Review: Relish! Menu Planning Service

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Today’s review I’ve been writing up for a few weeks now. There’s no way I can write about every little feature of this site, but I’ll try to hit the parts I found most important.

I was really excited when I received a free year’s subscription to a menu planning service at RelishRelish.com. As a busy mom, I like to make quick, healthy meals, and avoid using heavily-processed ingredients while doing so.

Once you’re logged into the site, you can check out happenings, season features, and fan favorites. Or, you can check out your menu. In the photo below, I’ve created my weekly menu on the left. On the right, you can see my choices. Just drop and drag into the menu. I can also choose from my favorites and editor’s picks.

Examples of recipes include Pork Tenderloin with Red Wine Fig Sauce, Ham and Cheese Rollups with Broiled Pineapple, Baked Barbecue Chicken and Cheddar Mashed Potatoes, and Cheesy Meatloaf with Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. As you can see, there’s a variety of recipes available.

There are a lot of recipes for slow-cookers, which is great. I love using my Crock-Pot. There are also kid-friendly recipes, low-calorie recipes, quick recipes, and more. Probably my favorite category is the $12 dinners. That’s $12 for 4 servings. Don’t forget to scroll through the sides. Each entree already comes linked to a matching side, but you can add other ones.

When you’re done, click the green button that says “Shopping List.” At this point, you can adjust servings from 4, if you want 2, 6, or 8. Check the boxes for the items you don’t need anymore.

The recipes are easy to follow, and I’m very pleased that these recipes are made (for the most part) with fresh ingredients. Some recipes do call for short cuts like using Pillsbury pie dough or cream of mushroom soup. If you’re trying to avoid processed foods, you can skip those recipes or make your own substitution (pie crust and cream soups aren’t that hard to make from scratch…even I can do it!). It’s easy to adapt recipes too. One day I realized that it was too late in the day to start the slow-cooker recipe I’d been planning on. So I made it on the stovetop. It was still delicious!

Here are two of the meals I’ve made- “Naked Chicken Burrito Bowls” and “Slow Cooker Soy and Ginger Chicken.”

Naked Chicken Burrito Bowl- minus the salsa (Baby J can’t have tomatoes) and black beans (I forgot to put them on until later).
Slow Cooker Soy and Ginger Chicken. Recipe from Relish!
Slow Cooker Soy and Ginger Chicken. The photo doesn’t do this entree justice! It’s fantastic!

They were both delicious. I’m definitely making both again. The burrito bowl is easy to customize, but I’ll be leaving the soy and ginger chicken “as-is.” I can’t think of anything I want to change!

I have a few suggestions to improve the site and make it more user-friendly. I was traveling over the holidays and when I finally got around to logging back in, none of my usual passwords worked. (I know the *experts* say you’re not supposed to write your passwords down, but I can’t be the only one who can never remember them!) So I entered my email address to have my Relish! account password sent to my email. After that, there was no screen or pop-up or message that said my email had successfully been submitted. An hour later, no password or Relish! email had arrived in my inbox or spam folder. I checked back on the site.

When I clicked on the “Contact Us” tab, a page opened that said “Give us a call or email us!” But there was no phone number or email address listed. I searched through my emails that Relish! sends every week, and I finally found a good contact email in one of them. I sent a message to that email adders. Later that night, one of the owners from Relish! emailed me my password, so it worked out. I just think it would be easier if it was automated or if you could find contact info easier.

Once you’re logged into the site, there is a Member Support area where you can submit a contact request form. There’s also a phone number, but you can’t access any of this until you’re logged in.

One other thing, I read a blogger’s review back from 2012 that Relish! had an iphone/ipad app, but I haven’t been able to find it online or on the marketplace. It would be nice to save paper and ink (and time). If there was a phone app connected to my Relish! account, I could just download my shopping list onto my phone. I can, of course, open the site in my phone’s web browser or email the list to my phone, but each way uses data unless I have a wifi signal.

Some additional info that is important enough to note:

Every Thursday, I receive an email from Relish! letting me know to log-in and check out new recipes. There are vegetarian options for each week. Each meal has the nutrition information listed, as well as Weight Watcher points.

If you need help in the organization department (like I do), a site like this can be invaluable. Planning your meals ahead of time will also help you stick to a budget. As I continue on my fitness journey, I always keep track of what I consume. Many of the recipes I find online don’t have the nutritional value included, and I have to calculate every little thing myself. Relish! takes the work away from me.

There are three sign-up options for Relish!– 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. You save as you sign up for more months.

Would you give a menu planning service a try? Do you think you could incorporate a site like this into your busy life?

Note: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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20 Comments

  1. a had previously looked into a menu planning service-one of my sons & family had used one and thought it was great. However, we ended up not trying because my hubbie was looking for a special diet. Does Relish have multiple diet options [other than just vegetarian]?

    1. What kind of diet options are you looking for specifically? They have low-cal meals too, but I don’t think they have gluten or dairy-free specific, if that’s what you’re looking for (although some recipes ARE gluten and/or dairy free).

  2. I will have to check out the site the next time my friend and I get together to make a dozen freezer slow cooker meals and see what they have. Love they give a grocery list!

  3. it’s a great idea – but right now, between allergies and thyroid – and just trying to get back into an organic lifestyle and lose weight….it would be a bit much for me…

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