We’ve mentioned recently that there are going to be some major changes to the Simple Meal Plan™, but we haven’t given you much more information beyond that. Well, today is the day we spill the beans…

During the process of running the Simple Meal Plan™, we discovered something important: We weren’t giving people what they needed. Yes, we were providing people with meal plans that gave them the recipes and grocery lists to cook healthfully, but at the end of the day, we weren’t teaching them anything. We weren’t teaching them to fish; we were just giving them the tuna and the instructions to cook it.

That’s all changing.

We’ve spent the summer working with Michael Santarcangelo of The Security Catalyst to learn about his Awareness That Works™ system so that we could develop a process that helps you understand the connection between what you eat, how you cook, and how you feel. With his guidance, The Simple Meal Plan™ has been designed to focus on something he calls The Human Paradox – the disconnect between what we do (in this case, what we eat) and how we look and feel.

We’ve redesigned the SMP with this Human Paradox specifically in mind. Each component of the plan was created with the goal of helping you learn about the ways your food choices affect your energy, your health, your mood, your sleep, and more.

How will we do this? By giving you the tools you need to learn skills to take control of your relationship with food. The skills you learn – meal planning, recipe development, grocery list creation, and more – will make it possible for you to easily create meals for your family that meet their (changing) needs – including health conditions, sensitivities, special diets, and more.

The process starts by conducting (via easy questionnaires) an assessment of you and your family’s needs, challenges, and resources. We find out where you are, and where you want to be when it comes to what you eat. Then, we develop a plan that helps you develop skills through the achievement of specific, measurable goals. You receive support via regular articles, white papers, and an online community of like-minded folks, all helping you become more skilled in areas such as menu planning, using grocery lists, and developing your own recipes.

The plan is designed to run for a full year, at the end of which you’ll be able to plan healthier meals for yourself and your family, and have a better understanding of the connection between what you eat and how you feel.

We expect to begin enrollment around the first of October, and can’t wait to get started! Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when the meal plan becomes available, and to get regular updates and information from Simple Meal Plan.

Those of you who have visited this website might have noticed a few changes. If you’re wondering where the sign-up form, the store, and the “About Simple Meal Plan” have gone, bear with us as we explain.

Over the past few months, we’ve been rethinking the direction Simple Meal Plan is going. We’ve come to the realization that, although we love providing a service that any people find useful, we want to do more. So in the next few months we’re going to be reorganizing, planning, and strategizing, and we’ll be coming back with even more great tools and resources to help you.

We’ll continue to blog here on all things food-related, so keep checking back. We’ll also be announcing the new iteration of the Simple Meal Plan as soon as it’s complete. We can’t wait!

Well, we finally did it – we got our affiliate program up and running! Now, you can click on the button on the right and sign up to become a Simple Meal Plan affiliate, and earn money on every sale you send our way. Interested? Find out more!

The past few days have been quite crazy around here. We’ve been installing some new software on the website, working on getting a new website design, and putting together an affiliate program for Simple Meal Plan. That’s right, in about a week you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to earn money from every customer you send our way! We’re very excited about these changes, and about the changes the warmer weather will bring. As it gets nicer out, we’ll be visiting local farmer’s markets, farm stands, and food providers, and bringing you all kinds of great information about seasonal products, how to shop at farmer’s markets, and more! So check back often, and if you want to get even more great information sign up for our newsletter!

No, that’s not just the name of an annoying 70s (I think) song. It’s also an apt description of what’s going to be going on around here for the next few days. In an effort to make Simple Meal Plan even more useful for you, we’ve made the following changes:

1. We’ve condensed the two recipe guides (the Free Recipe Guide and the Premium Recipe Guide) and made it free to all. We’ve also changed the format of the recipe page, to make it easier to navigate. This means that not only will you now have twice as many recipes that you can access, but getting to them will be easier.
2. We’ve discontinued the monthly Free Content section. It was, quite simply, becoming impossible for us to keep up with updating it, while at the same time providing useful content twice a week on the blog. So instead, we’ll be funnelling all that great information into our twice-weekly blog posts, and sending out a newsletter every week to keep you updated on what’s being posted (simply click on the link over on the right side if you want to receive the newsletter).

We continue to think about how we can make Simple Meal Plan even more useful to you; if you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact us through any of the channels listed here.

I know it seems like it’s still winter – especially up here in the great wild north. But spring (as I keep telling people) is right around the corner. Which means it’s time to start planning the garden!

We have a vegetable garden that’s about 80′ x 28′. It’s a pretty damn big garden. Last year I planted tomatoes, cabbage, and eggplant. The tomatoes fell victim to the blight; the cabbage was attacked by cabbage worms; and the eggplant – well, actually the eggplant did very well. So we’re going to do things a little differently this year.

This year’s plan will involve fewer tomatoes (I don’t want to spend $75 on tomatoes and risk losing them all to blight AGAIN), fewer cabbages (we still have sauerkraut from last year), and fewer eggplants (exactly how much eggplant does one family need, anyway?). We’ll be planting lots of peas and beans (which we eat a lot of), pumpkins and sunflowers for the kid (he actually had a small bean patch last year and took remarkably good care of it), and some interesting, unusual plants (like horseradish and some tropical plants that we’ll have to bring indoors in winter). We’ll do some herbs as well, and a few things we grew last year that did well (like tomatillo and artichoke).

So what are your plans for your garden, if you’re having one? Remember, even a balcony is enough room to grow some tomatoes and basil. If you want to grow a garden but aren’t sure where to start, email me and I’ll be happy to help you find the information you need!

We’ve gotten quite a bit of feedback from members and potential members alike, so we’ve decided to start a new service here at Simple Meal Plan: Vegetarian menus! Starting in March, we’ll be creating vegetarian menus in addition to our regular menus, and sending them to members along with our non-vegetarian menus. Members will have access to BOTH menus every month, and will not have to select one menu or the other.

We will NOT be increasing the cost of the meal plan; $5.00 will include both meal plans, as well as all the premium content, access to member forums, and the free e-guides. So if you’re a vegetarian (or even if you’re not), this is an awesome time to join Simple Meal Plan. Simply click on the box to the right to sign up!

Simply put, we’re a menu planning service that provides you with everything you need to plan and prepare dinners for your family every day of the week.

Do you want to spend less time in the grocery store and the kitchen, and more time with your family? Do you want to make family dinners a time to relax and enjoy time with your family? Would you like to prepare meals that are healthful, varied, and full of fresh ingredients? Are you confused by other menu planning services with options (like special diet plans, point systems, and lists for grocery stores you don’t shop at) that you just don’t need?

We’re here to help. We create simple meal plans that are designed for the average family. We provide a menu of tasty recipes that don’t break the grocery budget.

We:

Provide a simple menu plan that includes well-balanced meals designed for the average family, and that include a balance of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Offer frequent “extras” such as recipes for special desserts and ethnic food specialties, and tips for planning family lunches and breakfasts.

Offer support and connect you with fellow members via the Member Forum.

Send you “e-books” that provide party planning tips, special holiday recipes, and more for no additional cost!

It’s simple. If you’re looking for a way to take the work out of planning family dinners seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, you’ve found it! Click on Everything You Need to Know to get the answers to all your questions, to read the FAQ, and to see a sample menu plan.

See you in the kitchen!

Here you’ll find all the information you need to know about the Simple Meal Plan, including:

An explanation of exactly what you’ll get when you purchase the Simple Meal Plan (below), the FAQ, a sample menu plan, an explanation of what happens when you sign up, and information about gift subscriptions.

What You’ll Get

For the low price of $5.00 a month (that’s less than the price of one cup of coffee a week!) you get unlimited access to the Member Area, where you’ll find:

The monthly Simple Meal Plan™. Every month, we create a new meal plan with a dinner for every night of the month. We post this monthly meal plan approximately a week in advance of the beginning of the month in the Member Area, and send it to you every week along with the next week’s Recipe and Grocery Lists. The program begins in January 2010, so the first meal plan and lists will be available on December 22. We post this far ahead to provide you with ample time to do your grocery shopping for the week. Meals are well-balanced, healthy, and designed to be created in about an hour or less. Everything we post to the Member Area can be downloaded by members at any time; past menu plans and lists can be found in the Member Area as well. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Even though we’ll be sending you the meal plan and lists by email each week, Simple Meal Plan bears no responsibility for making sure you download the information. User-end technical issues will not be grounds for refunds.)

The Recipe List. Every week, we post the Recipe List for the following week on our website and send it to you by email. We’ve devised this system so that you are not overwhelmed with an entire month’s worth of recipes, but have what you need to be able to plan out the coming week. Recipes are clear, concise, and easy to follow; can be prepared with standard kitchen equipment; and will not require specialized cooking skills or techniques.

The Grocery List. With every weekly Recipe List, we will send you a Grocery List with the ingredients for all recipes listed in convenient categories (dairy, produce, meat/poultry, etc.). Groceries will be available at standard grocery stores; gourmet stores and exotic foods won’t be necessary. Additionally, we will make minimal use of prepared foods; food made from scratch is cheaper and healthier, and let’s be honest – if you wanted to eat convenience food, you wouldn’t be paying us to come up with meal plans, would you?

The Forum. Access to the Member Forum is limited to members only; it’s a great place to go for support if you’re having trouble with a recipe or if you just want to share your cooking (and eating!) experiences. We encourage members to share recipes, cooking tips, and food stories here, as well!

The Monthly Newsletter. Every month, you’ll receive a newsletter via email with tips, bonus recipes, and more! Any discounts, specials, or new products will be announced here, so keep your eyes open for great deals.

Premium Content. Every couple of weeks, we’ll post new, Members-only content on the website. We’ll notify you of this content in your weekly email (don’t worry, we’ll keep it brief!) You’ll be able to access it by logging in to Simple Meal Plan and accessing the Member Area.

Free Content. Of course, you’ll still have access to the free features of the Simple Meal Plan website. Here you’ll find recipes, cooking tips, and the Party Planning and Recipe Guides.

New Features and Content: We are constantly trying to think up ways to improve our services and provide you with useful, interesting content. Expect to see new features, ideas, and content throughout the year!

All this for only $5.00 a month!! What are you waiting for? Click here to sign up today!

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Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to be rolling out some new features on Simple Meal Plan:

1. The Simple Meal Plan Blog. Here you’ll find articles on all sorts of helpful topics. We hope to include articles from a variety of contributors, including farm owners, chefs, winemakers, and more! Future articles will include topics such as:

• Why should I buy local?
• How to shop at the farmer’s market.
• What does “organic” really mean?
• How to shop artisanal cheese.

2. The Simple Meal Plan Guide to Local Food. We believe so much in buying local that we want to make it easier for you to find local producers. Our guide will include all sorts of food producers, including beef farms, dairy farms, local bakers, cheese makers, local wineries, orchards, farm stands, and more! If you own (or work for) a small farm, farm stand, or other local food producer, contact us and we’ll gladly add the information to the directory.

3. The Simple Meal Plan “Spotlight On…” section. In this section, we’re going to be selecting specific local food producers to focus on. We’ll be creating extended profiles of these producers, and will provide more information about each highlighted producer so you can learn more about them. Again, if you’d like your farm or a farm you know of to be selected for this section, contact us.

That’s it for now. As we introduce more features, we’ll make sure to let you know about them, so check back often!