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stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution — Gatheredtable

home / Activities / cooking / stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution — Gatheredtable
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When I was asked to check out Gatheredtableย and then share it with my readers (if I liked it!), I was hesitant.

It sounded too good to be true.

  • Stress-free dinner prep?
  • Mealย planning that won’t make me lose my mind?
  • Foodย that will keep everyone happy?ย 
  • New recipes catered to our family’s needs and preferences?
  • Time-saving so that I can spend what few minutesย I have cooking and not recipe searching or shopping?
  • Homemade foods that will keep everyoneย healthy and strong?
  • Money-saving on top of it all?

I honestly needed to see it, to try it–to live it–in order to believe it.

stress-free dinner prep and planning the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable teachmama.com

But you guys.

It’s crazy how awesome Gatheredtable is, and I cannot wait to tell you about it.

It’s stress-free dinner prep. It’s stress-free planning. It’s the perfect combination for a happy family.ย Really.

I feel like I’ve waited my whole life for Gatheredtable. It combines the best of all of my favorite food-relatedย sites in one, simple and logical platform.

Here’s the skinny. . .

Stress-Free Dinner Prep and Planning — The Happy Family Solution — Gatheredtable:ย 

Essentially, Gatheredtable helps families get into the routine ofย home cooking.

It is a busy-family’s answer to finding time to prepare–and eat–home-cooked meals together.

gathered table | teachmama.com

gathered table | teachmama.com

Here’s how it works:

  • Sign up for a free account at Gatheredtable.com;
  • Update your profile and choose your menu preferences andย cooking days;
  • Check out the recipe suggestions Gatheredtable sends you and add your own;
  • Populate your shopping list and head to the store OR have the groceries delivered to you via Peapod;
  • Cook, eat, and enjoy time together as a family!

Watch a super-quick video of Gatheredtable:

 

Cool, right? Almost seems too good to be true? That’s what I thought.

Gatheredtable is stress-free dinner prep that really is easy to use.

Intrigued? I was, too.

Check out a little bit more about Gatheredtable:

Confession: We have a tendency to get into the taco rut. We also get into the slow cooker chicken rut. And the spaghetti rut.

Often, I’m running into the grocery store in between drop-off and pick-up, and I have no recipes with me–all I know is that we need food.

So I grab what I always grab–or I grab what’s on sale–and I zip onto the next thing.

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

Weย have only been using Gatheredtable now for the last three weeks, but we’ve tried several new recipes that our family has loved.

The recipes we chose were quick, easy, and absolutely delicious.

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

The Hungarian Beef Stew was so amazing that by the time I got home to have some, it was nearly gone!

Thursdays are our super busy days; we’re running non-stop after school until later than I’d care to admit. It’s just the way things worked out this winter, and thankfully it’s only one really crazy day.

Usually, though, it’s a grab and go kinda night. We usually do something quick, and it’s usually (cough) frozen or (double cough–) fast foodish. Gross, I know.

This week, thanks to Gatheredtable, I threw something new and interesting into the crockpot around noon, and it was ready–and devoured–for family members as they were home to eat.

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

 

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

And this week, we’ve had more snow than I can even remember. Thankfully, our power stayed on through the 36-hour blizzard and through 30+ inches of snow. ย And thankfully, my Gatheredtable recipe list remindedย me earlier in the week to pick up all the ingredients I needed for a few other recipes as well.

The Slow Cooker Spinach and Ricotta Lasagna was so good–and so packed with spinach–that each of my kids reached for seconds and thirds last night. Really and truly, I believeย it was because the dish was delicious and not that they were starving from playing in the snow for five hours.

meal planning is easy gatheredtable teachmama.com

Gatheredtable makes planning meals so easy.ย 

You’re not stuck with recipes that you won’t like. You can pull recipes from just about anywhere you want–other sites, your favorite chefs, or you can input your own.

The Recipe Clipper bookmark makes saving your recipes from around the web incredibly easy.

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

 

Your monthly planner is super-easy to edit and customize. . .ย 

meal planning is easy gatheredtable teachmama.com

 

. . . whether you are on your desktop or your mobile device.ย 

IMG_6965meal planning is easy gatheredtable teachmama.com

And recipes are easy to find and actually make.

The Featured Collections break down recipes into manageable categories.ย 

meal planning is easy gatheredtable teachmama.com

The Gatheredtable Community breaks down recipes into users’ own recipes.ย 

I found it really cool to do a little searching to see which cooks had recipes that interested me or that looked tasty.

meal planning is easy gatheredtable teachmama.com

 

And you can add recipes manually, by cutting/ pasting, or by using the bookmark I mentioned above.ย 

The benefit of adding your own favorite recipes is that then, when you put them on your planner, the ingredients will automatically be added to that week’s shopping list.

How cool is that??

meal planning is easy gatheredtable teachmama.com

 

Your grocery list is created and updates on both the desktop site and mobile site any time you make changes.ย 

You can print the list, update your pantry or replenishables, or print or email the list.

stress-free dinner prep and planning: the happy family solution -- Gatheredtable

And if you live in a participating area, Peapod can even deliver your groceries.

Dream. Come. True.

Friends, just so you know– there is a downside.

And here it is:ย Gatheredtable is not free.

But in this case,ย your money is well worth what you will receive in time saved, in money saved, and in time spent with your family–enjoying healthy, ย home-cooked meals together.

And we have a super deal for teachmama.com readers.

The good folks from Gatheredtableย are offering a 40% discount on annual subscriptions to all customers who sign up via this post–that’s $72/year. The promo code to receive this discount will be automatically attached to usersโ€™ account when the click on any of the linksย in this post.

So? What are you waiting for? Visit Gatheredtable and sign up now. Give it a go!

I was given a 30 day free trial for the purposes of writing this post, but I will definitely pay for the year after that. I think it’s worth it.

stress free meal planning and prep gatheredtable teachmama.com

A few Gatheredtable fun facts:

  • The Gatheredtable platform is so easy to use that your kids would probably love to be involved! Teach them how to use it, and then you can plan meals together. You may be surprised at how much your kids love making meals with you.
  • 1% of Gatheredtable profits go to The Edible Schoolyard Project, a national non-profit organization founded by Alice Waters in Berkeley, CA. ย The mission of the ESYP is to develop and share edible education curricula with schools across the country

  • The Gatheredtable #homemade14 challenge asks people to share a picture of their homemade meal every day on social media. Customers who successfully complete the challenge (and post about it every day) will be entered to win their choice of a Gatheredtable Starter or Pro kit of kitchen tools. (In order to be entered to win, readers must use #homemade14 and #gatheredtable in at least one meal-related post/photo each day for 14 days starting anytime between January 4th and February 1. Posts must be on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.)
  • Follow Gatheredtable on social with the hashtag #mynewdinnerroutine, and you’ll get a sense of the fab recipes and community: Follow on Facebook | Follow on Twitter | Follow on Instagram

What do you think, friends? Think it’s something worth checking out? What questions do you have? I’d love to help!

 

fyi: This post was written as part of a partnership with Gatheredtable. All opinions are my own, influenced only by my experience as a parent and educator and by my three little up-and-coming chefs.ย 

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post: « prepare your family for weather emergency how to prepare your family for a weather emergency (especially in the dc metro area)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jo-Lynne Shane

    January 26, 2016 at 11:06 am

    This sounds awesome!

    Reply
    • amy mascott

      January 26, 2016 at 11:29 am

      Jo-Lynne, it REALLY is. You can choose any food preferences, too–so bc you’re gluten-free, it may make your planning/ cooking much easier!

      Reply
  2. MCkenzie

    January 29, 2016 at 7:35 pm

    you had me at stressed-free! looking forward to looking into Gathered table! thanks for the post!

    Reply
  3. Michelle

    January 31, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Very cool! Thanks for sharing ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  4. Christine

    February 2, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    I will definitely be looking into trying this! Thank you for sharing on Meetup Monday!

    Reply
  5. Lou Lou Girls

    February 3, 2016 at 2:44 pm

    Love this! Pinned and tweeted! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at our linky party. We hope to see you next Monday @ 7 because we can’t wait to see your new creations! Happy Wednesday! Lou Lou Girls

    Reply
  6. Pili

    February 4, 2016 at 10:03 pm

    Popping over from #2usestuesday to thank you for linking up your wonderful post with us! I hope you have a fantastic week!

    Pili

    Reply
  7. bonbon @ Farmhouse 40

    February 7, 2016 at 9:36 pm

    Thanks for sharing this great idea at INSPIRE ME MONDAY link party. I hope to see there again this Monday. Hugs!!! http://www.farmhouse40.com

    Reply
  8. Janice (5 Minutes for Mom)

    February 12, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    This looks SO fabulous!!!!!

    Reply
    • amy mascott

      February 13, 2016 at 4:58 pm

      thanks, friend–we LOVE it!!!

      Reply

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