Have you heard of the Marketside brand at Walmart?
Well to be honest, neither had I. They offered me the opportunity a few weeks ago to test some of their foods & I figured “What the heck”. Food that you prepare at home almost always has SOME sort of frugal spin on it. Even if a meal is a bit more than other brands or options out there, it still, 99% of the time, is cheaper than buying the same items at a restaurant. And it turns out the Martketside products are all about fresh food, not frozen or overly processed, so that fits in well with my personal philosophy on food as well.
I assumed that I’d get a big box of products (probably shipped with dry ice) to try sometime this week, or possibly even “free product” coupons so I could head on over to Walmart and pick up the stuff myself.
Nope.
I got a letter on Friday:
Dear Jennifer
This week we want to introduce you to one more way Walmart can help you save money and live better. Introducing Marketside! The best fresh foods at Walmart’s unbeatable low prices.
Marketside teamed with leading bakers, chefs, and farmers to bring you the best quality fresh foods and because it’s only at Walmart you know you’ll find the lowest possible prices everyday. Marketside is fresh, wholesome and delicious-guarenteed or your money back.
To make it easy for you to try Marketside, we are sending you FRESH MEALS each day. If you love it as much as we do, please tell the world-we heard you might have a blog or something 🙂
Ok, gotta admit that is cute-especially the last comment about having a blog 😉 And who can resist someone sending them free, fresh meals for a week ? It’s a whole week off from cooking (well, ok, 4 days, Monday is up to me)! Woohoo!
So here is this week’s menu plan, sponsored by Marketside at Walmart.
Monday: Leftovers
I have a fridge full of bits and pieces of things and the kids & I are heading out of town this weekend on a family trip. I need to clear things out before we go
Tuesday: Take & Bake Pizza and Salad
The package will include 12″ thin crust pizza and several salad kits. It’s supposed to be a dinner for four at about $2 a person.
Wednesday: Fresh Soup & Artisan Bread Night
A selection of soups, mini artisan loaves & a full sized loaf. About $1.75 per person.
Thursday: Gourmet Pasta Dinner
A selection of fresh pastas, fresh pasta sauces and steam ready vegetables. Around $2.75 a person.
Friday: Fresh Dips for Entertaining
A generous selection of various types of Hummus, vegetable dips, fruit dips & guacamole.
Ok, this isn’t a meal, but it works out because we’ll be traveling that day. Yankee Bill will be home to test the dips (and what guy can’t make chips & dips into a meal) and the kids & I will be eating fast food on the road. If we are lucky there will be plenty of dip when we get home 🙂
Saturday & Sunday: Nothing
Yankee Bill is on his own for this one, and the kids & I will be away.
I’m interested to see how these foods taste. It’s lovely not to have to worry about cooking this week (especially since I have to pack at some point) and I like the concept of fresh prepared food. I always prefer home cooked, from scratch, but sometimes life just doesn’t leave you time for that. Eating out is rarely frugal, and rarely healthy (although of course quick & easy) so this may be a good emergency alternative for folks. You know-when there is barely time between kids activities to think no less cook, you forgot to throw something in the crockpot and it is oh so tempting to just grab your keys & coat and take everyone out instead.
So watch for an update later in the week!
Disclosure: This post is part of a campaign I am participating in with Walmart to test the Marketside brand products. Walmart has provided me with food samples and compensation for this posts. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.
****This is a sponsored post****
Well using the 1.75 amount per person for a family of 4 three meals a day per week for a month it would be 588! Assuming people eat these “marketside” meals every day for all three meals. I LOVE the bagged spinach because the only other brand wal-mart has is close to three-four dollar range when the marketside is only 1.98 a bag. I bet it all tastes good but I bet the fiber (besides the veggies) are close to nill. Hope you have a great dinner!
Brooke- You have a valid point. To me this sort of meal is not a daily thing, but more of an “oh no” type meal 🙂 I wouldn’t want to pay that much per meal per person every day. But on the other hand I can’t buy similar meals out (drive through or sit down) for that cost either. . . That’s the thing about frugality-every choice doesn’t have to be the absolute lowest cost, but when you combine saving with thoughtful decisions about your priorities then you can really make a difference in your budget.