Beyond the First Year: The Fresh 20

So as a busy SAHM, getting a healthy dinner on the table is always a top priority... most days. Life tends to get in the way of me cooking anything other than Mrs Dash flavored meat, mashed potatoes, and some frozen veggies. It is not that I don't enjoy cooking, I do, I love watching cooking shows, eating cooked foods, and even going to places where the specifically cook food. It's just that I don't always enjoy doing the cooking myself, mostly because I suck at planning meals and then I am just too hungry to think about making anything new for dinner. I have tried to be creative and I have bought tons of cookbooks, but usually unless there is a picture of dish I don't even read the recipe. In the past I have tried to follow so online menus but it never really panned out for one reason or another.

Enter Groupon, my mother, and the Fresh 20. A few weeks ago my mom bought both my sister and I a groupon for a year subscription for the Fresh 20: an online/email weekly menu planner that provides 5 dinners made with a shopping list of 20 in season, fresh ingredients. You choose from classic, vegetarian, or gluten free menu plan. They even have a lunch option too.

I love this plan! First, I was able to buy most of the produce needed at the farmer's market for less than $20. The meats I needed were easy to find and inexpensive cuts. The pantry staples and few boxed items (like pasta, bread, and tomato paste) were again inexpensive. Each week's menu has cost less than $75. Second, it is so easy to prepare. They tell you what you should make ahead on Sunday, and also you tend to make a marinated meat on Monday that you will use again during the week. I have found that the directions are easy to follow, and well written, so even without a picture I am sure I am doing it correctly. Third, I feel like I am thriving as a wife, mother, partner, and woman. I feel proud of being able to put a healthy, tasty meal on the table for my family, and it feels nice to have my husband compliment me on my cooking (he has always eaten anything I cooked without complaint but now he raves about it.) I feel adventurous, cooking recipes I don't think I would have even picked off a menu to try, with ingredients I always thought I disliked. Lastly, I love that if you buy an annual membership they give you access to the archives (back to 2010) for weekly menus.

If you are looking for a meal plan, for you or as a gift, I highly recommend the Fresh 20.

Here are some of the meals I have made so far: