We all could use a little more organization in our lives, especially when it comes to meals. While some do it to save money, I need it to stay sane. I recently had the chance to review the MyFreezEasy.com Freezer Meal Plan Membership from Erin Chase's MyFreezEasy. Did it change my life?
The purpose of the plan is to combine some of the aspects of batch cooking (if you want), meal planning, and freezer cooking. I assumed at first that this was a slow-cooker meal planning service, and while there are slow cooker meals, that is just one aspect of the service.
When you sign up, you'll get access to quite a few meal plans right away. 8 meal plans are delivered right to your inbox, and they keep coming throughout the subscription. You are promised that you can prepare 10 meals from any meal plan in an hour. If you have all the ingredients on hand, a somewhat clean kitchen, and focus to get that done, it is actually true!
How do you use the plans? There are many options. You can check out this month's meal plans (October 2016 in this case). It included such yummy recipes as Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos and Slow Cooker Red Pepper Chicken. You had the option to choose from one or all of the following themed plans:
For each meal plan, there is also a link to download and print the labels for each meal as you make it. (I usually use a Sharpie marker, so this was an upgrade to my existing process.)
It's important to note that, once the month is over, you will not have access to all the recipes, so download what you want in the month they are available. New recipes are added all the time, and some recipes aren't reintroduced for awhile. If you want all of October's recipes (even those for plans you don't use often) download it now!
One of the best parts of this plan is the ability to mix and match. You can customize a meal plan with just the recipes you like. This is good news for picky families like me. Let's say that I want to use up a bunch of ground beef that's on sale from the store. I can choose to use all of the ground beef recipes. But what if my family doesn't like a major component of one of the meals? We can swap it out with something from another list. It's pretty brilliant and easy to use -- even on a smart phone!
This is called "Build Your Own Meal Plan". It works like this:
1. Select your preferences from the big list. Choose type of protein, cooking method, or dietary preferences. (In this example I'll choose ground beef.)
2. All of the ground beef recipes available for the month are shown. Pick the ones you want to make. Drag and drop those into the meal plan box.
3. Review the list of recipes, and print! You'll get the chance to go back and add more recipes from other categories before you do this, though. Once you have all the recipes you'll use for the week or month, you can print it all out in one big menu plan! (It will download as a PDF that you can store on your PC or print right away.)
The plan will include all the recipes, assembly instructions, cooking and serving directions, the shopping lists for all the meals, and time expected to do everything. I love that it all prints out in one big organized list!
(Note: While everything is combined into a big plan, each ingredient and prep item is broken out by recipes. So, if you have 3 recipes using 2 pounds of ground beef each, you'll have "2 pounds of ground beef" on your shopping list 3 times. This isn't a big deal, but you'll want to add up all of the same items before you head to the store for easier shopping. The same goes for meal prep. I wouldn't brown ground beef in 3 small batches; I would combine the meat into one skillet and make it all at once.)
Could this make meal planning easy? In a word: yes. I don't do a good job of this right now, and it is definitely a quick way to up my game. I also really love that the recipes come with PHOTOS! I don't like making anything that I can't see how it will turn out. Having clear, beautiful recipes of what I"ll be making is key. I can't imagine blindly following a meal plan, and MyFreezEasy doesn't make me do that.
You can get started with this membership (including access to all the recipes, directions, tutorial videos, and more) for $10 a month or $95 a year! (With the annual plan, you get 2 months free!)
Find MyFreezEasy on social via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
The purpose of the plan is to combine some of the aspects of batch cooking (if you want), meal planning, and freezer cooking. I assumed at first that this was a slow-cooker meal planning service, and while there are slow cooker meals, that is just one aspect of the service.
When you sign up, you'll get access to quite a few meal plans right away. 8 meal plans are delivered right to your inbox, and they keep coming throughout the subscription. You are promised that you can prepare 10 meals from any meal plan in an hour. If you have all the ingredients on hand, a somewhat clean kitchen, and focus to get that done, it is actually true!
How do you use the plans? There are many options. You can check out this month's meal plans (October 2016 in this case). It included such yummy recipes as Bacon Cheeseburger Nachos and Slow Cooker Red Pepper Chicken. You had the option to choose from one or all of the following themed plans:
- Traditional
- Gluten-Free
- Slow Cooker
- Clean Eats
- 10 Meals
- All Chicken
- All Ground Beef
- All Pork Chops
For each meal plan, there is also a link to download and print the labels for each meal as you make it. (I usually use a Sharpie marker, so this was an upgrade to my existing process.)
It's important to note that, once the month is over, you will not have access to all the recipes, so download what you want in the month they are available. New recipes are added all the time, and some recipes aren't reintroduced for awhile. If you want all of October's recipes (even those for plans you don't use often) download it now!
One of the best parts of this plan is the ability to mix and match. You can customize a meal plan with just the recipes you like. This is good news for picky families like me. Let's say that I want to use up a bunch of ground beef that's on sale from the store. I can choose to use all of the ground beef recipes. But what if my family doesn't like a major component of one of the meals? We can swap it out with something from another list. It's pretty brilliant and easy to use -- even on a smart phone!
This is called "Build Your Own Meal Plan". It works like this:
1. Select your preferences from the big list. Choose type of protein, cooking method, or dietary preferences. (In this example I'll choose ground beef.)
2. All of the ground beef recipes available for the month are shown. Pick the ones you want to make. Drag and drop those into the meal plan box.
3. Review the list of recipes, and print! You'll get the chance to go back and add more recipes from other categories before you do this, though. Once you have all the recipes you'll use for the week or month, you can print it all out in one big menu plan! (It will download as a PDF that you can store on your PC or print right away.)
The plan will include all the recipes, assembly instructions, cooking and serving directions, the shopping lists for all the meals, and time expected to do everything. I love that it all prints out in one big organized list!
(Note: While everything is combined into a big plan, each ingredient and prep item is broken out by recipes. So, if you have 3 recipes using 2 pounds of ground beef each, you'll have "2 pounds of ground beef" on your shopping list 3 times. This isn't a big deal, but you'll want to add up all of the same items before you head to the store for easier shopping. The same goes for meal prep. I wouldn't brown ground beef in 3 small batches; I would combine the meat into one skillet and make it all at once.)
Could this make meal planning easy? In a word: yes. I don't do a good job of this right now, and it is definitely a quick way to up my game. I also really love that the recipes come with PHOTOS! I don't like making anything that I can't see how it will turn out. Having clear, beautiful recipes of what I"ll be making is key. I can't imagine blindly following a meal plan, and MyFreezEasy doesn't make me do that.
You can get started with this membership (including access to all the recipes, directions, tutorial videos, and more) for $10 a month or $95 a year! (With the annual plan, you get 2 months free!)
Find MyFreezEasy on social via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
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