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Last updated on April 7th, 2022 at 11:07 pm
The experts are saying that March is the time to start writing content about healthy eating to post on Pinterest. But it’s hard to eat healthy without a plan in place. One part of that plan is to have an arsenal of healthy recipes to pull from so you’re never left wondering what to cook for dinner. My way of doing this is to create a digital recipe bank.
One thing I always talk about when it comes to meal planning is to have a list of all the meals you regularly cook and eat. In the case of healthy eating, make a list of all healthy meals to choose from.
Creating a digital recipe bank takes you a step further into the meal planning process and makes prep time shorter.
I’ll explain why you need a recipe bank and I’ll show you how to create a digital recipe bank.
Benefits of Creating a Digital Recipe Bank
It’s happened more than once that I’ve needed a recipe from Pinterest and the app stopped working.
Instead of relying on social media for storing my recipes, I switched to an app that specializes in saving articles from the web.
Once I did that, I realized the benefits of storing all of my go-to recipes in a single place.
- I don’t have to search high and low for a recipe.
- I can use a search bar to quickly find a recipe.
- Using tags can help me come up with meal planning ideas.
- I can link recipes to my digital meal planning calendar.
Implementing a digital recipe bank has saved me time during my meal planning process and when I’m getting ready to cook.
How To Create a Digital Recipe Bank
Step 01. Choose your digital hub
The first step in creating a digital recipe bank is choosing which app you’ll use to save your recipes. I personally use the Evernote app because it’s laid out like a traditional binder but in digital format. (This post digs into how Evernote works.)
I can organize my recipes by meal type and tag them based on ingredients, themes, dietary options, etc.
Step 02. Collect your recipes
Once you’ve chosen your hub, it’s time to collect your recipes.
Spend a few minutes gathering your favorite family recipes, cookbooks, and favorite recipes from Pinterest.
Step 03. Create a new folder (or notebook)
Create multiple folders or notebooks based on how you want to organize your recipe bank. For example, I have notebooks titled:
- Breakfast
- Entrees
- Desserts
- Sides
Create a notebook stack with each of these notebooks inside it. This is essentially a digital binder.
Step 04. Add your recipes (and tags)
Now you’re ready to add your recipes using the web clipper on your desktop or the scanner on the Evernote app on your tablet or smartphone.
One tip I have for saving recipes with the web clipper: when you want to save a recipe, click the “Print Recipe” button most online recipe cards have. Once you’re on the printable page, clip it to Evernote.
As you add your recipes, add any tags that you’ll be most likely to search —ingredients, type of dish, cuisine, etc.
These 4 easy steps will help you set up a digital recipe bank. This recipe bank will save you time during your meal planning and meal prepping processes.
To dig deeper into creating a digital recipe bank, meal planning once per month, and making shopping and meal prep faster, I invite you to check out Meal Planning Mastery: A Complete Guide to Easy Meal Planning & Prep, an A-Z recipe banking and meal planning and prep system so you can plan your meals once per month and quickly get dinner on the table.
Click here to get $10 off on Meal Planning Mastery through April 30, 2021 at 11:30pm EST.
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