My Saving Grace

People often times ask me what was the hardest thing to get use to going from a childless couple to a family of 5 over night. For me, it was definitely meal preparation and cooking! Billy and I usually ate out. Well, that just isn't feasible with 3 little ones. First of all, it is not healthy and costs a small fortune. Then during the school week, we simply don't have time on our side.


I had never been a cook. I always managed to mess up even the most simple recipes. Better yet, I NEVER had all the ingredients to do a complete meal. So in the beginning (and now), it really stressed me out thinking about feeding three little growing kids. Plus, I didn't want to load them up with a lot of processed frozen rubber...I mean food. So this meant that I would have to learn how to cook all while coping with all the other changes going on in my life.


So at 33 years old, I embarked on learning how to cook. Fortunately, the kids were not picky and loved almost everything! However my saving grace was getting a subscription to E-Mealz. I was recommended their website from an adoption forum that I frequent. Many of the mothers on there had tried it and recommended it. It is roughly $12 for a three month subscription. I select the grocery store that I want to shop and the meal plan and they post that week's menu and shopping list. The great thing about the E-Mealz is that they shop your store's sales ads for you and then compile that weeks meals based off of it. Their menu never goes over a certain dollar amount so you always know how much you should expect to spend each week on groceries. Plus they include a very detailed shopping list for you so you don't have to make any unnecessary trips back to the grocery store. I am forever grateful for E-Mealz and feel that it was truly Heaven sent to me. Now my family eats tasty balanced meals on a budget. Not only do I love but so does Billy and the kids. They are always excited to find out what we are having for dinner now! Check out their website at http://www.e-mealz.com/.