It's no secret that email-based meal planning services are one of my favorite solutions for busy moms.  I just LOVE having quick and easy dinner ideas sent right inbox, complete with all the recipes and shopping lists -- plus extra bonuses for the foodie in me.

Lately, I've gotten a few emails asking how to decide which email meal planning service is right for you. So I thought I'd do a little comparision for you to clear up any confusion. Here are all the details on my four favorite menu planning services for busy moms:

1) Dine Without Whine offers a family-friendly menu planning.

Each week you get:
* Main Dish Recipes For Dinner Every Night Of The Week
* Suggestions For Side Dishes
*Brunch Ideas For Saturday And Sunday
* A Couple Dessert Recipes To Be Used Anytime During the Week
* and most importantly each menu will include a grocery list  (categorized by aisle) for the week that includes all the necessary ingredients to prepare the recipes highlighted in the newsletter!  All you have to do is cross off any items you may already have on hand - add breakfast, snack or lunch items you may need and you're ready to shop!

All recipes are fairly simple and family friendly, which means they *should* appeal to your picky eaters too! It’s affordably priced at $4.95/month. You can check it out at http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/dinewithoutwhine

2) Healthy Menu Mailers is very similar to DineWithoutWhine. It’s an affordable email service where you receive healthy menu plans each week in your inbox instead of “family-friendly” meals.  Each week you get:

    *  7 healthy dinner recipes that are easy to prepare (and of course very tasty).
    * A grocery list to go along with it.
    * A personal note from Susanne and Christine to encourage you to stick with your new healthy lifestyle.
    * Access to breakfast, lunch, side dish, dessert and snack recipes.
    * Access to the members only forum to meet other like minded people, exchange ideas and recipes and get help from Christine and Susanne.

You can check it out at: http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/healthymenumailer

3) MenuPlanningCentral  offers  more value than DWW or HMM. Instead of one type of menu, this program offers three (one family friendly, one healthy menu, and one vegetarian) – enough of each type for one entire month.

You also get a special monthly report (with past products archived), covering different  culinary topics  - such as grilling or Mexican, expert advice, videos, a community forum, and more. You'll definately want to check this one out at: http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/menuplanningforbusymoms

4) More Thyme - Want even more options? MoreThyme.com offers the ulitimate in flexibilty. Unlike newsletter-based menus, you have the freedom to change the recipes, meals and menus to your hearts content.

What's really unique about More Thyme is that it can learn your taste in food and provide menu suggestions for you that not only match your taste, but your diet as well. You can use a standard balanced, low-carb, or low-fat diet, or create a custom diet. The shopping list not only contains what's in the recipes on your plan, but you can also add additional items (like napkins, cleaning supplies, etc.).

When you join, you take a short survey and rate various main ingrediants based on your personal taste and/or allergies. You can also select from several diet options.  After narrowing down your preferences they'll give you a variety of new and interesting options each week to create a menu that your family will love.   Want to use your own recipes? No problem, enter them and they're saved for you. Want to try something new? They have thousands of recipes and complete meals for you to choose from.  Like the meal, but not the vegetable side dish? You can switch it out! Like the recipe, but want to make a few changes? No problem, use the recipe editor to add it to your private recipe collection.  When you have your meals planned, More Thyme generates a printed shopping list (which you can edit), a menu to keep you on track, and all the recipes you need.  

You can check this one out at http://www.solutionsforbusymoms.com/morethyme 

Feel free to let me know which one you like best!