eMeals is meal planning made simple! This meal planning service efficiently removes the guesswork and grocery shopping from your dinner equation.
Each week, you pick your top recipes from a curated flow and have them delivered to your door. That way, you can focus on the fun and fulfilling part – cooking!
If you prefer, there's also the option of doing the grocery shopping yourself. eMeals is a flexible service where you choose your level of involvement according to your lifestyle.
eMeals At A Glance
- Best match for: anyone wishing to save time on shopping and meal planning, while still having flexible, healthy, varied meal options throughout the week!
- Pricing: $4.99/month for a 12-month subscription, or $11.99/month for 3 months
- Interface: web-based/application (iOS or Android)
How eMeals Works
eMeals is an extremely simple subscription service that you can customize yourself to provide the meals and recipes you want to eat during the week.
It takes a few steps to set up, but these are very user-friendly – and once you get it all set up, it will save up to two hours a week on meal planning and shopping!
The process to get started with eMeals is fairly self-explanatory, but I’ve put together a detailed step-by-step guide on how to set up the service from the website (which is very similar to the mobile app):
- The first step involves setting up an account here. You’ll need your email address handy. At the moment, eMeals is running a promotion where the first 14 days are totally free – so be sure to get in quick if you’d like to try before you buy!
- Once you’ve set up your account, you’ll be asked to personalize your menu. You start by choosing the amount of servings you’ll need per meal, and then the type of food you’re into. There is a range of menu options ranging from plant-based and kid-friendly to paleo and budget-friendly (or even slow-cooker!). The range of menu options is the best feature, as it allows you to have a menu planned for you to fit your lifestyle or goals. You’ll also have access to all their recipes to mix and match your weekly menu.
- The next step after compiling your menu for the week is to download your weekly recipe book as a PDF file and have the shopping list sent to your phone for ease of access while you’re grocery shopping.
- This next step is optional: you can choose to have the groceries for each meal in the week sent directly to your house using an online delivery service such as AmazonFresh or Instacart. Alternatively, you can just go to the supermarket yourself to pick up the ingredients. Either way, it makes the week’s shopping so much easier and quicker! You won’t be making any hectic rushes to the store because you forgot one small ingredient.
- The final step is to whip up your meals using the recipes and enjoy!
The Features
eMeals also offers the option to have all your recipes and shopping lists contained within your phone on the app, so you have them with you at all times.
This cuts out the extra step of sending your shopping list to your phone from the website, but it provides the same service as you’d get from the website itself.
From the app, you can send your shopping list directly to your supermarket of choice to save time going in yourself.
This is a good option if you don’t use one of eMeals partners such as Amazonfresh or Instacart, and it ensures you can still access the same features from wherever you are.
The app also allows you to share recipes, so you can send your favorite healthy recipes to your friends or family directly from your phone.
The app also does work without an internet connection, so – unlike the website – you can take your meal plans, recipes, and shopping list with you wherever you go even if you’re not in range of internet services.
This is perfect for traveling if you’d rather cook meals you know are healthy and yummy without the hassle and cost of eating out or trying to plan meals.
Sample Meals
Some example recipes that you can get for your weekly plans:
Naturally, you can't get the recipes without signing up. To get some examples of the recipes in each category, you can scroll down to the footer on the eMeals website and click the one you're interested in. This shows a few sample recipes for that category.
How Much Does it Cost?
Right now, it’s free for the first two weeks! This service is a subscription and is paid monthly.
The price varies depending on the length of your commitment; for example, if you commit to a 12-month subscription, it costs $4.99 per month.
You can choose from a 12-month or a 3-month subscription, and the 3-month subscription costs $11.99 per month.
As such, the cost varies depending on how long you use the service for – and it’s definitely more worth your cash to commit for a longer period of time!
eMeals also states that their customers claim that eMeals has helped them save an average of $2,000 a year on food costs.
The Pros and Cons
So, those are all the facts; now, it’s time to balance the pros and cons so you can make an informed judgment about eMeals!
Pros |
|---|
Cheap if you commit to the 12-month plan! |
Free trial! |
Option to deliver everything to your house |
Super flexible with a wide range of meal plans! Truly something for everyone. |
You can design your own plan or use a ready-made plan |
Adapts to your lifestyle, so you can choose what suits you the most in terms of grocery shopping. |
Cons |
|---|
Can get pricey if you’re not prepared to commit to over 3 months |
If you’re not using the app, canceling this meal plan requires you to call customer service |
Not all recipes have nutritional information available |
Food for Thought
eMeals is a fantastic service if meal planning isn’t really your thing but you still want really nutritious and delicious meals.
Having set grocery lists and recipes really cuts down on time at the supermarket, which is one of the best aspects of eMeals in my opinion.
It also saves you from buying unnecessary extras, because you’ll have an exact list – and it eliminates those mid-week dashes to the store to pick up a forgotten ingredient!
The flexibility of the meal plans is also a true star, offering something for everyone (even picky children).
eMeals really makes your life easier, saving time and money when it comes to cooking.
eMeals