Cue the trumpets! The day is finally here. I’m excited to share that I finally have a meal planning solution for you. Over the years, I’ve heard from more and more of you who use Cookie and Kate recipes almost exclusively at home (hooray!), and would love help planning your meals.
I’ve really wanted to help, but the logistics made my head spin. Like, what if my weekly meal plan included my latest favorite pasta dish, but your husband’s gluten free, your daughter hates olives, or you’re just not in the mood for pasta this week? RIP, meal plan.
I didn’t want to offer meal plans if I couldn’t do them right, but now I have a solution that really works. I partnered with Real Plans, a website with amazing meal-planning technology, and we added over 300 Cookie and Kate recipes to their database (which already includes over 600 vegetarian recipes).
Basically, you tell Real Plans how many breakfasts, lunches and dinners you need to plan each week, and for how many people, and it will create a menu and grocery list for you. You can customize it as much or as little as you’d like. I love to cook but hate planning; with Real Plans, I can fast-forward to the fun stuff.
How it works:
State your preferences once, and you’re done
Real Plans will only display recipes that work for you from now on. For example, I selected the “vegetarian” option, and it immediately excluded beef, poultry, etc. from my recipe options. If you hate olives, you can exclude all olive recipes. If you’re gluten intolerant on top of that, you can set it up for vegetarian, olive-free, gluten-free recipes in just a few clicks. Boom! No more sifting through recipes to find what will work.
Easy recipe adjustments
You can let Real Plans pick out your recipes for you, or you can pick them all out yourself, or anywhere in between. It’s super flexible. They will adjust all of the ingredients so the recipe yields the number of servings that you need. They even have a Tinder-style iPhone app that you can flip through to browse recipes—swipe right if you like it; swipe left if you don’t. If only dating were so easy!
Unlimited recipe options
You can add any recipe that you find on the internet to your recipe box using their bookmarklet. It’s as easy as pinning a recipe. You can also choose from my recipes, from Real Plans’ own recipes, and/or pay an extra dollar per month to access another bloggers’ recipes (like my friend, Naturally Ella).
Organized grocery lists
Once you’ve picked out your recipes for the week, you can print your grocery list or pull it up on your phone using their iPhone app. You can check off the ingredients you already have at home, and the ingredients you still need to buy are organized by section of the grocery store. If you change a recipe on your meal plan, the grocery list automatically updates. Love it!
Cooking timeline
Real Plans compiles a list of any prep work required for meals so you can review it at a glance. Granted, I try to keep prep work for my recipes to an absolute minimum so you won’t find much prep work for my recipes, but this is a great feature.
Nutrition facts
I don’t offer nutrition facts for Cookie and Kate yet (that’s actually a huge project), but Real Plans has calculated them all for you. How nice is that?!
Fantastic resources and support team
With any awesome technical solution, there’s a bit of a learning curve. Real Plans has made it so easy to learn how to use their tools, from short videos to 24/7 customer support people that will gladly answer your questions.
It’s affordable
I really believe that Real Plans will more than pay for itself by saving you money at the grocery store (no more wasted ingredients) and by saving you time (priceless). The membership costs as little as $7 per month and you can cancel any time. They offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you cancel within the first 30 days (it just takes a few clicks), you can request a refund through their support team.
In summary, if you’re generally short on time, searching for last-minute dinner ideas, and/or ordering takeout more often than you’d like to be, Real Plans could be your saving grace. This is a service that I could never offer on my own, so I’m pleased to find such an awesome partner in Real Plans. Check out Real Plans here!
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Jen
Kate I just adore your Cookie!
Thanks for a wonderful idea for meal planning.
With love, Jen.
Kate
Thank you, Jen! She’s a pretty special pup. Have a great day!
sam-c
That is so cool!
thanks for setting that up with your recipes. I will have to check it out.
I wonder if the Real Plans also selects recipes for things that are in season? or will they be suggesting Brussels sprouts in April and asparagus in November?
Kelly
Just signed up and it not only confirms season, but region as well.
Kate
Awesome, thanks for letting us know, Kelly.
sam-c
sounds great! thanks for the info
Kate
Good questions, Sam! I am looking at the recipes they picked out for me automatically and they are all pretty fall-themed, so I suspect they’re already doing that. You can also browse recipes by season (and a ton of other variables).
Kelly
Subscribed. Just what I was looking for! I just can’t see your recipe options in the Origin section- I did pay the upgrade fee. Thoughts?
Kate
Awesome! I hope you love it, Kelly. You might just need to scroll down under the Origin section. You should see “Cookie & Kate” in the bottom! Let me know if you don’t.
Danica
I’m going to have to check this out – I need a grocery list planner.
Also, my daughter loves your posts that feature Cookie! What a cutie!
Marta
Kate, that sounds great,mexactly what I need. I was one of the people who lived on your recipes, relishing my kitchen time. Then — I became a mother last fall and haven’t yet been able to find a way to continue my joy of cooking (well, it is not just the baby.mfixing up a house and moving didn’t help either). I really really miss spending time in the kitchen, not to mention the food, and your new meal plan partnership, I hope, may just be what I need.
Kate
Hi Marta! Thank you for your note. It sounds like you have had lots of exciting changes in your life this past year! I hope Real Plans helps you get back into the kitchen. If you have any trouble, their support staff is super helpful. Have a great weekend!
Lynn Richards
Sheer genius!
Kate
Thanks, Lynn! Hope you love Real Plans.
Anne
Just what I need! I’ve just started a new (wonderful but time/energy consuming) job and want to rededicate myself to making healthier life choices. This service will let me easily work C&K recipes into Weight Watchers and save me from wasting time on extra stops at the market.
Kate
Congratulations on your new job, Anne! I hope Real Plans is just the tool you need.
Erin
I just signed up for a year of Real Plans through your link. Excited to try it out, cook more of your delicious recipes, and get nutrition facts on your recipes too.
Kate
Thank you, Erin! I hope you love Real Plans. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of their support team; they’re really helpful!
Joey
Do you intend on adding more of your recipes to RealPlans? I purchased the Cookie + Kate add on, but several of your recipes that I’ve prepared had to be imported. This isn’t really a difficult thing to do, as their recipe import feature works well. However for custom or imported recipes, they don’t report nutritional information. Again, not a huge deal, but having only some of your recipes on there makes spending the extra $1/mo for the add-on less appealing.
The good news is that I’m cooking a lot more of your wonderful dishes than I otherwise would have! Thanks for all the hard work.
Kate
Hi Joey! I am, but we haven’t figured out a schedule/system for adding the new recipes yet. I’m so glad you’re cooking more of my recipes!
Maria
Hi Kate,
I tried Real Plans. I wasn’t liking it (I’m Spanish, and all the food was just too foreign or Americanized for my taste) so I unsubscribed within the first 30 months, but I never got my money back. Of course I’m not blaming you (especially since you tried and it worked), but I just think it’s something you should know.
I love your blog otherwise, and thanks for sharing such delicious and reliable recipes!
Kate
Hi Maria, I’m sorry to hear about your experience. I have brought it to Real Plans’ attention. I got my money back as promised when I cancelled within 30 days.
Charlene
Hi Maria,
Thank you so much for reaching out.
Your purchase was refunded earlier today after receiving your correspondence via email that you wished to be refunded.
You certainly were eligible for a refund but since some customers only sign up for one month at a time, we do not automatically refund upon cancellation.
It is a pity Real Plans didn’t work out for you. We do hope you find a meal planning solution that will suit your needs.
Happy Cooking!
Charlene
Customer Service
Real Plans
Myranda
Are eggs vegan?
Kate
No, they’re an animal product, so they’re not vegan. They are vegetarian.
Danielle
Just wanted to say thank you. I am an avid reader and love all your recipes. I am an RN and I tell all my patients about your healthy, fun, delicious blog. Nutrition is the most important thing to a healthy life. Thanks for all you do to keep us all feeling our best!
Thato Reynolds
Can I just say I am SO GLAD that I stumbled across your site! I typed in “healthy banana muffins” – making them today and now I’ve just been completely sucked in! Keep doing the amazing work. We aren’t vegetarians (yet) but will definitely be systematically trying all your recipes out because they sound delicious! Thank you thank you thank you! With regards to Real Plan, can I access it from the UK?
Looking forward to hearing from you – keep up the fantastic work :)
Winnie at Induction Cooking
I love that photo of Cookie, so adorable. This planner is a great idea. My recipe repertoire has been a bit limited lately!
Kimberly
OH hey! I just saw this post! Sorry, I made a suggestion on your latest post for a meal plan with your recipes (I was inspired by Plant Based on a Budget); I guess that was an unnnecessary suggestiom! Lol. Too bad this costs money though. One of the biggest motivators for me to make a meal plan is to save money. Maybe I’ll try to make one on my own….
Rhonda
Just wanted to say thank you! I have recently become a vegetarian, like 30 days ago was the last time I had bacon kinda recently. I have found so many of your recipes and tips useful and delicious!! The how to cook tofu was super helpful, and the kale pizza – my favorite thing right now!! Can’t wait to try the leftover sauce on pasta mixed with spaghetti squash!! Honestly, thank you, the recipes are easy, and yummy for someone new to this whole no meat thing!! And of course, Cookie is adorable :)
Debi Petersen
Do you have recipes that are great for making and freezing. Ha being surgery in 2 weeks and want to make ahead vegetarian meals. I love your butternut squash chili.
Can I freeze that?
Kate
Hi Debi, that’s a good question. I have been meaning to write a post about freezer-friendly meals, but I haven’t gotten a chance to freeze many of mine. The butternut chili should be a great candidate for freezing, as would my lentil soup. Non-dairy soups/stews/chilis generally freeze well. My granola bars are also a great snack to keep in the freezer. Hope that helps!
Margaret
Hi Kate – Just a big fan of the site putting in a friendly request for this potential post about freezer-friendly meals! Thanks for all you do to help us eat healthy, vegetable-forward meals!
Kate
Thank you for your feedback! Noted, :)
Nolleen Lyall
Hi Kate
When having Real Plans how do you find you specific recipes??