When I moved into my first apartment, my mom hand wrote recipe cards with all our family recipes and put them in a recipe box. My mom has been gone 18 years and I have both her and my recipe boxes. I treasure having these handwritten recipes in both hers and my grandmothers' and family friends' handwriting.
My mother had an excellent & easy system that also gave the family a sense of comfort & stability. She made the same dinner according to the day of the week: Mon spaghetti; Wed meatloaf; Thurs leftovers; and so on. Occasionally, special meals would appear depending on a grocery sale. There was always salad, bread & potatoes, veggies. I remember my friend's Mom made cornbread chili casserole every Friday. Turns out this is an old-fashioned time- & budget-saver. Of course, many of us eat less meat & carbs ... but this system works well with any repertoire of 7 family favorites. Thanks, Mom! 👵
Checking and restocking my whole kitchen at once was overwhelming to me. So, I divided it in 4 sections. Fridge, freezer, baking, & pantry. I clean, organize, and inventory 1 section each week.
I find a master grocery list beneficial too (similar to an inventory but for the store). There are items most families always keep on hand, milk, sugar, flour, cereal, favorite family snacks, eggs and things unique to your own family. Print several and just use one weekly and just check off/enter qty by each on the list each week and your grocery list is set to take to the store whether one menu plans or not. If it is a holiday or trying a new recipe and need different ingredients than normal, leave an area on the page to jot those in. A person can also do this with household supplies like TP, toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc.
Love the binder. I like having everything together. I have a photo album from the 70’s (that you pull the clear sheet back and stick the recipe on the page and replace the clear)it has worked great all these years. I have hand written ones from my mom, sisters, great aunt and from staff of the hospital E R that I worked in for over 25 years. A lot of these special people have since passed. Most of these recipes still look good because of the clear sheet. I will work hard and get this all together. Thank you and I love your channel.
Yes Jennifer this video has been very helpful and I am going to start making my binder in the morning! Thank you for your lovely channel...I enjoy your videos and find great support and encouragement from watching you. I hate wasting money on cookery books and like the freedom of adapting recipes to what is ready to harvest from our kitchen garden and what we have in the house. I used to bake a lot but as my health deteriorated couldn't manage the way I'd always done in the past. I'm beginning to try things again and will let you know how that goes in case it helps someone else. God bless you from vera in Northern Ireland.
We only cook for two so I plan on more "fresh" recipes the two days after I shop and the rest of the week is more from the pantry and freezer. This helps in case the first two days recipes make way more or we get a last minute dinner invite for the weekend, we don't waste and those meals can be shifted to the next week. I've just started a binder as well, I love online recipes but it's helpful to have the written/printed recipe and I can add any changes I've made as well so I remember for next time any changes I want to make.
I think the binder is great! I have one, but only has favorite recipes in it. I think I’ll add the family favorites list, pantry inventory, and calendar pages sections!
This is a great video! The idea of jotting down all your no fail family favorite recipes on one page is brilliant! I often draw a blank and then get overwhelmed trying to choose recipes for the week.
I have a recipe binder like that and have been using it for a long time now, they are wonderful, everything in one place. :) Thank you for sharing yours. Take care and stay safe.
Great ideas. Now the trick for me is going to be inventorying my freezer and pantry, which is something I've been meaning to do for a while now. Thanks for giving me the impetus to get moving with that! Diane
Thank you, Jennifer, for providing your wisdom here! I am a single young adult, but I want to have these habits down before I hopefully get married and have children. I've never used a meal plan or inventory tracker before, but I can already tell how helpful these are going to be!
I love this! I may tweak this idea for my personality, living alone, and overall schedule. I usually cook 2 -3 times a week and then heat things up. Making a binder of quick easy dinners that I know that I like and exactly what i need for it will help me keep on track. thanks for the planning ideas!
Your favorite recipes page was so simple but has a great layout that inspired me to make one that works for me. I just made one line and added a recipe cost section so I can make recipe combinations better together to make them more cost effective for the month. I love your simple approach! Much appreciated!
Working from home during the pandemic really helped me improve my meal planning by making me REALLY look through everything I have to reduce grocery trips and because of shortages. Agree to limit trying new recipes and stick to favorites for your regular repeats. I love your description of tapas 😆 it’s something I do a few times a month eating the random odds and ends
I’ve been doing monthly meal plans since April thanks to your videos. Binder is the next goal. Thank you for the suggestion. Saves so much time in the long run.
Thanks for sharing your meal planner notebook. This looks like something I can get on board with, and I'm anxious to try it. Again, thanks and I love your videos!
Genious concepts! I love meal planning and grocery shopping, to me, it's a puzzle game and a treasure hunt. I have the same spreadsheets, but on the computer, not printed. I have to be able to change plans, not so much because I change my mind, but because life happens, I might be unable to get hold of something, or it yields more or less than I anticipated, or I just forget or miscalculate something. I don't see that as failure. I want to eat in a way that is too complex to just wing it, and I can't keep focus on all those variables all the time. (If I didn't have to change my plan, I wouldn't have to plan, either.)
I really need to redo my binder and this video came at the best time! I love the family favorites/side page. I’m excited to try it out and get back to monthly meal planning. I have a tab for new recipes so maybe that’s something you might try. If the family likes it then I’ll transfer recipe to regular dinners tab if they don’t or I don’t make it after months of printing it out then I toss it. Hope that makes sense.
Have you seen the household binders? It's a lot like this, but you add your daily chores to manage the house as well. I love the simplicity of your meals. I'm vegan as well, and I'd love to see a "what you eat in a day or week" video. Thanks for all of your content!
Great video Jennifer, at tge beginning of the year I was doing so good with my monthly meal planning from your previous video but I lost track and stopped using it, this just motivated me to pull it out, quit being lazy about it, and do it again! I still meal plan for sure but I need to be more organized, thank you Jennifer, I love watching all your videos 📹
Great idea and video and people can tweak it as they like to fit their family! Tablets, phones, computers, etc. may be great for online filing, saving, less paperwork, finding recipes, etc. but a 3 ring binder with pockets and sheet protectors still has great uses. For some reason, I still need things printed for me, I function better with a hard copy in front of me but for the purpose here, it really has its uses. I think I'd likely tweak it a bit for my own personal use. One thing I'd perhaps separate somewhere is winter meals versus summer meals, not that both aren't good good any time of year but where I live, FRESH veggies (not store bought) don't exist all year and in cold weather, we tend toward comfort foods and in the far shorter summer season/hot weather, lighter foods. I'd probably also do a bit of separation with categories like casseroles, soups and so forth. That might sound like a cookbook but it's not if it is not full of tons of recipes you never use, and only some family faves. Also, for inventory, I'd probably keep things that expire on a front page of inventory to remind to use more quickly as sometimes meals have to be planned that way to not waste the product. Milk or deli meat, for instance as just examples. Then I'd do items that don't expire like canned goods, rice on a separate list I think. Again, great idea!
thanks Jennifer for your ideas. they are all very efficient and convenient. I especially like the monthly view of the meal plan. i have used a recipe box for 40+ years and commit a recipe to a card when it has passed muster. new recipes i insert in the box as a folded sheet of paper. as my husband and I have become empty nesters i find that it is harder to stick to a plan. we end up with so many leftovers and my husband is not good and "cleaning at the fridge" and eating leftovers. I am working on cooking smaller quantities (that means changing my recipes!) and finding a better rhythm as we alter our diet to eat less beef and smaller portions in general.
I used your idea and made a binder, I gathered all my favorite recipes and a few from Pinterest. My old method was having them in a manila folder, whenever I picked it up, things would fall out. A benefit of the recipes that I’ve found on line is that I can adjust the servings, so instead of making something for 8 servings, I can make it for 2 or 4. I made a divider for favorites, crockpot, soups, etc. It is such a game changer. Meal planning is becoming easier and more fun when cooking for one. Thank you for this inspiring idea.
Like another commenter, I have a binder of recipes, but now I'll add the calendar, coupon pocket and inventory. I also had special meal planning booklets to fill in and never did it.
I love your notebook so much I started my own. I found the biggest 3 ring binder I could find. Work in progress to include my budgeting and meal planning.
Thank you Jennifer. I have been using your calendar for months. I will now create an inventory. Please share the Bean Ball recipe. I love Sweet Simple Vegan Taco Pasta. Check that one out.
When I moved into my first apartment, my mom hand wrote recipe cards with all our family recipes and put them in a recipe box. My mom has been gone 18 years and I have both her and my recipe boxes. I treasure having these handwritten recipes in both hers and my grandmothers' and family friends' handwriting.
Love 💞
I just found my Mama's. She has been gone five years. It was way back in the laundry room closet. Who knows how it got there!
My mother had an excellent & easy system that also gave the family a sense of comfort & stability. She made the same dinner according to the day of the week: Mon spaghetti; Wed meatloaf; Thurs leftovers; and so on. Occasionally, special meals would appear depending on a grocery sale. There was always salad, bread & potatoes, veggies. I remember my friend's Mom made cornbread chili casserole every Friday. Turns out this is an old-fashioned time- & budget-saver. Of course, many of us eat less meat & carbs ... but this system works well with any repertoire of 7 family favorites. Thanks, Mom! 👵
Checking and restocking my whole kitchen at once was overwhelming to me. So, I divided it in 4 sections. Fridge, freezer, baking, & pantry. I clean, organize, and inventory 1 section each week.
I find a master grocery list beneficial too (similar to an inventory but for the store). There are items most families always keep on hand, milk, sugar, flour, cereal, favorite family snacks, eggs and things unique to your own family. Print several and just use one weekly and just check off/enter qty by each on the list each week and your grocery list is set to take to the store whether one menu plans or not.
If it is a holiday or trying a new recipe and need different ingredients than normal, leave an area on the page to jot those in.
A person can also do this with household supplies like TP, toothpaste, laundry detergent, etc.
Love the binder. I like having everything together. I have a photo album from the 70’s (that you pull the clear sheet back and stick the recipe on the page and replace the clear)it has worked great all these years. I have hand written ones from my mom, sisters, great aunt and from staff of the hospital E R that I worked in for over 25 years. A lot of these special people have since passed. Most of these recipes still look good because of the clear sheet. I will work hard and get this all together. Thank you and I love your channel.
LOVE THIS MAKING 3 TO GIVE AS GIFTS!!!
Pamela, that is such a great idea!
Yes Jennifer this video has been very helpful and I am going to start making my binder in the morning! Thank you for your lovely channel...I enjoy your videos and find great support and encouragement from watching you. I hate wasting money on cookery books and like the freedom of adapting recipes to what is ready to harvest from our kitchen garden and what we have in the house. I used to bake a lot but as my health deteriorated couldn't manage the way I'd always done in the past. I'm beginning to try things again and will let you know how that goes in case it helps someone else. God bless you from vera in Northern Ireland.
We only cook for two so I plan on more "fresh" recipes the two days after I shop and the rest of the week is more from the pantry and freezer. This helps in case the first two days recipes make way more or we get a last minute dinner invite for the weekend, we don't waste and those meals can be shifted to the next week. I've just started a binder as well, I love online recipes but it's helpful to have the written/printed recipe and I can add any changes I've made as well so I remember for next time any changes I want to make.
I think the binder is great! I have one, but only has favorite recipes in it. I think I’ll add the family favorites list, pantry inventory, and calendar pages sections!
Great!
This is a great video! The idea of jotting down all your no fail family favorite recipes on one page is brilliant! I often draw a blank and then get overwhelmed trying to choose recipes for the week.
I have a recipe binder like that and have been using it for a long time now, they are wonderful, everything in one place. :) Thank you for sharing yours. Take care and stay safe.
Great ideas. Now the trick for me is going to be inventorying my freezer and pantry, which is something I've been meaning to do for a while now. Thanks for giving me the impetus to get moving with that! Diane
🤗
I agree about recipe books, waste of space and money.
Thank you, Jennifer, for providing your wisdom here! I am a single young adult, but I want to have these habits down before I hopefully get married and have children. I've never used a meal plan or inventory tracker before, but I can already tell how helpful these are going to be!
Thank you Jennifer!! This was very helpful! I’m going to buy a binder and try this system!!
I agree, it is not necessary to meal plan breakfast! We eat the same things every day for that meal!
I love this! I may tweak this idea for my personality, living alone, and overall schedule. I usually cook 2 -3 times a week and then heat things up. Making a binder of quick easy dinners that I know that I like and exactly what i need for it will help me keep on track. thanks for the planning ideas!
I like your binder, it's easy and simple to use. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much!
So excited to make my own binder!! Thank you.
Yay Heather! My meal planning binder is one of my favorite helpful tools and I use it multiple times a week 🤗
Your favorite recipes page was so simple but has a great layout that inspired me to make one that works for me. I just made one line and added a recipe cost section so I can make recipe combinations better together to make them more cost effective for the month. I love your simple approach! Much appreciated!
Wonderful!
Working from home during the pandemic really helped me improve my meal planning by making me REALLY look through everything I have to reduce grocery trips and because of shortages. Agree to limit trying new recipes and stick to favorites for your regular repeats.
I love your description of tapas 😆 it’s something I do a few times a month eating the random odds and ends
I love this idea! So smart and frugal. I cook for the family on Sunday for lunch after mass but during the week it's just the hubby and me.
I’ve been doing monthly meal plans since April thanks to your videos. Binder is the next goal. Thank you for the suggestion. Saves so much time in the long run.
Thanks for sharing your meal planner notebook. This looks like something I can get on board with, and I'm anxious to try it. Again, thanks and I love your videos!
Great ideas there! Thank you for the clever tips 🙏💗
🤗
As usual your video is right on point!
I appreciate that!
Genious concepts! I love meal planning and grocery shopping, to me, it's a puzzle game and a treasure hunt. I have the same spreadsheets, but on the computer, not printed. I have to be able to change plans, not so much because I change my mind, but because life happens, I might be unable to get hold of something, or it yields more or less than I anticipated, or I just forget or miscalculate something. I don't see that as failure. I want to eat in a way that is too complex to just wing it, and I can't keep focus on all those variables all the time. (If I didn't have to change my plan, I wouldn't have to plan, either.)
I really need to redo my binder and this video came at the best time! I love the family favorites/side page. I’m excited to try it out and get back to monthly meal planning. I have a tab for new recipes so maybe that’s something you might try. If the family likes it then I’ll transfer recipe to regular dinners tab if they don’t or I don’t make it after months of printing it out then I toss it. Hope that makes sense.
Meal planning has always been a challenge for me, so thank you!!!
Have you seen the household binders? It's a lot like this, but you add your daily chores to manage the house as well. I love the simplicity of your meals. I'm vegan as well, and I'd love to see a "what you eat in a day or week" video. Thanks for all of your content!
Great video Jennifer, at tge beginning of the year I was doing so good with my monthly meal planning from your previous video but I lost track and stopped using it, this just motivated me to pull it out, quit being lazy about it, and do it again! I still meal plan for sure but I need to be more organized, thank you Jennifer, I love watching all your videos 📹
Great idea and video and people can tweak it as they like to fit their family!
Tablets, phones, computers, etc. may be great for online filing, saving, less paperwork, finding recipes, etc. but a 3 ring binder with pockets and sheet protectors still has great uses. For some reason, I still need things printed for me, I function better with a hard copy in front of me but for the purpose here, it really has its uses.
I think I'd likely tweak it a bit for my own personal use.
One thing I'd perhaps separate somewhere is winter meals versus summer meals, not that both aren't good good any time of year but where I live, FRESH veggies (not store bought) don't exist all year and in cold weather, we tend toward comfort foods and in the far shorter summer season/hot weather, lighter foods.
I'd probably also do a bit of separation with categories like casseroles, soups and so forth. That might sound like a cookbook but it's not if it is not full of tons of recipes you never use, and only some family faves.
Also, for inventory, I'd probably keep things that expire on a front page of inventory to remind to use more quickly as sometimes meals have to be planned that way to not waste the product. Milk or deli meat, for instance as just examples. Then I'd do items that don't expire like canned goods, rice on a separate list I think.
Again, great idea!
Thank you so much! You are always so kind ❤
thanks Jennifer for your ideas. they are all very efficient and convenient. I especially like the monthly view of the meal plan.
i have used a recipe box for 40+ years and commit a recipe to a card when it has passed muster. new recipes i insert in the box as a folded sheet of paper.
as my husband and I have become empty nesters i find that it is harder to stick to a plan. we end up with so many leftovers and my husband is not good and "cleaning at the fridge" and eating leftovers.
I am working on cooking smaller quantities (that means changing my recipes!) and finding a better rhythm as we alter our diet to eat less beef and smaller portions in general.
🤗
Thank you for the binder idea! I'm going to work on one for my family of 5.
This is such a good idea. I live alone and dinner time creeps up and I don’t have a plan….. hopefully this will help. Thank you….
I used your idea and made a binder, I gathered all my favorite recipes and a few from Pinterest. My old method was having them in a manila folder, whenever I picked it up, things would fall out. A benefit of the recipes that I’ve found on line is that I can adjust the servings, so instead of making something for 8 servings, I can make it for 2 or 4. I made a divider for favorites, crockpot, soups, etc. It is such a game changer. Meal planning is becoming easier and more fun when cooking for one. Thank you for this inspiring idea.
I love this idea. Thank you for sharing your binder. I am going to implement it starting today
Your binder is awesome
This is a FABULOUS, I'm going to do this for us. Thanks for these videos you do an amazing job.
Thank you so much Lisa! 🤗
Like another commenter, I have a binder of recipes, but now I'll add the calendar, coupon pocket and inventory. I also had special meal planning booklets to fill in and never did it.
I love your notebook so much I started my own. I found the biggest 3 ring binder I could find. Work in progress to include my budgeting and meal planning.
Yay Brenda I am so excited for you!🤗
I love it!!!
Thank you Jennifer. I have been using your calendar for months. I will now create an inventory. Please share the Bean Ball recipe. I love Sweet Simple Vegan Taco Pasta. Check that one out.
I am really curious about the bean balls with gravy and potatoes! Do you have a shareable recipe? :)
I just added it! Check the description box and thank you for reminding me :)
How about rotating/repeating months. That way you do not have to plan each month.
Second time