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Hi friends! If you do anything in the kitchen - even if it's just using the microwave - you know how easy it is to dirty up this space. And at The Meal Planning Method, we firmly believe keeping your kitchen space so fresh and so clean is important. Yes, important because of germs (#duh), but also because you want your kitchen to a be a place that feels inviting and comfortable so you'll actually want to utilize it. (Remember that "junk room" in your old childhood home? Yeah, no one ever wanted to go in there!)  Well we want to share about a service that we have been LOVING for the last year. Meet Grove Collaborative. Grove Collaborative delivers all-natural home, beauty, and personal care products directly to your door at discounted prices. And you don't have to be a VIP member of Grove Collaborative to order their products, but their VIP membership totally pays for itself and more! Just check out all the VIP swag we got at no additional charge this last year.
Umm... that's over $64 worth of free product, not including the free shipping I received with every order! Gahhh I love saving when it makes sense!
We have really loved the ease of ordering products only when we need it and feel really good that their also good for our home and the planet. Wanna give Grove Collaborative a go? Grab my referral code here for a 5-piece gift set AND $10 after your first purchase! And I'd love to know what you got in the comment below. lindsey
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Happy July! Here in TN, July marks #BeefMonth - the perfect excuse to enjoy ALL THE BURGERS! But seriously, here at The Meal Planning Method we love celebrating food holidays and national health observances. Why? Because they keep our meal planning exciting and add much needed variety to our weekly routine. Need something new to try in your meal plan this month? Check out one of these low-fat beef recipes that you don't have to feel guilty about!  (1) 20-MINUTE GARLIC BEEF & BROCCOLI LO MEIN There are no words... just LOOK at this lo mein from The Recipe Critic! And it's definitely a plus that it only take 20 minutes. (2) SHEET PAN FLANK STEAK WITH GARLIC ROASTED POTATOES Who doesn't like to only dirty up ONE pan? This dinner from My Latina Table is easy clean up and well-balanced! (3) STEAK BURRITO BOWL Mexican is a definite must in my household! Try going for this Six Sisters Stuff "Steak Burrito Bowl" and cook enough for leftovers. (4) BURGER BOWL Who says a burger HAS to be between two buns? We love this idea of a Burger Bowl from Feasting at Home as a way to get that burger flavor you crave and add extra nutrition too! (5) BEST EVER (EASY) BAKED MEATBALLS Meatballs can actually be a very versatile food. Try these Easy Baked Meatballs from Yummy Healthy Easy in pasta, on sandwiches, or to top pizzas and salads. (6) SIMPLE STEAK BITE GYROS This might be my favorite lean beef recipe, but I'm partial ;) It's amazing just how quick this delicious dish comes together when you want to do Greek differently at home. Sooooooo... I last left you after I completed my meal plan and wrote out my grocery list. (Get a quick refresher here!) I know that this seems unfeasible at times, but I wanted to share this because I went grocery shopping on a Wednesday morning (ahem the start of the new sales for the week) with list in hand, and I was in and out of there in under 30 minutes! This is a huge time difference compared to aimlessly walking around the store with a “I guess I could use that”-type of approach. (You know what I'm talking about.)  Once I got home from my quick trip to the grocery store, I knew I needed to do some food prep. Guys — total honestly here — I have let a lot of food go to waste in the past... partly because of my super busy schedule and partly due to laziness. I used to look at the contents of my fridge — produce not chopped or washed and ready to eat, etc. — I would think, "Forget it! I’ll just pick up something on the way to work/school/< enter destination here>." Days would go by and finally on my off day, when I actually had time to put together on-the-go snacks, breakfasts, and lunches -- my food would either be on the cusp of going bad or already spoiled! Anyway, it is this step -- food prep -- that I found to be my key to success during the week. Immediately after getting home from the grocery store, I went ahead and cut up and washed my fruits and veggies that I purchased. Throughout the week, I found it effortless to throw together my salads and snacks that I had planned. When it was time to cook, my onions, peppers, and other veggies were already prepped, which cut kitchen time to an estimated one-third of what my recipes predicted! I used some other food prep hacks to help me, as well — I boiled a dozen eggs at the beginning of my week for quick protein to add to salads or even to eat as part of what I like to call “snack mix dinners” (boiled egg, nuts, raw veggies and Greek yogurt dip, whole wheat crackers and cheese cubes). Now, of course this week wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine… because it did rain... a lot… BUT it was a learning experience! One of the dinners I had planned got put on the back burner because the fiancé wanted to out to eat on Saturday. No problem! The frozen ground beef is still in the freezer to be used another time, and my dry pasta and jarred sauce are not going bad anytime soon. (Seriously, shop your pantry -- you will be surprised at what you can make with what you already have!) The point is, is that this was the first time in a long time that I did not stress once over what and how I was going to feed my family. I had my meal plan, and for the most part, I stuck to it -- and I was successful because of The Meal Planning Method! maggie
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