I recently received a free trial to try out PlateJoy, all opinions are my own and I love the product!
Grocery shopping and meal planning are one of those items I always plan to get under control, get under a budget, and find a way to eat healthily as well.
I have tried all kinds of techniques to make this work but usually end up eating the same foods over and over, or ending up with nothing planned and ordering out.
With school work and kids activities in the evening, it can be overwhelming figuring out what to eat each night.
Well I recently got a chance to try out PlateJoy.
I believe their custom meal plans and recipes seem like the solution I have been looking for to finally get my meal planning and grocery budget under control.
What is PlateJoy? It’s a meal subscription plan which starts at $8 a month.
PlateJoy is not a meal plan delivery service. It is a meal planning menu service. It can be accessed via their website or an app which makes meal planning on the go so simple.
It uses technology like a digital pantry that remembers what you have on hand to make sure you get grocery lists which reduce food waste.
At PlateJoy you’ll receive plans tailored to you based on the preferences you set up.
There are TONS of options and each plan includes recipes and grocery lists.
PlateJoy also has a partnership with Instacart so you can actually get the groceries delivered if needed as well.
Getting started with PlateJoy
Getting started with PlateJoy is easy.
You fill out some info about yourself, such as age, if you are trying to lose weight which will make the meals fit into a calorie budget, what kinds of foods you like and any restriction such as vegetarian only or allergies.
You can seriously customize it so that you are sure to only get meals you like.
Here are some of the questions asked during setup that makes PlateJoy tailored to you:
- Information about each of the adults in the family.
- Food info like if you are limiting carbs, and options for several different meal type plans such as Paleo or even a cleanse.
- How often you like to eat meat.
- If you have any specific health conditions.
- How you feel about seasonal produce versus non seasonal.
- How much money you want to spend versus having more variety.
- Which grocery stores you use for shopping.
- How adventurous you are about trying new foods versus eating familiar ones.
- What kind of cooking tools you have on hand.
- What kind of milk and bread, rice, and pasta you prefer.
- How much time you want to spend cooking. I picked 20 - 35 min.
- How much variety and what types of breakfast and lunches you want in your meal plan.
- If you like eating leftovers and want to have leftovers.
- You can also choose to add some batch meals which are crockpot type meals you can make ahead and in larger quantities.
Then you choose how many meals you want per week, if you want breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and dessert or more limited options.
I found the breakfast and snacks were not necessary for me because I am on the go so much during the day. I wasn't necessarily going to be home to prepare them, and I don't work in an office with a set schedule to prepare for either.
For me personally the PlateJoy dinner options are my favorite part of the meal planning. I have found those to be the most useful in my life.
I seriously struggle to come up with new and healthy dinner ideas on my own, so having my dinners planned and given a grocery list is so helpful.
You also fill out what you already have on hand when preparing your list so you don't buy items you do not need. Then just print your list, take the app with you with the list on it, or order from Instacart. So easy!
The cooking instructions are easy to follow and the meals are not hard to prepare at all.
PlateJoy meal planning can help with sticking to a calorie budget
The app/website will also tell you how much to portion for yourself, and your family members. Then it gives the nutritional information. This is so helpful if you are trying to follow a calorie budget.
I can see how using PlateJoy for all your meal planning including breakfast, lunch, and snacks in addition to dinners could make losing weight much easier.
No coming up with ideas of what to eat on your own, and it all fits in a daily calorie budget. I know many moms, myself included who always say they wish they had someone to plan their meals and just tell them what to eat. Well now you do!
All plans come with a 10-day free trial, so you don’t have much to lose if you would like to try it out.