Today I’ve invited my friends at eMeals to do a guest post. I can tell you from personal experience … I’ve used eMeals on & off the past few years and when I’m on, we are eating healthier and more frequent and homemade meals at home. I love what they do and how they’re helping families with meal planning. There’s even a free PDF download with healthy recipes to try!  -Becky

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So the New Year came, and you vowed to start eating healthy, to cook at home everyday, stop making drive-thru runs, and never again buy frozen chicken nuggets.

But now it’s February, and your good intentions have come head-to-head with the realities of a busy schedule, tight food budget, and the fact that you’ve totally exhausted your reservoir of healthy recipes.

The solution may be simpler than you think. Meal planning can help you save time and money while sticking to your New Years resolutions to eat healthy and even lose weight.

Set aside a day each week when you will plan your meals for the week, prepare a master shopping list, and do all of the grocery shopping at one time. You’ll always know what’s on the menu and all the ingredients will be waiting when it’s time to get dinner started. Plus you’ll save time by avoiding those spur of the moment grocery runs and bypass the drive-thru for healthier, homemade meals.

Let eMeals do all the work for you, providing seven dinner recipes and a shopping list each week. You’ll enjoy a steady stream of varied recipes specially planned to cross-utilize ingredients and save you money. With fifty plans to choose from, including Paleo, Clean Eating, Low Carb, Classic meals, and more, you’ll find a plan that’s right for you and your goals in the New Year, whether that’s to eat healthy and lose weight, or just to spend more time around the dinner table with your family.

eMeals has put together nine simple and delicious dinner recipes under 400 calories and $4 per serving to help you stay on track for healthy budget eating in 2013. Download the PDF and check out the sample recipe below for a taste of what we’re about.

Oregano Chicken and Orzo with Olives, Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta
Serves 6

Chicken:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons
Orzo:
1 pound whole wheat orzo
4 ounces Greek olives, pitted
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cups fresh baby spinach
½ cup crumbled feta
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine salt, pepper, oregano, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken, and marinate for 2 hours. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, and grill for 8 – 10 minutes on each side, or until done. Cook orzo according to package directions. Combine cooked orzo, olives, tomatoes, spinach, feta, and olive oil in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for 2 – 8 hours before serving.