Meal Planning In A Snap! { Relish Relish Review & giveaway}

What’s for dinner tonight? That is the perpetual question that I inevitably ask myself at least once or twice a week! Some days I’m lucky enough to have remembered to get out the crock pot in the morning and get it going during the “window of opportunity,”, other days I have a particular recipe I’ve been planning to make from one of my various sources online (aka Pinterest). Then there are the days I have remembered to get out chicken/fish from the freezer to throw on the grill ahead of time, plus time to get some sort of marinade on it, and some (blessed) days I have left overs from last night so I am off the hook completely! Hallelujah for those days!

I love to cook, but getting myself organized enough to have a weekly menu planned just seems SO overwhelming sometimes! I mean, I have to find the recipes, make the shopping list for it, then pick up the various things I don’t already have in my kitchen, and then actually commit to sticking with those recipes! 🙂 It’s enough to make me give up and stick to my “old stand-bys!” That, my friends, may now be a thing of the past. I was recently introduced to an awesome website that literally takes ALL the guess work, planning headaches, and list making woes out of meal planning!

Relish Relish is an online meal planning website that was founded by two moms who were also sick of the mundane weekday meal monotony! They realized it isn’t necessarily the cooking that is the problem, more that is is the planning that is intimidating! They came up with a solution. They are a website that has a weekly list of recipes that change every Thursday ( great so you can get your shopping done on the weekend if needs be!) You pick the recipes your family will like, add it to your menu, when you are finished, click a handy tab that creates a shopping list for you and Viola! Easy as 1-2-3, you are ready to shop, cook for the whole week and have delicious, thoughtful, EASY meals your family will love!

Did I forget to mention all the meals are designed to be completed in about 20 minutes!!! The meals are even conveniently grouped into handy categories like “kid friendly”, “lower calorie”, “quick”, “simple gourmet”, and “vegetarian.” And if you aren’t seeing anything you like in that weeks list, you can access past  menus and well as the “editor’s pick”, which has the top rated recipes stored in one place! You can also create your own custom menus using all the resources! And something else INCREDIBLE, there is also a “freezer” tab where you can plan freezer meals to have on hand at a moments notice!

BRILLIANT! The best part is that the service is only $7 a month, so it’s totally affordable and worth every penny to people like me who have a hard time planning! This website is truly a life saver! I love the variety that is offered, as well as the fresh ingredients that are used! Do you want to know what’s on my menu for tomorrow? How about Blueberry pork tenderloin with buttermilk mashed potatoes. I may or may not do the quick brownie trifle for dessert!

A couple of our other gals had the opportunity to try out this amazing service! Here’s what they had to say:

I was so excited to give the Relish meal planning and recipe site a whirl! My family loves to eat, but cooking and meal planning are definitely not my favorite things. I’m all about anything to simplify these chores {yes, they feel like chores to me}. Relish is an answer to my meal planning prayers! A site full of amazing recipes, weekly menus, easy to print shopping lists; everything is simple, easy, and quick. There are recipes for all types of foods and simple to more challenging recipes. I found myself gravitating towards the “quick” meals and “slow cooker” meals. I’m sure that tells you something about me!

I made several recipes that quickly became favorites and even a few things I like to keep on hand daily, like the Granola & Yogurt Parfait so good!. I have to admit, I am not a great cook and I have avoided the recipes that involve fish or seem to difficult for me. Even with my limitations as a chef, there are still several recipes I’ve found that I’ve made and have been a success! I’m sure there are many more in the Relish Menus that will be perfect for me and my family! Relish has easily taken my family from chicken nuggets and grilled cheese to Sticky Chicky with steamed carrots and Chipotle Macaroni and Cheese!

Needless to say my kiddos and husband are thrilled with this change and definitely don’t want me returning to my old boring meal planning ways! With a busy family life, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut making the same ol’ recipes at mealtime. As a matter of routine at the grocery store I buy items over and over simply because they’re easy to find and I don’t have to think.  Let’s see on my weekly menu there is always spaghetti, tacos, casserole, and grilled chicken breast with a couple nights of eating out ( those nights when I barely have the energy to stand!) With fewer activities to tote my girls to this summer, I’m looking forward to putting a bit more effort into our meals.

Relish Relish is exactly what I needed to break the boring meal cycle. With a monthly subscription, I have access to 14 new recipes each week, along with various Editor’s favorite picks. The recipes I’ve tried so far were all easy to create and prepare; taking around 30 minutes or less for prep. Using Relish Relish is simple. First, I scan the list of recipes on their weekly menu, clicking on the ones that sound appealing to my family and reading through the needed ingredients.  When I’ve found a winner, I click on a green arrow to move it to “My Weekly Menu”. Once my menu is completed, it’s time to create a “shopping list” (my favorite part!), which compiles all of the necessary items I’ll need to complete the recipes selected.

It gets better the shopping list is broken down by sections in the grocery store no more bouncing back and forth between aisles trying to find everything I need (or don’t need ).  Another cool feature of Relish Relish is their coupon center where you can find discounts for items both on and off your list . Under the “Editor’s Pick” section, I found, and ended up using, a Mother’s Day Brunch menu.  It consisted of quiche, an interesting Parmesan zucchini bread and lemon berry tart Yum! I was thankful that I didn’t need to search through my cookbooks for a nice combination Relish Relish did it for me! Planning, purchasing and creating family meals are now as easy as 1-2-3!

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