Hi, I am looking for a good, free, menu planning/meal shopping organizing site. Our family eats very healthy, so I don't like the free ones from the major food manufacturers because they push their overprocessed products. I want one that lets me search and add recipes and also upload my own recipes. Then I want to set the number of servings and generate a shopping list. Does such a thing exist?
WOW!! Ladies, I am very impressed. These suggestions are so wonderful, it will take me some time to investigate them all. I will get back to you once I settle in on a favorite. Thanks again for saving me so much time!
- Hi Ladies, I know it's been awhile since I've been in contact, but I wanted you to know I finally got around to trying one of your suggestions. I tried out RecipeZaar. It looks great, IF I want to pay, but I don't. I am going to try another to see if I can achieve my goal of finding a free site that will do what I want. Thanks again for your help!
What a great question! I usually do it by hand, never thought to use the computer. Try this site I just found, seems to have it all. http://www.monthlymenuplanner.com (monthly menu planner)
I can't wait to start using it!
I agree, allrecipes.com is the greatest recipe website. I make dishes from it all the time and they're so good.
G.
www.flylady.com It's an orgainze your home kind of site. They have a whole bunch of useful templates, don't try to sell you anything and have some general overall wonderful information.
M.
This is the greatest website for meal planning I have found
on the internet!!!! I have searched endlessly and this site does everything you want and more. Just creat your account, log in and you can save recipes, add recipes, add private recipes for your own use, adjust the servings on an individual recipe, make grocery lists from each recipe, but best of all, the users can rate the recipes and provide very helpful tips on tweaking them. I love this website and have been using it for 7 years. I use it week after week to plan meals based on grocery sales. The site is ogranized very well and easy to search by several different options too. Good luck and happy cooking! It has made our meals easier, healthier, and more interesting too! -Judy
I have used www.recipezaar.com for 2 years now, and recommend to everyone. My family and I have been very happy with it...the recipes are great (I only use ones that have been rated high). You are able to create your own online cookbooks, add your own recipes (that you can share with others as well), add recipes to your shopping list, plan your meals, etc....and best of all...it's FREE! There are options to search for healthy foods, low-fat foods, crock-pot meals, etc. Try it out...I think you will be pleased. Good luck with whatever you find that works for you and your family.
I also love Homemade Gourmet! They have thousands of recipes online, you can create a menu and print out your grocery list. I personally love to use the freezer meal kit concept. They have well over 50 different meals you can add all of the ingredients into a freezer bag and freeze (or use right away) and pull them out and put them in the crockpot, even still frozen. I try to make all of my meals on Sundays and I am set for the week. I do it before I even put my groceries away. It usually only takes me an average of 30-45 minutes to do it. It has majorly simplified my life. No more runs to McDonalds when I can think of what to cook! All of the recipes online provide nutritional information and you can search for light options also. If you become a Preferred customer or by your seasonings in bulk (Pantry Staples) it is very economical. If you don't have a distributor in your area, they can direct ship anywhere! Check it out! I am in the Peoria area.
Hi G.,
Shaklee has one which is part of their Cinch Inch Loss Program. It can be purchased separately for $34.95 or comes free with the Cinch Starter Kit.
Key features of the Cinch Coach Software include:
personalized meal plans tailored to your specific needs and preferences,easy-to-print meal plans, recipes, and grocery lists, tools for tracking calories, exercise, and measuring your results, a food database with nutritional information on over 13,000 different foods.
Foods can be added easily to the database. It gives you the ratios of carbs/proteins/fats on everything you eat, so if someone is looking to lose weight or keep on track, it's a great resource.
You can learn more about the Cinch plan on my Cinch website. www.cinchplan.com/judytorres.
Hi G.!
got to kraftfoods.com
You can sign up for a free seasonal recipe magazine sent to your home. They do menu plannning, with a grocery list. ANd the ingrediants are ones your can find at any grocery store, and they do nto list over 10. I have been using this for years and have made some of the best meals!
Did I mention its free!!
Good luck!
;-) H.
Bigoven.com will let you do all those things. It's been amazingly helpful to me... I was always very planning challenged. :)
Try sparkpeople.com!
epicurious.com is a great site...might not have all the bells and whistles you're looking for however, but worth you having a look....
Hi G., I also just want to say thank you! What a great question & thank you to the wonderful Moms that responded!
Outstanding information!
C.
I have been looking for the same thing for years. I get a lot of my recipies from Cooking Light and Vegetarian Times, and I agree that it is hard to find a website with healthy recipies that organizes and searches easily. I have been using http://allrecipes.com. You can change the number of servings and create a recipe box; from that you can make a shopping list. While there are a lot of processed foods, etc, they do have a healthy section and lots of recipe reviewers that share healthful adjustments that they made.
Thank you for asking this question, and to all who responded. I am also in need of some organization and some new ideas.
G.,
Although I am not familiar with a particular web sight, I can tell you that the cookbook called The 6 O'Clock Scramble, is a great cookbook for what you are looking for. They break down menues to the seasons of the year and have a balanced meal menu plan for each day! I love this book!
J.
