A few months ago, I decided to update my paper-and-pen ways and try online planning again, with an old favorite, Plan to Eat.
Now, it needs to be said that I'm a lazy Plan to Eat user. I don't make use of all of its MANY features and tools, but I use it in a really simple manner, sticking to the Recipe and Planner components, not the Shopping Lists (which I know many people find extremely useful).
Nonetheless, my planning has begun to go a lot faster than it used to when I used pen and paper. I could previously spend anywhere from 30-60 minutes doing my planning, but the last few times I've planned have been more like 20-30 minutes. When you know that meal planning will take a minimum of your time, it's all the more motivating to do it regularly.
I was trying to figure out exactly what made Plan to Eat faster, and this is what I came up with:
- I can see my previous menus (if you use the Month view, not the Week view). This allows me to take any meals that didn't get made (because we had leftovers, or ended up going out somewhere, etc.) and just drag and drop them straight into my new week.
- I can take a regular breakfast schedule and double it in one minute. To do this, just go to the previous week and hover over the breakfast item. You will see two small boxes, one with a "-" and one with a "+". Click the "+" and that breakfast meal is doubled. Go along and double all of your breakfasts (30 seconds) then drag the extra ones straight down to the new week's menu (another 30 seconds).
- When I add recipes during the week, or sometimes I take 10 minutes to add several when I'm feeling inspired, I can stick things that I know I want to make soon into my Queue. This is a fancy word for "meals I want to make". When I start a new menu plan, I check my Queue first and add those to my plan right away. This fills up at least one or two spots in my plan with no thinking on my end.
- There are a lot of recipes that I have access to, between the Plan to Eat blog recipes (169 at present) and my 15 other friends (with whom I can share recipes). I can currently search through over 2000 recipes, based on tags, categories, etc. If I'm trying to fill a gap in my menu, instead of getting completely sidetracked by Pinterest or some other such dangerous place where time ceases to exist, I can just search these recipes and usually find something suitable.
(Want to be my friend on Plan to Eat? I'm "keeperofthehome" and you can request to share recipes with me. The more, the merrier!)
They keep making it better
Additionally, there are some new features, as Plan to Eat continues to listen to its users and make things even better than they already are!
- They have updated the shopping list feature again
- There's a trick for editing multiple items at once
- and I especially love the new bookmarklet tool for quickly adding in recipes that you stumble on as you browse the web!
To stay updated on new features and changes to the system, as well as find whole food recipes on the Plan to Eat blog, check out their Facebook page. I've noticed that they're very interactive with those who leave comments and ask questions, whether it's a feature that has you confused or simply something you would like to see them add or change, they really want to hear from their users.
Want to give it a try for free? Plan to Eat also offers a free 30 day trial!
Even better than a trial, though, is winning 1 of 3 one-year subscriptions to Plan to Eat!
Rather than simply leaving comments, I'm trying out a new method for entering giveaways. Click below to complete one Rafflecopter form, for all of your multiple entries, and then you're done!
**If you are reading this in an email newsletter: Please note that in order to enter, you will have to click the post title at the top of this email in order to visit the actual blog page, so that you can properly view the giveaway.
Giveaway ends at 11:59pm on Sunday, June 17, 2012.
I have been wanting to do this for a very long time. Hopefully I will will and that will kickstart my menu planning! Thanks for the opportunity!
My biggest goal this year with meal planning is to stick with the meal plan I make and dont eat out if we have something planned.
I need help...thats why it would be great to win!
We are trying to make the move to real food, while cutting our grocery budget (especially eating out!!!). Plan to Eat would definitely help with these goals.
I would love to win a Membership to Plan to Eat.
I just don't seem to have much time to plan our meals, and only too often I am spending hours in the kitchen, preparing the same list of meals that work for us. Help please!!
I am such a meal planning rebel, and my family really suffers. :( I need to change things.
I've been very curious about Plan to Eat. And every time you write about it, I'm just one step closer. :)
Awesome, meal planning could definitely be improved on here! :)
thanks for a chance to win!
I fail at menu planning. I would love to try Plan to Eat to see if it helps our home.
Wow, I have been meal planning for years but truly sometimes I dread it because it takes so much time even though it does save us money. This would be amazing to help me. I love the fact it keeps records of your last menus. How wonderful!
I would love this. Thank you for sharing this resource!
I would love a membership because I stink at meal planning. This would be great. :)
I try to plan every week..but it gets boring, would like a way to ix everything up
It would help so much to be more organized, truly have a plan - and I like that you can link up recipes that are found online!
As I work full time plus have a 20 month old and husband I really want to have a better plan to get cheap dinners on the table quickly at the end of the day.
This giveaway is perfect, I have been trying to lose weight for years and haven't been able to. I need to learn how to plan my meals and eat right, that is my biggest challenge. God bless you fro this giveaway and thanks
I plan dinner but want tobe better about planning breakfast and prep work.
been looking for some sort of meal/menu planner..would be great to give this site a try!
Just had a new baby and meal planning has not been happening. Maybe this will help?
I would like to have planned what I'm making for each meal at least 1 day in advance.
I plan to get better at it!
I recently started meal planning, but I'm not great at it. This membership would help a lot!
I've tried the 30 day trial but can't afford the actual subscription, so I know that plan to eat would work great for me. I have a disability that makes staying on top of the house a challenge, so anything that makes it easier is a winner.
I am making a commitment to my hubby to be wiser with our income at the grocery store! I think meal planning is definitely going to help me succeed with that!
I find that meal planning helps me to be more organized, a faster shopper which saves me time and it saves us a ton of money!!! I want those three things to be more prevalent in our home! :)
I really need to get organized with my meal planning, and I'm sure Plan to Eat would help!
I've tried E-Mealz, but it wasn't as versatile as this sounds. It sounds like you're able to custom fit the eating plan for your family's needs, which is great! I still haven't mastered meal planning, and it does take me a while (doing it pen and paper now) to even decide what to fix. Being pregnant makes it difficult too, since a lot of times nothing sounds good. Now that our first little one is on the way, I really need to learn to master meal planning! I'm trying to be a good time steward.
My goal is to keep up with planning by the month (which is really planning two weeks and then repeating them to complete the month). I like that I'm not having to do it every week and it simplifies grocery trips (1 large trip/month and several "refill" smaller trips on a bi-weekly basis). This would be a great tool!
This sure would help with meal planning. Would love to win.
to be able to feed my family, with a new baby around!
I am terrible at planning meals, and when I do I find it hard to stick to them. I need to create the habit of meal planning and sticking to it so I know what I need at the grocery store to make it easier staying on budget.
I think the membership would be great for me because I have zero creativity! I love being given options of things that I know work instead of having to come up with things myself.
This is awesome! I have been experimenting with some meal planning websites, but it does not seem to do the trick...
When I have a meal plan, I cut our grocery bill. Need to stay on top of this in order to budget well! Particularly will be helpful for breakfast and lunch, as we've transitioned to real food there are less grab and go options at home.
Am new to your blog and have joined at the right time :-) Love your summer giveaways and love your thoughts, ideas, opinions! Thanks.
I need so much help with meal planning! Maybe this would hold me accountible.
Planning for the family is complicated by two part-time jobs, two part-time students, one full-time job, one toddler and two housemates. Who will even be home for dinner? We definitely need a meal-planning help and I think this might be it!
We are adding a third baby this year, and I really think this would be a great fit for us in helping me be more efficient and organized at feeding my family healthy, real, food! Thanks so much!
This would be good for me to get organized since I am a very unorganized person!
I have no plan. I need a plan.
I try to plan out my meals on Sat or Sun, but don't always make it past a couple of days. I have yet to coordinate the meal plan with the shopping and inevitably about 50% of the time it becomes day to day. Would love to have a couple of weeks of whole food meals planned out!
I currently plan my menus on paper. While it works for me, I've found that keeping track on the computer would be so much more beneficial since all my other organising stuff is on the computer!
My meal planning goal for this year is to plan out 5 dinner ideas per week. We eat the same thing for breakfast usually. And we work at schools, so we eat school lunch (Korean school lunch is WAY better than American school lunch... just saying). That just leaves me with dinner
I want to get better at actually making the meals I plan instead of deciding last minute it doesn't sound so good as something else, and I need to work better at remembering to thaw meat the day before.
I've tried other on-line menu planners before and they never do everything I want them to do. I continually compare them to what Plan to Eat does. I would love a free subscription. I think it would help my family eat healthier by planning meals instead of grabbing junk food - especially important since I was just diagnosed with gestational diabetes!
My plans are to start doing more meal planning for breakfasts and lunches instead of just dinners.
I need ideas for dinner otherwise we end up in a rut. Also it would be nice to be able to use freezer items up
To help me with idea's for meals
My meal planning goal for this year is to consistently make a meal plan!
I plan my meals each Sunday and shop on Monday but i am bored with the meals we have. My goal is to try at least one new meal per week. Top priority is health and of course taste!