Do you meal plan? While I’ve admitted in the past that planning and organization can be my Achilles heal, I’ve really made meal planning a priority this year, and am surprised at what little time it takes and what a huge change it has had on dinner time at our house.
If you’re on the fence about meal planning, I can’t recommend it enough! Meal planning has so many benefits, including:
- saving you time (no more last-minute trips to the grocery store, or madly trying to thaw food at 5-pm)
- saving you money (less food wastage, and you’re less likely to order take-out)
- reducing your stress levels (trying to figure out dinner in a panic is stressful)
- it’s better for your health (you can jump into action as soon as you’re home from work rather than diving into that bag of tortilla chips)
- it’s actually fun (for real)! I get really inspired thinking about what we are going to eat for dinner, and it’s fun to look forward to it throughout the day
Not sure where to start?
I always thought that meal planning was going to require a ton of time and energy to get into. But the truth is, all it takes is a small commitment of 15 minutes or less once a week. You can use old fashioned pen and paper, or a personal organizer.
But what I’ve found really works for me are the apps on my phone, so I thought it would be useful to share the ones I use most often with you!
1. Pinterest
Yes. Pinterest. I’m sure you’ve heard of her?
In case you’re not familiar with Pinterest, it allows you to ‘clip’ images from any website using a browser extension, and collect them on ‘boards’ in your account. You can pin your pins onto differently categorized ‘boards’, and because you have an image, it is a great way to remind you of a recipe you had saved for later.
And there you have it! A whole lotta easily accessible (and very visual) recipe inspiration at your finger tips!
2. Yummly
Yummly is similar to Pinterest in that it is a visual recipe box. Hit the ‘yum’ button and you have stored the recipe in you recipe box.
Where Yummly differs from Pinterest is in its ability to learn your taste preferences, with the ability to recommend new recipes with similar flavor profiles to you.
Another awesome feature of Yummly is their custom search bar which allows you to search for recipes by dietary constraints, allergies, cooking level, and cuisine.
And possibly the best part of the Yummly website/app: the ability to build customized shopping lists from recipes you’ve collected. And you guys: you can send yourself this list by text message or by e-mail!
3. Evernote
My favorite!! I don’t know what I’d do without this app!
Evernote is not specific to food, but rather a general note taking/organization app that you can access from computer, tablet or phone. I use it to keep track of all the crazy ideas I have for this site, but also for planning my weekly grocery list…It is SO easy to type up a grocery list on your computer, which you can then access from your phone (no more drop-box or e-mailing to yourself!!)
Another feature of Evernote is a function similar to Pinterest with the ability to clip recipes or articles from the web using a browser extension. Some people use this to store recipes into different ‘notebooks’ based on recipe type. You could also add your own notes and comments to the recipes as you make them. I don’t personally use this feature as I find it quite ‘clunky’, the app pulls the entire article and displays ‘featured images’ that are not related to the recipe. I prefer Pinterest for its aesthetics and image quality.
Evernote has a ton of other features including the ability to store photos and audio, an AWESOME search tool that will find any word within the document (and even words within a photo!), and the ability to set reminders. I can’t say enough about this app!
4. Wunderlist
Guys, there are a TON of grocery list apps out there. And I think I tried them all. Kidding! But I did try quite a few, and none of them were as simple and easy as Wunderlist.
Again, not food specific, just a bare-bones, simple as it gets list-making app that you can access from multiple devices. If you want something really user-friendly, this is the one for you.
5. Google Calendar
When I finally started inputting my recipe plan into my Google Calendar, that’s when I really got organized. I LOVE being able to see a visual outline of our meal plan while I’m on the go.
Plus, using the alarm feature is awesome for remembering to do the tasks you might otherwise forget. Set alarms to take frozen food out of the freezer to thaw, or to get that chicken in the marinade. Or to turn the crockpot on.
Give your calendar a name and color, and share with other family members if desired.
2. Enter your meal plan, recipe by recipe, filling in whichever fields apply. In this case I set a time for the meal, and entered the link to the recipe for easy access.
I also set a notification to remind me to turn on the crockpot 6 hours before dinner. This way I will receive a little pop-up notification on my phone at 11:30 am telling me to turn on the crockpot. So much easier to stay organized!
Important: if you are setting notifications, make sure that your phone is set to receive notifications from your Google Calendar!
3. Voila! A whole week of recipes planned out, accessible from your desktop, tablet and phone, and shareable with other family members!
That’s a wrap
While this list is by no means complete, these are the apps that make meal planning so so SO much easier for me. I’d love to hear what tools or apps you use to stay organized! Let me know!
And. If you are interested in meal planning and once-a-week meal prep but don’t know where to start, consider joining our FREE 14 Day Breakfast Prep Challenge, where we commit to spending one hour on the weekend preparing our breakfasts for the week!
It’s the perfect way to ease into meal planning and once-a-week meal prep, and we’re all in it together to keep each other accountable.
The challenge begins September 18…for more details and to sign up, head on over here!
