The All Good Things Must Come to an End Rule

In regards to e-mealz, I seem to have reached a bit of a turning point. Turning points I'm familiar with, because I've always had the tendency to get bored with things after a certain amount of time. Some might call me fickle, others may say I just lack focus, but regardless, I have had this trait ever since I was a child.

My parents were first made aware of my not-sticking-to-it-ness at a relatively young age. First were swimming lessons, which lasted for one lesson exactly. Then, I took up baton twirling, again a one lesson endeavor. By second or third grade, my attention span began to grow ever-so-slightly, and I took up dance, which I may have maintained for about a year, but it was a sporadic kind of year with skipped dancing lessons throughout.

An obvious dance prodigy. What form! What style!

Chili, Really?

It's good to be open to new experiences, and e-mealz has definitely been a new experience. We've both had to adjust a little. I've been adjusting to the fact that I can't "opt-out" of meals anymore just because I'm lazy, and Jeremy's been adjusting to things like zucchini in chili. Although I have to admit, even I was a little weirded out by the zucchini in chili.

White bean chili was our first "e-meal." Because of the addition of things like chicken broth and zucchini, and the subtraction of things like tomatoes, I would classify this "chili" as more of a taco soup kind of thing. It wasn't thick, like I've come to expect from chili, and it was really missing a chili type of flavor. But it was good, despite the fact that it was definitely misnamed.

Tuesday night's meal Baked Ziti was even better and definitely has been my favorite meal so far. But what's better than the meals of e-mealz is the simplicity of coming home and already knowing what you're going to cook for supper. I would easily pay ten times the amount I'm paying now for that simple peace of mind. I don't have to think all day, "what're we going to have for dinner?" or "do I have everything I'm going to need for dinner?" I know before I even get home what we're going to have, and I know that we have every ingredient we need for it...well, almost every ingredient.

Friday's meal, Ginger Chicken with sauteed Bak Choy (which makes me giggle every time I say it...bak bak BAK choy!), called for balsamic vinegar, an item I missed on my shopping list because it was listed under the "staples" at the bottom of the list. I guess most households keep things like balsamic vinegar around. Not us, we're not civilized like that. So, needless to say, the uncivilized Rosses had no balsamic vinegar to be found, and because I had bought two weeks worth of my e-mealz groceries, I was not stepping foot inside a grocery store...no way, no how.

The time had come to improvise, and as previously stated, this is one of my favorite things to do when cooking. My improvisation this time included putting soy sauce, white vinegar, lime juice, and brown sugar in the sauce for my "ginger chicken," and surprisingly, it turned out pretty fine. The Bak Choy on the other hand...is obviously meant for the civilized. I probably cut it all wrong or spent too much time making fun of its name or something silly like that, but the Bak Choy was not my friend. It was tough and chewy and nearly choked me a couple of times when I was trying to eat it. I'm sure this all boils down to something I did wrong, but I'm really laying blame on the vegetable and am going to seek retribution by never buying or eating Bak Choy again...take that you crisp and leafy lettuce you!

Bak Choy and "CHILI" (complete with air quotes and much sarcasm when you say it aloud) aside, the first week of e-mealz has been a relatively successful one. We'll see how long that lasts.

e-mealz

Today, I embark on a new adventure as a wife and a cook. I signed up for E-Mealz last night, and I'm super excited at the prospect of changing mine and Jeremy's eating habits, as well as trimming up our grocery budget. E-Mealz is a meal-planning program that offers menus and meal plans for families and couples. For a small, monthly fee, E-Mealz allows subscribers access to specially designed menus that offer a different recipe for every week night. Some of the menus even coincide with a specific grocery store, allowing users to take advantage of special deals at that specific store. I chose the Low Fat for Two plan, and because my regular grocery store, Ingles, wasn't an option, I opted for an "Any Store" plan.



Jeremy and I have been needing to eat healthier and, getting home at seven thirty every night, is just not conducive to dieting. I had heard about E-Mealz from a friend and thought that it might be a good way to "semi-diet" and also help plan meals (since my schedule doesn't really allow for that). I'm hoping it will also help us to save money and shop smarter.

I had some reservations about subscribing to E-Mealz. My number one hesitation revolved around my love for cooking. I worried (and still worry) that E-Mealz might stifle my creative genius in the kitchen...ha! No really, I don't particularly like the idea of having to prepare a certain meal every night. I'm an "on-the-fly" type of cook. I make my decisions based on my mood. If the fancy strikes me, I may prepare crab cakes one night and grilled cheeses the next. I don't really have a particular repertoire, and I don't follow plans very well. I gave up New Year's resolutions long ago. I found that I was too much of a rebel to even set a resolution for myself...resolution? I'll show you my resolution! If there are lines, I'm going to color outside them. That's just who I am.

Thus, the lines of E-Mealz made me a little nervous. What if I didn't like a certain recipe? What if I wanted to change it up a little? I'm constantly changing and tweaking recipes, and I don't want that freedom to go away.

After viewing my first week's menu, this fear quickly subsided. My first recipe is a simple White Bean Chili, which not only sounds yummy but also sounds flexible. And surprisingly, the rest of the recipes for Week 1 sound similar. They're not too fancy or too complicated, and they sound like they'll actually taste good. And what's best? Each week's menu comes with a sorted shopping list with every item you need for the week's meals. This is probably the biggest perk of E-Mealz (at least from what I've discovered so far). It's a complete dream, in fact. Every item on the list is categorized by department/type and will make grocery shopping so much less of a headache. There are few things on this earth I hate as much as grocery shopping...so much so that I avoid going until absolutely necessary. When we're having ketchup sandwiches and drinking tap water, I finally decide it might be time to go shopping, but typically not until that very crucial moment. So, this organized shopping list is like a magic wand for me. I feel like Harry-freakin'-Potter! Already it's even made me look forward to grocery shopping.

For the most part, the jury's still out on E-Mealz. I'm not really going to know how much I like it until I've had a few weeks to put it into practice. Hopefully, my rebellious, outside-the-lines ways won't sabotage it before I even start...I'll keep you posted.