UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed.
Congrats to Melissa macpaquette@… I will email you today to get your information!
I’ve been talking about meal planning a lot lately — and for good reason. The back-to-school and fall months are some of the busiest months in our house. Plus, with my crazy schedule, the addition of two new international students and a baby on the way, it is absolutely essential that I have our meals planned out ahead of time to resist impulse fast food and frozen pizza meals every night of the week!
Our new meal planning method is working wonderfully and has really helped me to simplify the entire process. Another important tool I’ve been using is a new meal planning service — Oh!Dinner.
Oh!Dinner was started by two young moms who were also looking to simplify and organize their homes, their lives, their kitchens, and their meal planning. They somehow managed to “do it all” and get food on the table every night — and now they have a great meal-planning website and blog and can help you to “do it all” too!
How it Works:
Oh!Dinner is one of the simplest meal planning systems I’ve ever seen {which is why I’m so happy to share it with you today!} Just follow this quick, 3-step process…
1. Log into your account and browse through their list of weekly recipes.
2. Choose the meals you want to eat by checking the box on the right.
3. Once you’ve chosen your meals, simply print/email the grocery list and recipes.
This is what it looks like once I log into my account — I just click on “Meal Plan” to create that weeks menu.
There are always 10 different recipe options to choose from so you can pick the ones your family will like best. And once you choose your recipes, you can print them off with just a click of your mouse. You can also print off a shopping list or email it to yourself {or your phone!}
Sounds simple enough… doesn’t it!
The Giveaway:
One lucky reader will win a FULL year Oh!Dinner meal planning membership!
Enter to Win:
Simply leave a comment with your best meal planning advice… OR with the thing that frustrates you the most about meal planning.
Sign Up:
Learn more about how Oh!Dinner works or sign up today and get two weeks FREE!
This contest is open until Wenesday, September 21, 2011, at 10:00 pm EST. ONE winner will be selected at random and announced later that week. Please read my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you might have. I received a complimentary membership for review, however all opinions are my own!
Anita says
I posted on FB too.
Anita says
My most frustrating thing is just not planning and then ending up having to come up with something during homework, phone calls, and sports :(. I would love this!
Jo Beth says
even though I know I need to plan, it is always pushed down on my to do list. It would be wonderful to have some new ideas for meal time
Lisa Anderson says
Plan-Plan-Plan! The best way to consistently provide a great family meal is to plan ahead of time. I have a monthly excel spreadsheet that I work out a whole month’s worth of meals on. Then I make my grocery list from the month’s menu. I always include our family’s favorites along with a few new ones to try.
Lisa Anderson says
Oh, and I posted on FB.
Catherine says
My biggest challenge with meal planning is dealing with appetites. I can have a whole week of dinners written down and purchased, but someone won’t like what I’m cooking or won’t be in the mood…and sometimes, I’m that someone! Thanks for the chance. This looks like a great tool for staying organized.
Jodie Daniel says
I created a magnetic meal planner stuck on my fridge, which worked well for a while. 4 weeks of meals with 28 magnets with different dinners. But no recipes and no shopping list. With another child (making it 3 now) I really need to get organised again and start planning meals. The Oh!Dinner plan sounds like a great idea!
Danielle says
I try to plan menus but get frustrated with the process when it seems like I can only come up with the same recipes over and over!
Sommer says
I plan our meals to go along with our schedules for the week. This way I know on Mondays when my son has speech and we get home late that I need to plan a crock-pot meal and sides that are quick and simple. This helps keep me from having to make last minute changes because we don’t have as much time to eat or we need to eat later or I have less prep time than normal.
Juliet says
My best meal planning advice is to use your crock pot. I love mine and find that it really saves me time in the day.
What a great giveaway, thanks.
Elena says
What frustrates me is the amount of time it takes to plan out the meals for the week. The times I’ve done it, I’ve been super happy with the results, but making the time has been tough and extremely frustrating. Would love to try out Oh! Dinner.
Heather says
The thing that frustrates me is thinking of meals I’m not tired of, and planning around the rest of my life, because I have random meetings or events in the evenings sometimes, then end up eating junk or getting take out because the meal I intended to have takes too long.
Laura says
What frustrates me most about meal planning is trying to come up with meals that are healthy and that my two picky boys (and picky husband) will eat!
Maryjane says
With back to school just starting and trying to find our grove between homework and extra curricular activities, I haven’t been able to stay on track with meal planning … This would be awesome.
Annie says
I love having food in the freezer that I’m able to include in my weekly meal plan. Thanks to you, Andrea, for your tips on getting my freezer stocked! Reducing prep time in the late afternoon/early evening is so beneficial for me.
Jenn says
I use Google calendar to organize my life – including meal planning. Each day’s dinner goes on there with the link to the online recipe if there is one. I share the calendar with my husband so he knows what’s for dinner each night. Plus, it’s easy to check the night before (or from work, or on my cell phone) to see if there’s anything to do or pick up ahead of time. And, it’s easy to see what I have planned in months (or years) past which helps me come up with ideas each week. Oh, and I LOVE my crockpot!
Rachelle says
I go through my recipe folder and pick a few recipes for the week. Then I make my list and get the ingredients. I write the recipes on a white board on my fridge, so when it comes time to make dinner, I can just choose which recipe I’m in the mood for that night.
Sara says
The most frustrating thing to me. I have a wonderful meal plan set up for the week and hubby asks whats for dinner. Being so organised I check my list excited that I have an answer for him without having to even think about it. Then the response I get – ” I don’t feel like that, what else can we have?”.
Jenny C. says
What frustrates me? First, cooking has always been a challenge for me, plus even when I do plan it seems my plans get changed for reasons I can’t control or the fam isn’t crazy about my “effort.”. Dinner is one of my biggest challenges so I’d LOVE to win. Thanks for entering me! Jenny C.
Nina says
My best meal planning advice is that when I make a meal that can be frozen, I just make multiple at the same time and freeze the extra! That way I get all the pans etc…. out and dirty only one time! This new site you’ve found looks amazing though!
colette says
OH BOY I want this. It would be very helpful to me & my busy. It is nice it is all in one place
Suzanne says
The most frustrating thing for me about meal planning is the planning and organizing. I get all excited about doing it and it only last maybe a month because I get in a rut with recipes. I have limited time to plan for meals with working 40+ hours/week and busy with 3 kids. So we need to have something simple enough that my husband can do.
Shelly says
I really struggle with organizing meals and finding recipes that work for us. This sounds like such a great help.
Miranda says
I don’t menu plan so I often get frustrated at meal time. I get frustrated when I always feel like I make the same things.
ErinK. says
My biggest frustration is a husband who hates to try anything new and thinks that corn and potaotes are the only two veggies on earth. My sons and I get so tired of eating the same thing, but I really don’t want to cook 2 or 3 different meals! Thanks for a chance to win.
Holly F. says
My family is very picky – but each person is different in what they will eat. My husband won’t eat anything white and creamy, daughter #2 won’t eat anything tomato based, etc. What I do (which takes some thought) is cook one thing my husband will eat, with extras for leftovers on nights he doesn’t love what we are having, then I cook what my daughter will eat, etc. I’m tired of the juggling! I also have the rule that if they won’t eat what I am making, they can make a peanut butter sandwich and eat a fruit or veggie. I would love some new ideas!
Amanda says
My most frustrating part is variety. I feel like I’m making the same thing over and over and over… so after 2 weeks of doing good, I’m out of ideas…and I don’t want a week of new recipes to try!
Jamie C. says
The most frustrating part of meal planning for me is adding variety. I get stuck with the same 10 meals or so and just end up rotating them every couple weeks. It’d be nice to have some new ideas that I can choose from easily, without having to go and search for them!
michelle says
Planning meals are really frustrating for me this time of year. My kids sport schedule is kind of crazy. Everyone is home at different times. A meal planning service would be amazing!
I also posted on facebook.
erin says
i don’t have facebook, but i shared it on twitter! http://twitter.com/#!/mrs_slay/status/115075129955975168
erin says
i love meal planning– i usually keep a month’s worth of meals available at a time, but i’ve been too busy to do that lately– between my 9-to-5 job, my evening college classes i teach, and the school i take myself to finish my master’s i don’t even have time to plan a week at a time! i’d love to use this service to plan meals quickly and online!
Tammy says
What a neat service. I’m trying another option right now but find I only make about one meal per week they offer. It would be great to pick and have the shopping list generated still! That is the one thing my recipe binder can’t do 🙂
Gale M says
We’ve recently started making freezer meals on saturdays and i definitely need more ideas. What a time/decision saver this would be! My daughter and I love to cook for family but often crunched for time with work; no time to plan let alone cook when getting home. I can almost guarantee a daily call at 445pm asking what to make for dinner and often we decide to eat out. this would be a great addition to helping plan week ahead instead of day to day. thanks for opportunity to try and win!
Shawna Cevraini says
Treat yourself while you plan: Sit down for a quiet 15 minutes, grab a cup of coffee (or whatever your comfort beverage is!), and enjoy the time as you make your plan. Keep the plans in a binder or on the computer so that you can reuse them!
Sharon says
I am very right-brained, but I’m slowly working towards having meal planning in advance. It really is making a difference regarding resorting to take-out or eating out, so it’s helping us save money and eat healthier. I’d love to try this meal planning service!
Donna G says
I have started a binder of recipes organized by category (chicken, fish, beef, bread, veggies, desserts and cookies are there too) and as I try the recipes, they get a green Sharpie check in the top right corner. If we don’t think they are fabulous, they are discarded. The recipes are ones I have found on the Internet, or on packages or in magazines. Then I TRY to plan a week (or better yet, two) of meals in advance. I have a spreadsheet template divided by day, and it has a second page where I can make a grocery list of things I don’t have. I’m still working on making the plans consistently, but it’s getting better.
Dee says
I know I should meal plan but somehow it doesn’t happen! Maybe this would help. Thanks!
Jessica (thesavingmom) says
I have taken advantage of the sale on notebooks around school time. I use different color notebooks for keeping different type of recipes based on time. Then if something comes up and I need to change my meal plan I can grab my quick book and make something out of there without having to think too much or just feed my family junk. The thing that frustrates me most is when someone uses something I had on the plan for the week and suddenly it’s not there (not that I’m blaming anyone in particular 🙂 ) I would so love to get things more computerized. It would be nice to not have to hand-write everything.
Becky Higbee says
Posted to FB!!
Becky Higbee says
Meal planning frustrates me because I get sick of coming up with different meals that we are not getting sick of eating! (Ex. oh, tacos again!!) This would be so helpful and offer many new meal ideas to my household!!
Deni says
I have started a meal planning binder with our favorite meals to go to. If I make a new recipie and my family all likes it, I add it to the notebook. I have different categories of different meats and themes. It helps me plan!