We’ve been on our E-Mealz diet for almost a month. Every Tuesday I check in to E-Mealz.com and get my new grocery list and recipes for the week. Yeah: I pay $5 a month for someone else to tell me what to make for dinner every day.

So what’s the verdict? 

Overall, I’m loving it. 

Pros: 

I spend less money on groceries. I spent $75 on my first week of groceries and was alarmed. That’s a lot for one week for us! But now I understand I no longer go to the grocery store 4-5 times a week. Maybe twice. MAYBE. And I pretty much only shop for suppers now. Suppers, guided by my e-mealz list, cereal and fruits because: yum. While Scott’s at work, I eat leftovers. 

So pro #2: Trips to the grocery are greatly reduced. 

We waste way less food. 

We have less crappy food in the house. I’m not a very good impulse food buyer, so unless I plan explicitly to buy ice cream or cookies, they stay in the store.

My husband actually likes to eat these leftovers. Seriously, he’s never been a leftovers person but now he happily eats most of them. 

Like this pilaf we made last week. Look at all these vegetables: 

                         

                         

I should have made like a triple batch. It was amazing. 

                         

Surely there are some cons, right?

Reader KRams shared her disappointment with E-mealz on my first post about it. I can’t speak to either of those meal plans, but I can talk about our experience with the vegetarian meal plan. 

Some meals don’t have an entrée. Tonight’s meal was twice baked Mexican potatoes and a fruit salad. I could live off potatoes, but my husband likes meals to have an anchor and potatoes just aren’t it. This happens a couple times a week — this week also has nachos as an entrée. I’ll make it, but I’ll probably supplement the meal.

There are some pricey ingredients. I’m still spending less overall so I can’t really complain, but some things seem needless. Related: 

Some ingredients are needlessly processed. A casserole recipe last week called for Bisquick mix. I couldn’t find it in the grocery, so I googled a recipe and made my own — flour, baking powder, salt. WAY cheaper and free of extra ingredients. 

And finally, I usually have a few problem ingredients each week. I haven’t been able to find stuff like vegetarian lentil soup, coconut oil, and canned black eyed peas. Not a big deal at ALL — just weird. I’ve always been able to make a workaround.

Overall I am very happy with E-mealz, and I expect to continue our subscription. It’s completely removed the stress from meal planning and we’re eating even better. If you’re interested, take a look at E-mealz for yourself.