We are so excited to feature Rebecca Cinnamon Green in this week’s subscriber spotlight article! Read our Q and A with her here!
DG: We’d love to get to know you! Tell us a bit about yourself and your family. Where are you based? What do you do?
RCG: I live in Atlanta with my husband and two daughters, ages 7 and 4. We are expecting a boy in late October! My husband has an orthodontics practice, and I fill in various functions in the office as needed. When I’m not working there, I do some blogging on social media. My mission as a blogger is to help women elevate their style – which to me includes many things from clothing and accessories to beauty routine, parenting hacks, and even wellness and clean living. I love being the go-to for questions about clean makeup products, nontoxic home cleaners, and where to buy a great pair of maternity leggings – and of course, my go-to meal prep plan ;).
DG: How and when did you first hear about Prep + Rally? What inspired you to subscribe, and which plan do you have?
RCG: Last summer, I posted in a local Facebook moms group asking for easy meal suggestions. A friend referred me to Prep + Rally, so I downloaded the free week PDF. It was so great that I signed up for the month trial, fell hard and ultimately purchased the year subscription on a promotion without thinking twice. Best $75 I have ever spent for my family.
DG: How long have you been a Prep + Rally subscriber for? What did your dinnertime life (ie. grocery shopping, meal planning, cooking) look like before you joined Prep + Rally? How has Prep + Rally changed the way that you approach preparing meals?
RCG: July marked my one year anniversary with Prep + Rally!
Before Prep + Rally, I was working in the practice and getting home around 7:30 PM, by which time I was exhausted, and starting to cook dinner was not on my agenda. Because of our busy school and work schedule, the house was always poorly stocked. Noam (my husband) and I either ate takeout or whatever kid-friendly food I had left with the nanny or my mom for the girls. Plain pasta (I’m dairy-free, so I couldn’t even enjoy the melted cheese that they had) and cereal were frequent entrees.
I’m a decent cook, and I enjoy making interesting meals, but the conceiving and planning part is my biggest obstacle. With Prep + Rally it’s all laid out for me, and I have no trouble willing myself to execute the plans provided! As a mother, it is unbelievably satisfying leaving nutritious and delicious food for the kids and also knowing that I have a hearty meal waiting for me when I get home.
Another benefit of Prep + Rally is that my grocery shopping is much more efficient and cost-effective. I can focus on moving quickly through the store (or the Instacart website these days!), and I only buy what we need, which leaves us with less food waste and more money in the bank.
DG: Has the Prep + Rally system helped ease any of the pressure of having everyone home during these crazy times? Please share the impact, if any, that having a stable plan for weeknight dinners has had on you and/or your family during COVID.
RCG: COVID has led to some creative uses for Prep + Rally in our family. My parents live right behind us, so back in March we decided to co-quarantine. Some weeks my mom and I have split up the prep so that we can eat our dinners together (this worked phenomenally when my siblings drove down from New York for three weeks!). Other times I’ve selected our family’s favorite recipes and just cooked them each day since I was home and able to. Access to the archives is a hidden gem of Prep + Rally, which we definitely use to our advantage! In the last few months I have not always stuck to the weekly plans verbatim, but I know I have that stability to return to them when I need it, which is a huge comfort to me.
Rebecca’s family enjoying Prep + Rally recipes
DG: Generally speaking, do you feel that Prep + Rally has changed your family’s eating habits/dinnertime environment at all? Did you/your family try any flavors or foods that you wouldn’t have before as a result of Prep + Rally? Please explain.
RCG: Prep + Rally has absolutely expanded my family’s tastes. While there are still things our girls refuse to eat, they’ve become more open to trying new foods and have been excited by certain flavor profiles, which can sometimes be surprising and very cute. I feel so great about the variety of whole foods that we are all eating, and I know our diets have benefited from Prep + Rally in a major way!
Rebecca’s family has been exposed to a wide range of flavors as a result of Prep + Rally.
DG: What have you enjoyed most about being a Prep + Rally subscriber?
RCG: As I mentioned above, having access to past prep plans and recipes has been huge. While it’s amazing to receive a unique and fully developed plan every week, occasionally there is a dinner or even a week that just won’t jive with our family. But I know that as an annual subscriber I can search through and bring back any of our favorites.
DG: Is there a particular Prep + Rally meal-prep or dish that stands out to you? Please share!
RCG: Okay – shakshuka is definitely a life-hack! Also, we recently modified the chicken fajitas into fish tacos and served them with cabbage slaw and the coconut rice and beans, and it was the perfect meal for everyone in our extended family, including my non-fish-eating brother and sister-in-law. We also still dream about the beef chili over roasted sweet potatoes. YUM!
DG: We are always open to suggestions from subscribers for how to improve Prep + Rally! Are there any features or additions that you wish our system had?
RCG: Since I don’t eat dairy and we try to minimize our red meat consumption, it would be cool to see more suggestions of how to modify recipes for certain eating restrictions in creative ways.
DG: Do you have anything else to share about your Prep + Rally experience?
RCG: I truly believe Prep + Rally is something that could benefit almost every family! The peace of mind you get when you remove the pressure of meal planning or introduce a rich variety of recipes to your household is invaluable. And when you can get it for an entire year for the price of a pair of shoes, it’s a no-brainer.
Thank you, Rebecca, for spreading the Prep + Rally love!
Do you also want to make dinnertime easier for you and your family? Be sure to click here to get your Prep + Rally subscription – you’ll get the first month free!
–Interview compiled and edited by Dena Gershkovich, Prep + Rally contributor
Dena Gershkovich is a writer, recipe developer and future dietitian. She holds a B.S. in Dietetics and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland. She will be completing her dietetic internship with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan starting in September 2020. Follow Dena’s blog, The Artsy Palate, and Instagram account (@theartsypalate) to see more of her work.
