E-Mealz

When my younger brother & sister-in-law came to stay with us over the holidays, they mentioned that they’ve been using http://www.e-mealz.com/ to help save money and try new meal ideas.  After they told us about it, it seemed like I kept hearing about it everywhere.  Basically, you pay E-Mealz $1.25 a week to get weekly meal plans, either for a family of four or a family of two.  And you can choose from a variety of grocery stores that you shop at (Walmart, Aldi, Kroger/Baker’s) and a variety of specialty plans (low fat, gluten-free, Weight Watchers, etc).  Total grocery costs vary from week to week, but they try to stay in the $75 / week for a family of 4 (7 meal plans) and $35 / week for a family of 2 (5 meal plans).  You download the meal plans and the grocery shopping list together each week.  Meals are generally quick and simple.  E-Mealz was founded by moms, so it’s family-friendly.

I’m not sure this will work for us, as we have difficult eating issues (no cheese, gluten-free for now) and a pretty tight budget - $40 for 5 meals would be too expensive.  (I know that’s a shock to some of you that currently spend more than that, but we’re pretty lean on our food budget.)  If it ranged closer to $30 for 5 meals, I’d probably go for it, just to try out some new meals and have them planned for me.  But from the sample meal plans / shopping lists I’ve seen on their website, it looks like closer to $40 for the healthier options especially.  Time savings is always a factor too, though.  So for some that may be the greatest benefit.  And not having to come up with your own meal ideas. 

E-Mealz is Dave Ramsey-approved.  I’m not sure how I feel about him just yet, but I know a lot of people are followers of his.  So if you’re one of those, you should know that he’s involved since that might up the anty for you some.

Have you tried E-Mealz?  What’s your take?