Time-Saving Menus

There are several shortcuts people can take to put nutritional meals on the table without much effort and cooking, so why not make it easy tonight?

By Chad Rubel
CTW Features

Your mission, should you decide to accept it: fix dinner by 6 p.m. each night, come up with something new, make sure it’s nutritious and don’t forget to keep your food budget in-check.

While previous generations might have turned to index cards of recipes from bygone eras, menu-planning setups are a new spin on the traditional household question, “What’s for dinner?”

In the past year, several online services have emerged allowing readers to subscribe to an all-access pass to recipes that are easy-to-prepare (thanks to Rachael Ray, easy-to-prepare is now defined as 30 minutes) and with only a few, easily found ingredients. Users choose their recipes, and the service generates an organized grocery list that can be printed and taken to the grocery store. Costs range around $1-$2 a week, depending on needs and services offered.

“Everyone is so busy,” says Christine Steendahl, founder of DineWithoutWhine.com. “The convenience factor is appreciated.”

These sites promise to save shoppers time by adding efficiency to grocery shopping: one weekly trip to your local grocery store can save significant time over several harried weekly trips to pick-up forgotten items.

“Who has the time to sit down and plan a menu, hire an expert, a nutritionist,” says Leanne Ely, founder of SavingDinner.com. Part of the programs’ lure is the ability to submit dietary goals and restrictions depending on allergies or whether you are trying to cut back on fats or sugars, which takes the onus off the home cook to create inventive, healthy meals.

And if your family has kids who are, well, selective, or perhaps, picky? “I have three children, and two of them are picky,” says Steendahl. “I try recipes on them to see what they think. We do our best to make them child-friendly; give them options so they can leave the sauce off, for example.”

Both women think menu planning brings traditional values to families. “The formula for success for kids is getting them back to the dinner table,” says Ely. “We are the first generation that has neglected dinner. It used to be when you asked, ‘Did you have dinner at home?’ the answer was yes.”

“Everyone is in a different place, different time,” says Steendahl. “On average, parents spend less than 30 minutes each day talking to their kids.”

“If you’re always running around, then the dinner table gets sacrificed for drive-thrus,” says Ely. “The idea is to get the family to dinner table, and getting them to eat normally and healthfully.”

Another similar concept is local menu-assembly stores. The stores do the shopping, the customers assemble the entrees to take home and either eat right away or freeze to reheat later. They do cost more than menu-planning centers, but may be more useful for those people who need help with cooking.

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