I’ve come to a point in my existence where I have to take the responsibility for feeding my family (and myself) right seriously. This requires planning. Like, ahead of time. Also, I’d like to be able to store recipes of my own and from the 'net. A site like the gardening planning ones, only for meals.
I’ve seen a few sites that say they are meal planning sites but what they really are are buy-our-stuff-it’ll-make-you skinny or smart or strong or free of any glutens. A plain vanilla site without too many distracting . . things? Does anyone have any recommendations?
It’s not a planner and it’s a little pricey, but I’ve been using Blue Apron for the last few months and it’s been wonderful.
Basically once a week they send you an insulated box with pre-measured fresh ingredients for a set of meals. The meals will usually use one interesting technique or unusual ingredient, but all of it is accessible to an average chef. The recipes are printed on beautiful cards that give some background on the meal and provide photo illustrations for each step. The meals take around 35 minutes to make and usually have around 600 calories. Most of them are very tasty, and all use plenty of fresh produce.
For someone like me, who sucks at shopping and HATES food waste, it’s perfect.
The disadvantage is that you don’t get a lot of choice, so it’s not great for allergies or picky eaters. And the portions are enough for dinner; but you won’t get extensive leftovers out of it. I usually have just enough left over to pack for lunch the next day.
PM me if you would like to try it- I have a few free meals to give away.
We got a free week of Blue Apron for Christmas. We haven’t used it yet, but I’ve actually made a few of the recipes on their site using my own ingredients and they’ve all been very good.