Disclosure: This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and eMeals all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #eMealstotheresuce http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.
I’ll be the first to admit, meal planning is not my forte. Not. At. All. I try. I try really hard but it just doesn’t happen for me for a number of reasons. 1) It’s not my favorite thing to do 2) Life is busy, busy busy. 3) I forget.
With a busy 2-year-old, a newborn, working from home, trying to keep up with cleaning, attending mom’s groups, church activities, yada yada yada. Life is busy. Really busy. Just like it is for most of YOU. And sadly, meal planning is one of the last things on my to-do list. On most nights, 3:00 PM rolls around and my husband asks, “Did you plan anything for dinner”? Me, “No, did you”? And then one of us ends up at the grocery store. Yup, that’s about how our days go. Every few weeks I sit down on Monday and try to plan out meals for the week, I do really well for a while and then I stop. End of story.
But in the last week something amazing happened. All of that changed. Have any of you tried eMeals before? I am seriously hooked. I didn’t know planning meals could be this easy, well, anything is easy when someone else does the work for you! Can I get an amen! :)
Just look at this beautiful Paleo Tuscan Slow Cooker Rump Roast I made for dinner last night thanks to eMeals. And guess what I did, I printed out the meal plan that was in my inbox, went shopping and read the directions. Easy. Not to mention such a penny saver since we aren’t going to the grocery store every day.
When you first sign up with eMeals, you are given 13 different meal plan options. They have everything from Clean Eating, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Slow Cooker, and several more. Since I am Gluten-Free and my Husband eats Paleo, we chose the Paleo option since it works for both of us.
Then once a week your special meal plan is emailed directly to you. In your inbox you have 7 customized dinners all planned out for your including a shopping list broken down by different parts of the grocery store. Say what?! Oh my goodness this service is amazing.
This Slow Cooker Rump Roast was one of the recipes in my meal plan and it was delicious. Perfect for the warm cozy evenings at home. Since I had done all of my shopping earlier in the week, all I had to do was find the specific ingredients in the fridge and I was good to go. Because I picked up a larger piece of meat than the recipe asked for, I was a little generous with the other ingredients. (Note: The original recipe calls for a chuck roast and I went with a rump roast.)
Once I gathered my ingredients for the roast, I browned the meat just like the recipe said, sautéed the mushrooms, onions, garlic and olive oil and then placed everything into the slow cooker and placed it on low for 6-8 hours. I would definitely check it after 6 hours to see how the meat is looking, you may want to turn it down to warm at this point.
Meanwhile, right before you want to eat, prepare your side. (Yup! This meal plan includes sides too!) I prepared my carrots by adding a small amount of water to a dish, covering, and then placing them on microwave for 8 minutes. Then topped them with a sauce of lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and fresh parsley.
This meal was delicious. In fact, all the meals have been really yummy.
After a week of using eMeals, I am totally hooked. I don’t have to dread spending 30-60 minutes a week planning out dinners and struggling over what to make and constantly thinking about all the other things I would rather be doing. Not to mention taking extra, unneeded trips to the grocery store for last-minute dinner ideas. And you want to know my favorite part? They have an app too! I found this super helpful since I generally don’t print out recipes because the end up being used as coloring books. My husband was also able to download the app and on days when I wasn’t home for dinner he knew exactly what to make!
If you want to try eMeals (which you should), use the code RESCUE and save 35% off a 1 year subscription. Offer expires December 15, 2013.
To learn more about eMeals and how they can help you out, follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
- 1 ½ lb boneless rump roast, trimmed (Note: the original recipe calls for a chuck roast, but I switched it up and it turned out great!)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ (8-oz) package sliced fresh mushrooms
- ½ 1 large sweet onion, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ (14.5-oz) can organic chicken broth
- ½ (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- Cook roast in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet
- over medium-high heat 2 minutes per side or
- until browned.
- Remove roast to a plate.
- Add mushrooms, onion and garlic to skillet; saute 3
- to 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
- Place mushroom mixture, roast, chicken broth, tomato
- sauce, tomato paste and Italian seasoning in a
- -quart slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours or until meat easily shreds. (Note: I used a rump roast for this recipe since that was what was available so I let it cook until it was fully cooked inside and then sliced it)
- Skim fat from juices; serve with roast.
- ½ lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks ( I used baby carrots )
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Combine carrots and ¼ cup water in a microwave-safe dish.
- Microwave on High 8 minutes or until carrots are tender.
- Drain, and toss with olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and salt.
About Taryn Whiteaker
Taryn Whiteaker is the voice of style behind TarynWhiteaker.com (formerly Design, Dining and Diapers) ! Taryn is a previous PR/Marketing professional who got back to her creative roots after becoming a mom and now shares her passion for home decor and design for the world to see. Taryn lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband and three kids and loves coffee, the outdoors, and exploring with her family.
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