works for you!!
Jessica
I just read an article that listed several dinner menu/meal
planner services to try -- you pay a fee and get a weekly menu
w/ grocery list, and usually some kind of chatty newsletter to
go with it:
www.thescramble.com; www.morethyme.com;
www.dinewithoutwhine.com; www.savingdinner.com;
www.dinnerplanner.com; shop.allrecipes.com/shop/cooknik
I have been using the Heart Healthy Menu Mailer from
savingdinner.com for the past month or so. I paid about $10 for 3
months worth and once a week I get a menu with recipes for 6 main
dishes, side dish suggestions and a shopping list. Some of the
recipes take a little longer than others, but none are overly
complex. My husband and I have *really* enjoyed all but one or
two of the recipes we've tried so far and our 2-year-old likes a
lot of them too.The web site has some sample menus if you'd like
to try the system out first and see how it works for you. I'm
really happy I'm doing this -- it's made my life a lot easier and
we're saving money by cooking at home more
Wendy
A few months ago, Real Simple magazine did an article reviewing
online meal planners, called ''Six Menu-Planning Websites,''
which is available at www.realsimple.com (search for menu-
planning). Haven't tried any, but they look interesting..
Check out savingdinner.com. I've used it for over a year and
what a difference !
- RK
The 6'oclock Scramble is GREAT! I have been using the website
now for about 6 months. Although, there is a cookbook too.
Also, I'm sure you'll get a lot of this one and that is
www.Saving Dinner.com also really good stuff. Both give you the
grocery lists and assist you in stocking the pantry.
I too was having a hard time with being ''Creative'' when
preparing meals for my family. Now, even my VERY PICKY 3 year
old eats new things!
Lovin' Home Cookin'!
Try ''Saving Dinner'' cookbook by Leanne Ely. She has other books,
too, like ''Saving the Holidays'' and I don't know what else. I
just have ''Saving Dinner.'' There are six meals per week, almost
always there is at least one fish meal, one crockpot meal per
week and the weeks are broken up into seasons. She does have a
shopping list at the beginning of each ''week'' detailing every
single ingredient you'll need, and has side suggestions as well.
She also has a website from which you can purchase weekly menus,
emailed to you: www.savingdinner.com.
One other cookbook that I like, which also refers to different
recipes as good sides (also in the book) is ''What's for Dinner?''
by M. Vollstedt.
Just one note: I feel like I could have written your post. This
is one of the things that my husband and I fight over quite a
bit, actually. I would be happy with a salad for dinner every
night but he's a carnivore, so I get stuck cooking stuff that, if
he doesn't like, just sits around.. yuck... I'm also looking
forward to other responses! :D
-a dinner-cooking-phobic!
I started using the book The Six o Clock Scramble and it has 5
meals per week broken down seasonally with weekly shopping lists.
It's quite handy. More details about my experience on
www.rookiemoms.com.
I have also heard good things about www.savingdinner.com but
haven't used it myself
Heather
I had the same issue with needing help w/ dinner ideas & found
''Saving Dinner'' very helpful as recommended on BPN. Check out
the website http://www.savingdinner.com/
You can subscribe to a weekly emailer, which gives you 6 day menu
along with the shopping list. I tried the free menu online & it
was pretty good. I opted to go buy the book, since I think it
comes out to be cheaper that way, and I download the shopping
list from the website, print it & write all over it as I shop.
The book also has the weekly menu, but I don't like to lug a book
to the supermarket. It's saved me a lot of time, particularly
shopping time & the headache of figuring out how to keep from
making the same boring foods over & over
Saved by the Book
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