Want to know one of my “secrets to success” when it comes to being a #fitmomof7? You might have guessed it. Meal Planning!
There are soooo many crazy, unexpected things that can happen in our day. If I don’t have a solid plan in place, we’re likely having cold cereal or frozen waffles for dinner. That’s not good for my energy level or my waistline! Also not good for keeping my Littles off the tantrum wagon. (Can I get a witness??) Have you ever noticed your kids clawing the cabinets for more cereal, more crackers, allll the carbs and processed foods?! It’s a real addiction! But that’s a conversation for another day. My point here is simple: everyone eats better when Mom has a plan!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t relish reinventing the wheel. It’s just not a smart use of time! For years I wasted so much time creating and re-creating the same meal plans over and over again. Digging around for familiar recipes, choosing a handful of recipes to make that week, compiling all the ingredients into a shopping list, and so on. If I had just had a system to streamline this process, I could have spent hours more time each month playing with my kids or pursuing my passions instead of meal planning. I think I knew this all along, and I even tried some meal planning subscriptions, but I never found just the right tool. Until now!
Plan to Eat combines all the elements I would want in a meal planning app!
Plan to Eat allows you to create a virtual recipe library! I’m working to reduce paper clutter in my house so I love this. You can easily import or “clip” recipes from just about any website, or you can manually enter recipes like Momma’s Spaghetti Sauce, Nonie’s Meatloaf or my hubby’s favorite nachos that I just throw together. You can categorize and tag your recipes for easy searching. And you can decide whether you want your recipe library to be public, friends only, or private. You can also share your recipes with friends, which I have plans to do for you here on this blog!
Plan to Eat gives you a calendar where you can schedule recipes for each meal of every day of the month. I typically just schedule 4-5 dinners per week, allowing for leftovers and occasional dining out. Bonus: for those days when life happens and you deviate from your plan, you can simply reschedule your recipes with a drag & drop feature! You can also create recipe sets that allow you to fill in a whole week (or month) at a time with a set menu if you tend to make the same meals in rotation.
Plan to Eat pulls the ingredients from your scheduled recipes and automatically compiles your shopping list for you! You can easily add other staples like bread, milk, bananas, and toilet paper. Then delete the items you already have in your kitchen (salt, pepper, water, flour) and voila! You’re ready to go to the store! The Plan to Eat mobile app has terrific functionality and because it’s a web-based program, any changes you make on your phone will immediately be reflected on your computer. And vice versa!
I’m not exaggerating when I say this meal planner has CHANGED MY LIFE! I’ve been using it for 9 months, and every week I am still amazed at how quickly & easily I get the meal planning, list making, and grocery ordering done! You can use my link to get a 30 day free trial and see what all the fuss is about. If you love it, please comment and let me know! Plan to Eat Free Trial
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