Meal Planning Made Easy

baleighcakes
baleighcakes Posts: 28 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hello,

I would like free weekly dinner plans using one (relatively short) grocery list featuring low calorie meals on a budget for 2 people.

The closest things I could find are here: http://www.allyou.com/food/one-list-five-meals
...but the number of servings for each meal are all over the place, which skews the grocery list amounts necessary, if you know what I mean. I guess I'm just too lazy to do all the math for each recipe and make an accurate list around the new serving amounts. Plus, I think I'm too picky of an eater for a lot of these suggestions.

Does anyone know of anything better? Or maybe a paid service that's definitely worth the money? If I had to build the ultimate wish list, it would be:
1. Customizable size of menus (ex. one week, 6 dinners)
2. One relatively short (as in the recipes share many ingredients) grocery list for the week/month/whatever you pick
3. Low calorie meals (customizable by diet plan)
4. Customizable serving size options
5. Groceries that sync up with your favorite store's weekly sales ad (plus coupons)
6. Customizable difficulty/time options (ex. quick and low skill recipes)
7. Options for special diets (ex. low cholesterol)
8. Options to omit disliked ingredients

I'm pretty sure either an all-in-one service like this doesn't exist, or it's mad expensive (for membership or whatever).
Please bear with me and my naivety/extreme lack of prep skills. I've been eating out every day for years.

Replies

  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    onceamonthmeals.com - they have several meal plans - including diet. With the paid service you can mix and match recipes between menus. You customize the number of servings and it spits out a shopping list, prep instructions, cooking instructions, labels. I have a tiny freezer so I just do the mini-menus and it works out great for me.
  • TravelsWithHuckleberry
    TravelsWithHuckleberry Posts: 955 Member
    Look at eMeals.com -- they have a low calorie plan and you can opt for recipes that are for 1-2 people. Recipes within the plan are marked as "super fast," "on the grill," "slow cooker," "vegetarian," etc.

    Unfortunately, this is the only plan (and they have a dozen or so) that gives nutritional info. Supposedly they're going to add it to their other plans soon. They don't have the option to avoid certain ingredients.

    Food has been very good so far.

    My sister found a Groupon or LivingSocial deal, so you could keep an eye out to see if you can get a discount on this (or other services).
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    You can try http://www.eatthismuch.com/
    which works with macros and cals.

    I don't meal plan though. I make recipes in large batches and eat until it's gone, or make things in bulk and mix and match the items as desired.
  • baleighcakes
    baleighcakes Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks everyone, these all look great!

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