Jamie Ussher of Baby Go Green has created a must have for your kitchen (and an excellent choice for your time and budget as well): A Month Of Meals. 

 

This e-book provides wonderful information on eating healthier, shopping for less, preparing meals ahead of time, and getting through the dinner prep quickly. 

 

I especially love the pantry list, which lists all the staples you should keep on hand.  I admit that the kitchen is not my most favorite place, so this list proved very useful to me. I also like that the meals are divided into weekly menu plans, according to ingredients.  Another favorite of mine in this e-book is the six make ahead meals (which she says takes approximately 2.5 hours – not bad for SIX meals!).

 

I encourage you to check out her wonderful blog and if you could use some extra time and budget help when it comes to meal planning and execution, check out the e-book (only $6.95 – not bad at all for all the info inside!).

 

   I really enjoyed reading the Month of Meals e-book.  Unless my husband is working late, we always have dinner together as a family.  It would make our evenings run way behind if I waited for him to get home to prepare our meals.  To make my meal prep and afternoons go smoother, I always try to plan our meals out and have everything necessary for it ahead of time.  I'm the type of person who shops the sales and likes to buy things when I have a coupon for it.  So, waiting till the last minute is not my style.  However, with this e-book, I think it makes it easier for someone who is pressed for time, needs some new ideas for dinner (or just needs somewhere to start), is not into shopping sales or using coupons to have a plan and still save money.  This book gives you a great foundation for planning your meals and to know exactly what you need when you go the store.  I found that even if there were some meals that I thought did not fit into my family, I could easily swap it out for one of our regular meals in its place.  I found some helpful tips and suggestions in this e-book as well.  The cost of this e-book is very inexpensive and would defintely pay for itself the first time you used it.   Once again, this is one of those things I wish I had when my husband and I first got married.  We could have been making delicious, affordable, homemade meals from the start.  For more tips and interesting things check out the author's blog as well. Note: This e-book Month of Meals was given to me by the author

A Month of Meals E-book. This book was more than I expected and very useful. The text is easy to read and the language is simple, easy to understand and follow.  The lists are concise and straightforward.  I look forward to modifying and implementing her plan for my family.

Although I live in Canada and a lot of the prices don't apply, the principles do.  She has a list of produce that cost under 20 dollars.  I haven't priced it out but I'm sure it would be a lot more here, especially during the winter months.  And she has a number of chicken recipes and unless I can find a friend to get a chicken from chicken is really expensive and hard to find in our small town store.

I currently do not have an oven and some of the recipes given are baked.  I will either have to change these to another recipe or figure out a way to cook the food in a crockpot, on a griddle or in the bbq.  The author has done a lot of the work for me.  The substitutions will be easy - just a meal here and there.  Using her plan I will be able to integrate our favorites with some new ideas presented in her plan!

I love the section on meals to make ahead of time.  I really need to do this; she makes it look so easy.  The meals to make ahead are easy and enjoyed by my family already.  The author focuses on healthy eating and exercise.  There is a link to a different food pyramid.  I plan to go examine more; a different take that may just "speak my language".  There are other charts and lists and helps too.  The author has done her research and has an easy to follow plan.

Disclosure: This e-book was graciously sent to me by the author.