1. BUDGET: Just curious how much you all are spending each week. I've been keeping track and it seems that I'm spending between 12-15 dollars per family each week. I think that's a pretty good range considering we're using fresh veggies and meat. I could probably feed my family for less if I went to Taco Bell, bought a Costco pizza, or ate mac and cheese...but that's not nearly as healthy or delicious as our meals! :) I think that we are all saving money doing this because we are able to buy in bulk and actually use up everything we buy.
2. HUSBANDS/KIDS: What do your husbands think of this? Mine would prefer more low-carb meals, but I know that's restrictive so I have just been making the carb meals on the nights he is gone. Are you kids liking the meals? I know that some kids are pickier than others, but I want to make sure that we aren't making more work for each other. Are we all making meals that are kid-friendly? My kids are the least picky kids on the planet and have loved every meal. I think Levi ate almost all of Laura's chili last week and the rest of us only got one bowl each. Personally, I discovered how much I love Kalamata olives and have been craving them every day. HA!
3. SWAP TIME AND PLACE: Is this working out for everyone? It's working great for me!
4. MEALS: I like how we are now doing meal kits. I think the meals taste more fresh if we just put together the ingredients and any initial prep that we can help out with and let each person do more of the actual cooking. How about we do this for another month with new meals. Then at the end of October we can vote on which meals were our families' favorites that could be repeated. Let's all agree that we won't be offended if some of meals don't get voted for! Maybe one of you who is good at that sort of thing can make a little survey for us to vote with. Maybe we'll get so good at this that we can start having a "secret ingredient" each week like on Iron Chef....Ha!
5. SCHEDULE: I am happy to make a new October meal calendar so we all know what is coming next week. It's helpful to know ahead of time in case one of us needs to change our meal...like Taylor and I did because we've had such a hot week. I have Wendy's meals so if you could send me your meals, I will arrange them on a calendar and post it here.
6. Anything else we need to discuss??
Thanks for getting this started, Betsy. I'll chime in next:
ReplyDelete1.BUDGET--I am in the same range as B. ($12-15). I'm happy with that because I feel better about giving you guys a pretty full meal and knowing you are getting your fresh veggies!
2. HUSBAND/KIDS--We all like it. The kids are not picky at all and have really liked all the meals. Scott (like Kenny) tries to eat low-carb, but we're making it work and he's happy to make adjustments.
3. TIME/PLACE--good for us.
4. MEALS--I like the meal kits. I don't mind doing baking/grilling/assemly/etc. Just having all the ingredients in the right amounts in the right place makes a huge difference for me. I like the idea of picking our favorites at the end of the month. I promise not to be offended!
5. Thanks for doing the October calendar, B.
1.BUDGET--Yep! I'm in the same range too ($12-15). And it's fine with me! The fresher the better.
ReplyDelete2. HUSBAND/KIDS-- Our kids (and I guess I should say me too) are picky! But for the most part, it's been great. I love getting new meals and I think it's been good for my kids (and me) to try new things!
3. TIME/PLACE--good for us too. Laura, thanks for doing the picking up and dropping off for me!
4. MEALS--I agree! Like I said above, I like things are fresh as possible. It's been so helpful not having to think up the meal ideas for the whole week. I love that everything is all right there. And I too, like the idea of picking our favorites at the end of the month. And, I most certainly will not be offended!
5. Thanks everyone. This has been fun!
1. BUDGET--I'm clueless. I buy my groceries at several places and shop ahead at Costco, so I haven't done the calculations. But I feel like I'm spending less than I normally do on groceries...and less wasted ingredients, so its working out great.
ReplyDelete2. HUSBAND/KIDS--Ralph loves it. He wants to do a couple of meals for us (maybe when baby comes!). My kids are picky, but we work around it and I am not worried about the meals being suited to them.
3. TIME/PLACE--working great.
4. MEALS--They have been great. A couple of thoughts: I would love to waste fewer plastic bags. I bought a few rubbermaid containers with the red lids when we started. What if we bought a few more sets among us so they could be swapped. Also, I still like the idea of one big bowl for each family to put either our main dish or side/salad in. I think a one time investment would ultimately be more cost effective than ziploc bags (although of course ziploc will sometimes be our best option).
Also, I have had some salad go bad before we get to it. While I could eat salad at every meal, we might want to try to keep the calendar to only 2 salads per week.
Finally, being the difficult one here, we are big fans of variety. So, while we will be fine with other meals being repeated, on my part I'll probably want to do some different ones before repeating the last month's worth.
5. Appreciate your work in putting the calendar together, Betsy! And I'll let you guys know when I figure out my changes for this month so that we don't have penne and pork again so soon.
Overall, THE GRANTS LOVE MEAL SWAP! It has been a lifesaver!