This giveaway is now closed.
I am a huge advocate for meal planning — not only to help stretch our small grocery budget, but also to simplify and organize our weeknight routine {and honestly, would doesn’t need to stretch their budget or simplify weekday meals?}
I’m also a big fan of digitizing every piece of paper I can — including recipes.
If you are like me, then you’ll LOVE Plan to Eat’s simple, electronic, and really convenient online meal-planning services.
Plan to Eat simplifies meal planning in 3 steps..
#1. Import, Organize, and Share your Recipes.
Not only can you type in all your favorite recipes and access them from any computer with internet access, you can also search and IMPORT recipes from your favorite blogs or cooking websites to make meal planning that much easier!
#2 Create your monthly meal plan.
Quickly and easily drag and drop recipes from your Recipe Book to create your monthly meal plan. You can even add additional ingredients, make notes, change the number of servings, and then print and export your meal plan to other calendar programs to sync your meal plan with your schedule.
#3 Create customized grocery lists based on your meal plan and pantry staples
The Shopping List is where all your hard work pays off as it automatically combines and categorizes ingredients from the recipes that are on your meal plan.
That’s it!
Getting the system setup and adding your favorite recipes is the most time-consuming part. But once the recipes are stored in your Plant to Eat recipe box, you can simply drag and drop the meals to your calendar, make any adjustments to your grocery lists, and you’re ready to go.
Simple and organized!
Want to Win?
Plan to Eat is offering THREE lucky Simple Organized Living readers a chance to win a one-year membership! {a $39 value}
All you have to do is leave a comment below with the most difficult part of meal planning for you.
Plan to Eat is also offering a free 30-day trial so that you can all try it for yourself!
This contest is open until Thursday, April 21, 2011, at 10:00 pm EST. THREE winners will be selected via Random.org and announced on Friday, April 22. Please read my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you might have.
Erin Weber says
As a busy mom anything I can do to make my life easier is great! Thanks for coming to our mops group today and speaking! God Bless!
Bekah says
The hardest part of meal planning for me is actually executing the meal plan. I can make the plan, get the groceries, but then the week gets crazy, and there is inevitably something easier (hello, PBJ!!) to make on a given night.
Stacey says
Trying to find something that everyone will eat
Melissa says
Finding my recipes so I don’t just make tacos or spaghetti every night! 🙂
SalBug says
I love to meal plan. My biggest challenge is creating variety for me and my husband while satisfying the tastes of a 5-year-old. I refuse to make separate meals, so compromising can be tricky.
Laura says
The hardest part for me is finding a variety of meals that my husband and I both enjoy! While also trying to keep it healthy!
Katie says
The hardest part for me can be coming up with a variety of meals to eat. I often feel like we eat the same rotation of meals!
Andrea Watts says
Most difficult thing for me is having all the ingredients for the recipe. I’m always out when I go to make it and I’m very disorganized.
Leone says
For me the most difficult part of meal planning is variety and keeping it healthy. I tend to get stuck in a rut. Plus I love having a couple of meatless meals during the week but my family thinks it’s not dinner without meat.
Jenn D. says
Making up the grocery list! I always have great meal ideas when looking into the fridge, but seem to be short one or two key ingredients. I need to learn to plan the week’s meals in advance rather than just grabbing the usual from the grocery store or market!
Taffy says
I have a problem not always following my menu then overspending on quick items like pizza 🙂
A C Stewart says
I easily get caught in a rut and fix the same ole things.
Christy says
I think the toughest part for me is coming up with the meals we are going to eat for the week. Making sure we aren’t having spaghetti 5 times in the month and remembering some that we tried and liked but aren’t in my list of favorites yet. I’ve tried making a list to help, but it’s still a struggle.
Renee says
cooking for two and eating the left overs for the rest of the week!!
Jennifer Madigan says
The hardest part of meal planning is that I coupon shop. Most of the sites that I’ve seen that help with meal planning require you to use their recipies and that’s hard when I don’t just run to the store and buy everything that they require. I like the idea of being able to upload my own recipies.
Sarah says
The hardest part for me is coming up with 7 meals that aren’t the same ones from week to week. Seems to be a theme with everyone!
Jamie C. says
The hardest part for me is that I always get in these ruts where we eat the same things over and over again. I try to plan my meals a week at a time, but I usually run out of ideas half way through because I don’t have all of my choices in front of me! To have them all right there would be great!
Liddia says
The hardest part for me is not making the same thing all the time and making things that my picky husband and [icky daughter will eat. Luckily, our son will eat anything!
Fiona says
Breaking the monotony of our repertoire of family meals. I’ve tons of recipe books but just seem to trundle out the same meals, month after month. Help!!
Sarah Blight says
Figuring out what sounds good and we’re in the mood for a week ahead is difficult for me.
Lauren S. says
Learning how to add variety and flavor without blowing my budget is the hardest part.
Vanderbilt Wife says
I hate deciding what to make and trying to make things that have ingredients that I can buy on sale. I hate clipping coupons … Pretty much I just like the cooking. And the eating!
Erin says
For me the hardest part is being organized and actually plan the meals.
Brea says
I have a hard time deciding what recipes go well together, and I’d like to figure out how to make the most of leftovers! 🙂
Dee says
Oh my goodness, I have tried and failed SO many times at meal planning. It’s just hard for me! Maybe this would be the answer.
Mikki says
I’m new to your site! Love it and LOVE this idea!! Count me in!!
Allison says
I actually plan meals very well. My problem is that I’m constantly trying to reinvent the wheel….I use new recipes all the time. This might sound like a good idea, but when you’re a busy mom with a lot on the agenda, it’s good to have some go-to recipes, at your fingertips. At your suggestion, I checked out Plan to Eat the other day and loved the site! I love that there is one place to keep all the recipes that you use, and have a handy reference for the days when you have a little more time to be creative and try out a new recipe.
Michelle says
For me, and our large family, it is not getting bored with our regulars. I love meal planning and am a huge advocate of it! I don’t know how we would eat well and under budget if I did not! Thanks for this opportunity.
Tammy aka @Tammy_Skipper says
I think the hardest part of meal planning for me is making sure we actually get all of the ingredients we need. Invariably, we will end up with one non-substituable ingredient missing!
Juliet says
Meal planning for me is a completely foreign concept. When I think about sitting down and figuring out what we will eat for the next week it is just daunting. I think having something where I can input what I like, and then just drop meals in as plan for a grocery trip will make the task less overwhelming.
Rana says
I love Plan to Eat. I pay monthly but I would love to win a years subscription. The hardest thing for me was taking the time to make the menu. But now using Plan to eat it takes me no time at all. I make my menu for the whole month it’s a great time saver.
Sue says
Finding meals that incorporate vegetables in tasteful ways for the little mouths at our table that always just want the bread and applesause options.
Laura says
Deciding what food to make
Jennifer S says
Deciding what I want in advance…sometimes i plan and then have NO desire to eat the recipes! Or I crave something I didn’t plan for.
sabriena says
Coming up with good cheap meals.
Krissa says
Coming up with good, yummy meals.
Stacey says
Coming up with cheap meals that work with a weight watchers lifestyle
Abby says
Coming up with meals…that my family will eat!
Sarah says
Making a variety of simple but yummy meals. I feel like we are always eating the same thing.
Marci says
The actual deciding what to make.