E-mealz, Making Meal Planning a Cinch

I was reading a blog the other day where a mom for a family of four who spends $300 dollars a month at the grocery store was trying to figure out how to cut her food budget. I just about fell out of my chair. I was impressed. I have no idea how to feed my family for so little. We do like the chips and cookies at our house. If I could just cut my food budget I'd be thrilled.

I struggle with meal times.

Actually I struggle more with meal planning. You know exactly what I mean. It's 5:30, you're standing in the kitchen alternating between opening the refrigerator and the pantry. You're praying a healthy, delicious meal idea jumps onto the stove for you and is ready in the next half hour.

Over the years I've made some progress in this area. I've tried fancy cookbooks that layout the week's menu. I've tried cook ahead meal planning. I've resorted to actually sitting down, meal planning for the week, shopping, and trying to cook it. Yet, I know I haven't been very cost effective in my methods.

It's the planning that gets to me.

Well, have I found a solution. And....the whole family loves it!

It's called e-mealz.com. You can pick from several different plans: regular, low-fat, low-carb, vegetarian, couples, and you can even pick where you shop. Then they give you a 7 meal plan for the week with an organized shopping list. I love the shopping list. It's organized by areas of the grocery store, it tells which meal each item goes for, and there's plenty of room for adding other things I need. It's reasonable cost-wise. Best of all, our family has loved the meals, and they're easy to cook. On one sheet of paper, that I tape inside a cabinet door, are the meals and how to prepare them for the week. I just downloaded the next two weeks of menus, and I'm excited. They look delicious.

Okay that's enough free advertising for the day. I've got to check to see what else I need from the grocery store and try to figure out the best place to buy a warm hooded fleece jacket. Apparently the warm coats I bought the boys last winter don't work, because you know they're puffy and warm looking. My boys would rather die of hypothermia than look warm.

But You'll Be Cold...

Good news! I'm back to worrying about if the kids did their homework or studied for their tests.

I'm one of those moms. I'm going to be one my whole life. You know, the ones who ask if you need a jacket when you're sweating.

"You might get cold waiting for the bus," I reason.

"Are you sure?" I ask, knowing the answer.

This morning, on cue, I asked if he wanted his jacket. He looked back with the hint of a grin, to judge my reaction, and declared,

"It's warm!"

I noticed the need for him to make his own decision and more importantly for me not to push my opinion. I lowered the unnecessary jacket and watched my growing boy/man head down the street towards the bus.

I pray I will see the opportunities for him to make his own choices to learn the lessons he needs to become a man. Choosing a jacket or not is so small compared to some of the choices he'll need to make in this lifetime. There will be much more difficult moments when he'll make choices I'll really want to protest. I pray God leads me to be the mother he needs to become a God seeking man.