This is NOT a paid review. I just LOVE this so much, I HAD to tell you about it! I have included affiliate links below. When you purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission. Thank you for supporting this site and our sponsorship of our Compassion child, Samson!
Raise your hand if meal planning is one of your biggest struggles as school starts up again!
Summer is kind of a free-for-all when it comes to food around here – snacking, late dinners, leftovers. But our school schedule along with extra activities demands that I be more structured. And my grocery budget thanks me for it as well.
When it comes to meal planning, I have tried EVERYTHING. Calendars, lists, pen & paper, digital, binders…seriously, I have tried it all in an effort to stay more on track with food prep and budget.
I honestly scrolled right past the tweets and posts about Plan to Eat when they first popped up because I didn’t think it could be any different or better than all the things I had already tried. And I really wasn’t interested in a paid meal planning service.
But the 30-day free trial reeled me in, and before a week had even passed, I was hooked.
Plan to Eat is different than other meal planning options and works well for our family for several reasons:
1. We are picky eaters. We do not do well with someone else sending a menu to prepare for the week. Plan to Eat is for YOUR favorite recipes.
2. When I want new recipe ideas, I want them from a friend who has actually tried them and loves them. Plan to Eat has a social aspect – find your friends on the service, browse their recipes, and add the ones you want to try to your recipes!
3. I find the majority of my recipes online, from friends’ blogs or social media posts or on Pinterest, and I want to have all those great recipes organized in one place. Plan to Eat makes it very easy to add recipes directly from a website or blog post with copying and pasting the whole thing! There is even a bookmark you can add to your browser’s tool bar to click on and automatically add a recipe!
4. The $39 annual fee is SO small compared to most online services. And I’m sure I’ve saved that much on groceries by being more organized! {And stay tuned later in this post for a way to get it for even less…}
I could go on and on about my adoration for Plan to Eat, but I really think you just have to try it to see how much you’ll love it. Really – go sign up for the 30-day FREE trial, find me on there {homewiththeboys}, and start
If you get in there and feel a little overwhelmed about where to start, feel free to ask any questions by email, Facebook, Twitter, whatever! My friend Kat wrote an AWESOME series on using Plan to Eat, so I’m not going to reinvent the wheel! She covers everything!
To celebrate the start of the school year and help you get back on track, I have a super special Plan to Eat treat ONLY for you, my friends! Check this out…
You MUST take advantage of this now! I don’t think you’ll even need until August 31st to decide to go all in!
And there’s more!
We’re giving away TWO one-year meal planning subscriptions to Plan to Eat, each valued at $39! Thank you PTE! We love you!
I am definitely pen and paper. I tried Emeals but we’re too picky to use most of the meals on their program. I love this idea!
Wow. This looks great. I’ve tried different plans before and failed miserably. Thanks for the recommendation!
I have never tried meal planning outside of me just picking out meals for a week. But, with 2 boys and being a nanny to another little girl. I feel the need to make it easier! This looks great!
I do all, but mostly paper and pencil. I have little boys and I nanny another little girl. I need some help!!
Thank. You. As a single mom, most planning sites just did not work for me and my daughter. My employer offered one once and I gave it a whirl. Major fail. I was sent recipes that included foods I WAS ALLERGIC TO! (question was asked when I signed up) Definitely going to give thirty days on this one a try.
I would like to get into meal planning and this sounds like it could work for me and my family. Thanks!
I’ve always hesitated due to the cost – this would be a great blessing! Thanks for the opportunity!
I love Plan to Eat, too! I’ve been using it for over a year now and couldn’t live without it!
I’ve tried a few things but none have really stuck. Often times we end up flying by the seat of our pants. I actually had a Plan To Eat subscription that I let lapse a few weeks ago. I had kind of gotten off track with planning and was wondering how useful it had really been. Turns out it was very helpful. Dinner has been sneaking up on me these days and I find I either don’t know what to make or don’t have what I need to make what I want. So, yes, PTE was very helpful!
I’ve most recently subscribed to a meal planning service, but it was only a month before we were sick of the meals. This sounds much more appealing!
I’ve struggled with meal planning for a long time. Either too expensive or too involved or too rigid…this sounds like it could be good for us. Would love to win! Thank you for sharing.
I am a pencil and paper gal, utilizing a grid with each day and meal on it usually. But here lately (Summer break) I have been only planning dinner on a dry erase board.