Has weekly meal planning become one of your least favorite tasks? Are you frustrated because you never know what would make a nutritious and healthy meal? Do you just wish someone else would step in and plan out all of your meals for you? If so, it’s time to let PlateJoy step in and take over your weekly meal planning.
Instead of delivering ingredients to your doorstep, PlateJoy sends you a custom-made meal plan. It’s designed to suit your dietary needs and any weight loss goals you may have. They then carefully curate a selection of meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You even get snacks and desserts!
They’ve taken the hassle out of meal planning by choosing appropriate dishes for you. All you have to do is head to the grocery store, grab the ingredients in the list they’ve prepared, and start cooking. It’s as simple as that! Does it sound like something you need? Keep reading to learn everything you need to know!
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How to Join & Choose Your Items
Ready to get started with PlateJoy? There are a few simple steps to getting yourself all signed up! First, you’ll need to take a quiz that PlateJoy has prepared. It’s a three-minute quiz that allows them to understand your unique needs and create a meal plan that fits your preferences. It’s a simple way to make sure they’re addressing all your needs in terms of nutrition.
They’ll ask how many people in your family you’ll be feeding (both adults and children), your gender, whether or not you’re trying to lose weight (and what your goal is), what kind of portion size you’d like (small, regular, or large for those with high activity levels), and more. If you are feeding two adults with this plan, they’ll allow you to input information for both adults to customize meals accordingly.
You can even customize based on your dietary preferences if there are certain restrictions you may have (low-carb, paleo, diabetic/pre-diabetic, ketogenic, 30-day cleanse, or low FODMAP). There’s also the ability to select clean eating, gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, low sodium, and pregnant/nursing options. You’ll even be asked about what kinds of kitchen gadgets you have and how much time you have available for cooking. They really get to know you to create a plan that works.
Once you’ve completed your personalization quiz, you’ll be presented with a list of appropriate recipes. Remove any of the ones you don’t wish to eat, while keeping the others in your queue. These recipes are personalized to you. PlateJoy chooses them to ensure they fit your time constraints and are free of any ingredients you need to avoid.
Next, they’ll create a shopping list for you and send it your way. You can print it out or access it on your phone. Everything will be organized and easy for you to follow as you hit the grocery store. Alternatively, you can send the list to Instacart if it’s available in your area. This is a service that will deliver your groceries to you if you’d prefer. Otherwise, you can find another similar service in your area.
Once you have the ingredients and the recipes, you’re then able to prepare delicious meals each and every week. Their plans are designed to make your life easier by handling the meal planning for you. Plus, they can help you reach any health goals you may have by sticking to the meals they’ve outlined for you. It’s a simple way to start eating healthier! The best part is that it’s totally enjoyable. You’ll have plenty of delicious meals to choose from that you won’t even feel like you’re eating healthy. And when you can enjoy the foods on the table, it becomes so much easier to eat right and take care of your body.
Another great feature is that they have a Digital Pantry that keeps track of any ingredients you already have in your kitchen. This prevents you from buying anything you already have at home. They even aim to reduce food waste through the algorithm their service uses. It pairs meals together to minimize the number of ingredients on your grocery list, which is a huge win! Not only does it cut down on food waste, but it’ll help you save money as well. You can’t go wrong with that!
Types of Food + Meal Plans
The dishes that show up in your account will be dependent on your unique dietary needs. Once you’re given access to your selection of meals, you can easily add something to your queue or remove it permanently if it’s something you’re not interested in eating.
You can expect to find breakfast dishes such as: Sweet Potato Breakfast Bruschetta, Fruit with Honey-Lime Yogurt Dip, Spring Vegetable Avocado Tartine and a Ham, Egg, and Spinach Scramble. You’ll also see how long each meal will take to prepare, so you can easily eliminate things if you have a particular busy week and not as much time for cooking.
For lunch, you can choose from options like: Pesto Egg Salad with Tomatoes and Arugula, Mozarella Pesto & Avocado Toast Sandwiches, Creamy Chickpea Salad with Apples and Pecans, and a Tempeh, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich. For dinner, you’ll love dishes such as: Roasted Red Pepper and Potato Soup, Almond-Crusted Trout with Brussels Sprout Salad, 30-Minute Skillet Lasagna, and Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers.
You can even choose from dessert and snack options! You’ll love the Stuffed Apples with Spiced Almond Butter, Proscuitto-Wrapped Cantaloupe, Fruit Sorbet, and even an Orange and Chocolate Bowl with Vanilla Syrup. There’s plenty to satisfy those afternoon cravings and your sweet tooth. After all, you certainly don’t want to deprive yourself!
Delivery
Because this is a service that’s providing you with a customized meal plan, there’s nothing to be delivered. They aren’t sending you pre-made meals or any ingredients to make a dish. They’re simply sending a digital meal plan that’s designed to fit your unique dietary needs.
From there, you’ll head to the grocery store to pick up everything you need to make a week’s worth of meals. There’s no need to wait for an order to ship. There are no shipping fees. And there won’t be any leftover packaging for you to recycle or dispose of.
Alternatively, you do have the option to send your PlateJoy grocery list to Instacart. This is a service that provides same-day grocery delivery in over 80 metro areas. If you’re in one of these locations, you can take advantage of this service instead of making the trip to the grocery store yourself.
Using Their Service
One of the best things about PlateJoy is how easy their service is to use. Once you have access to your list of suitable recipes, you’re able to sort them by meal. You can view breakfast, lunch, dinner, as well as snack and dessert. You can even view a “batch meals” menu that has been careful curated to maximize the food in your kitchen.
When you scroll the list of dishes, you’ll see all the recipes currently in your queue. If there’s anything you’re not interested in trying, simply click the “Remove Permanently” option and it’ll disappear. After all, this is all about customizing the menu to your liking. So, if there’s something you’re not interested in, get rid of it.
Ease of Cooking
The dishes PlateJoy provides are all fairly easy to prepare. There’s no need to have expert skills in the kitchen to put one of their meals together. One of the great things is that they totally customize it to your needs. When you’re filling out the personalization quiz, they ask what kind of kitchen equipment you have. You can select from the following: blender, oven, food processor, slow cooker, microwave, and stove top. If there’s something you don’t have, uncheck it and they’ll provide recipes that don’t require that tool.
They even take into consideration how much time you have in the morning for breakfast, how much effort you’d like your lunch to require (leftovers, something quick, or something more involved), and how much time you have for dinner. This allows you to select between 20-35 minutes, 35-50 minutes, and more than 50 minutes for make ahead meals (such as slow cooker options). They’ve made everything incredibly easy for you so there’s no need to stress and you don’t have to make healthy eating a hassle.
Taste
With a wide array of dishes to choose from, there’s always going to be something to satisfy your cravings. With so many delicious and tempting options, it may be hard to decide what you’re actually going to dine on each and every week!
One favorite puts a twist on a classic dish many of us had during our childhood. The Italian-Style Sloppy Joes with Spinach is loaded with tomatoes and cheese to provide all the those warm, comforting feelings. With a side of spinach, you’re able to get your greens in and feel a little healthier too! The Slow Cooker Balsamic Pork with Carrots and Green Beans is another great dish. It’s flavorful and truly satisfying.
For breakfast, you’re going to love starting your day with the Beet, Leek, and Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs. It’s a hearty breakfast that’ll only take 20 minutes to prepare, but it gets the day started off on the right foot. Another tasty option is the Italian Breakfast Skillet with Turkey, Tomato, & Basil. While it might not be a traditional dish for those in the United States, it’s still delicious and something to look forward to in the morning.
And for dessert? One favorite you have to try is the Apple Dessert “Nachos” with Almonds and Chocolate Chips. Not only do you get a healthy serving of fruit and tasty almond butter, but it also satisfies those sweet tooth cravings with chocolate chips.
Pricing
As a subscription-based service, you can choose between the six-month or 12-month option when signing up. If you sign up for six months, it’ll cost you $69. This winds up being $11.50 per month. The total comes to $99 for a 12-month subscription. A year’s subscription comes out to $8.25 per month. No matter which option you choose, it will be billed in one installment.
Keep in mind this does not include the cost of food. You are just paying for a meal planning service that provides you with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options that are catered to your unique needs. You will still have to visit the grocery store to pick up ingredients or pay for grocery delivery from an outside service.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a custom-made meal plan that’s going to help you meet your health goals, PlateJoy can help you out. Once you fill out their personalization quiz, they create a meal plan that’s tailored to your unique needs. They take into consideration your dietary needs, how much time you have for preparing meals, and whether or not you have weight loss goals.
For those that find healthy meal planning to be a struggle, PlateJoy steps in and does all the hard work for them. You no longer have to stress about what you’re going to eat or what’s a good option for you. PlateJoy figures it all out and tells you what you need to buy in order to whip up amazing meals in your own kitchen.
