eMeals-a-Million

Well I suppose it is time to update you all on my eMeals plan!

When I signed up I joined the "low calorie" plan to help balance my nutrition and portion sizes during this pregnancy. The start was a little rough as a few of the meals were, well lets just say, interesting.

Chipotle Meatballs over Rice

The first week of groceries came out to around 85$ for the ingredients listed. I found this to be a little high from their estimation of $50-$75 per week. Then I realized that this was because I had to buy several staple items that I did not have in my kitchen (ex: Canola oil, spices, etc...).

My next hurdle was that I did not have a need for all seven meals provided. This was quickly remedied by crossing out the items on the list that were numbered for the meals we weren't using. I'm finding my collection of recipes has grown enormously - it's almost overwhelming! I am, however, storing my favorites away in my personal recipe box to use at a later time.

Baked Chicken over Chickpeas and Cherry Tomatoes

My second week of groceries came out to about 65$ and this included not just eMeal ingredients, but also my other meal items as well (ex: milk, eggs, bread, etc...). This seems a lot more reasonable than the first week.

The meals have become a little more inviting and, well, normal. We've had bacon wrapped chicken, steak, pork chops, and some vegetarian varieties also. I like that this meal plan is high protein/veggies and low carb. Most meals take an average of 30-40 minutes to prepare/cook and my recipes always inform me when I need to pre-marinade or chill an item. 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with a Chilled Pea Salad

One special thing I have noticed is when a recipe calls for a quantity that is SMALLER than the sold quantity, a recipe later in the week will use up the rest of that ingredient so I am less wasteful. Also, shopping with such a thorough list has helped me to not purchase unnecessary or larger-than-needed items. I must note that we need to take the garbage out a little less now!

eMeals is helping me to come out of my comfort zone with cooking but not to the point of being wasteful with my time. I'm enjoying trying new flavors or combinations that I never would have thought of. 

Pork Chops with Strawberry Balsamic topping

So far I would rate my eMeals experience at a 4 out of 5 stars. What would make it five star? An iPad app!