Meal planning and cooking come easily to some people. I am not one of those people, despite my father being a quality chef. I have previously mentioned how my husband taught me how to cook those packets of 2 min noodles whilst we were on our honeymoon! I really, truly, had no idea about cooking.
Interested in trying out Plan to Eat? You can sign up for a completely free 30-Day Plan to Eat Subscription right now!
But after getting married, I had the desire to learn. I loved experimenting with new recipes but having 4-5 children, a budget and minimal time also meant that I just needed to get meals on the table. Over the years I have tried computer and online meal planning (like MealsMatter.org) as well as pen and paper but it just never seemed to work for me. I couldn’t find a system that was do-able and that could keep up with my constant changing. I went looking for an online program and trialled a few. Ho hum, didn’t like them for various reasons.Then I found Plan To Eat. It looked kind of groovy. (C’mon, it was new and shiny and online!) So I signed up for a trial month but secretly wondered how long I would last with it. In the spirit of honesty it did take me a few weeks before I really got the hang of it. There could be more instructions and user friendly helps on the site although this is something that PTE are working on. And the site tour, blog and forum are more than helpful. I just needed to look around a little longer. The site isn’t static, they do make upgrades and improvements as often as is reasonable.
As you know I don’t like to endorse products that I don’t use or wholeheartedly recommend. So, I’ve waited awhile to tell you about Plan To Eat. But I have used it for quite a few months now… and I’m still using it!
I used to have bookmarks to recipes all over the ‘net. I would forget where I had bookmarked each recipe. But now I can simply import a favourite recipe to my PlanToEat recipe collection! It’s all in one place.
Interested in trying out Plan to Eat? You can sign up for a completely free 30-Day Plan to Eat Subscription right now!
What it is?
It is a virtual recipe book, meal planner, shopping list and more. Plan to Eat was born out of a desire to eat real food — great food — prepared at home, together as a family. The husband and wife team have a real food philosophy.
Features
- Import recipes from over 100 sites automatically or you can manually (and painlessly) add them to your recipe collection.(Taste.com.au, WholeLiving.com PioneerWoman, allrecipes.com and foodnetwork.com just to name a few. See a larger list here.)
- PlanToEat syncs with Ical (for Mac users) or google calendar, if you want it to.
- Share recipes with friends and build your collection of recipes.
- Drag n Drop menu planning
- Save / Load Meal Plans
- Customisable: Change Serving Size, Nutrition Data for each recipe if you wish.
- Generate Grocery Lists for Each Recipe/Menu
- Use it to access your shopping list from your smartphone and check off items as you go
- Cost: $4.95/month or $39/year
- Free Trial: Yes! 30-day free trial
I am slowly adding all my favourite recipes to my Recipe Book. I can access, print and share my recipes from any computer with internet access. I can filter the recipes in my collection by ingredients, tags or how often I’ve planned them! No more paper shuffling! There is a Shopping/Grocery List which worked a treat the first time I’ve used it but since then I haven’t put in the time needed to master it.
I could give you images and/or a video tutorial but I don’t need to. The best way for you to have a really good look is to try it for free. Yes, Plan To Eat has a free 30 day trial. They have a blog, facebook account and a support forum.
If and when you join up to PlanToEat, be sure to add me as a friend so that we begin sharing recipes. You’ll find me there as HomeGrownKids.
Interested in trying out Plan to Eat? You can sign up for a completely free 30-Day Plan to Eat Subscription right now!
Disclosure: If you sign up for Plan to Eat through one of the above links, I will earn a small commission. You certainly don’t have to use these links, but it is one of the ways that you can support this site.
