How to Use Pinterest to Meal Plan - the Paperless Way!

Did you know that one of the best ways to plan you weekly meals is by using Pinterest? You should! I've been planning out our meals for quite a few years now and I have tried various different ways. Using Pinterest to meal plan has made my Sunday evenings so much easier and I figure if it works for me, it will work for you too!


Step 1 - Create Recipe Category Boards Ok, so here's what you do. First, create boards for the recipes that you find online. I chose to organize mine by main ingredient (I'll explain why later) but you could organize your boards by meal type. For example Mexican, Italian, Grilling, Vegetarian, etc. Here are my board categories:

• beef
• chicken
• pork (includes bacon and ham recipes)
• soups & stews
• breakfast
• crockpot
• drinks
• salads
• meatless main dishes
• veggies & side dishes
• seafood
• sammies & wraps
• various dessert board categories

Don't overthink this, just organize it the way it's easiest for the way you like to cook. It also makes it easier if plans change and you're in a pinch and have to find something to make fast.


Step 2 - Find Recipes! Once you have your Pin boards set up you're ready for the fun part - hunting down some yummy recipes! Most bloggers have added "Pin it" buttons to their recipe posts, but I'm really loving how most recipe websites have them available, too. Check out your favorite brand's website, sometimes they are the best sources for recipes your family may like - besides your favorite food blogger, of course. :) Now is the time to organize your pins if you've just been dumping all the recipes to try into one board. Haha, didn't think I knew you were doing that, did you?

Step 3 - Create a Menu Plan Board When you're ready to sit down and plan your meals for the week, create a new board called "Menu Plan". I always have my two main grocery store ads sitting in my lap when I'm menu planning. Why? I quickly glance at the front and back pages to see what the hot sales are. (My sister read this tip somewhere years ago - thanks, Renee!) This is why I categorize my boards by main ingredient. For example, if I see that chicken is on sale for $1.99/lb, my chicken Pinterest board is where I'll look for a menu idea first. I don't always go by what's on sale that week, but it does help me stay on track with a budget. When you find a recipe you want to use, simply repin that recipe to your Menu Plan board. 
**Extra Tip** For meals that you don't have pinned (IE family recipes) do a search on Pinterest for a similar recipe and then when pinning, just write in the memo that you're going to use Grandma's recipe, or whatever. 

Step 4 - Paperless Grocery List I bet you didn't even know every single one of you has a way to keep your grocery list with you at all times and it doesn't involve paper and a pen. Your phone!! As you're looking through all those yummy recipes you have pinned, take out your phone and write a memo to yourself with all the ingredients you'll need. No bothersome grocery list to remember (or forget!). My Samsung phone is ancient (read: I'm cheap) so I use a sticky note application that loads on the front of my screen, and then I just delete it when I've gone grocery shopping. Use whatever method is available on your phone and you'll always have your list with you! Just make sure you have your phone charged before you go grocery shopping. Speaking from experience here haha!


Step 5 - Optional Menu Board I know and I have pinned various super-cute menu boards to hang in the kitchen. Chalk board ones, white board ones, ones behind a glass picture frame with a really nice print behind it. But I know myself and I wouldn't keep up with that method! I don't have any kind of a menu board, 99% of the battle with me is knowing I have all the recipes in one place and all the ingredients to make the recipes already in my kitchen. 

If you REALLY want to have something hanging on your fridge and you don't have access to a menu board sign of some kind, pull up your Menu Plan board on Pinterest. Hit Control > P and then select "Landscape" before you print. Just make sure you select to only print the first or second page if you've been keeping the menu board for a while, otherwise it will print out the whole thing (recipes from past weeks).


Step 6 - Upkeep Ok, so the MAIN reason why I absolutely love this method is there is virtually NO upkeep! No menu boards to erase and rewrite (unless you want to), no grocery lists to maintain, no recipe boxes to keep up with. The only thing I would say to do every once in a while is go through your menu plan pin board and delete the recipes you weren't crazy about. You can even add a comment on how you maybe changed some of the ingredients. Really, that's it!

So, how about you - will this change how you menu plan? How do you keep your recipes organized on Pinterest? Where are your favorite sources of recipes on the web?

Don't miss another Mostly Homemade Mom post! Click here to have blog posts delivered by email. 
{linking up!}

Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes

Happy National Chocolate Chip Day! Didn't know there was one, did you? Well of course there is, chocolate chips are awesome!! To celebrate, I'm joining some of my blog friends and we're all sharing some of our favorite chocolate chip treats.
I've always wanted to try making lava cakes, but I have to admit my first attempt was less than perfect. Actually, it was pretty disastrous! The biggest thing to remember with lava cakes are that they bake at an unusually high temperature (for baked goods) and for a short amount of time. So don't do what I did and pay attention to the baking directions! 
Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes from Kraft Food & Family Magazine
4 squares semi sweet baking chocolate 1/2 cup melted butter 2 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 1 cup powdered sugar 1/3 cup flour 18 Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies whipped cream

Place paper muffing liners in muffin tin along with one cookie upside down in each cup. In a small bowl, microwave chocolate and butter for 1 minute 30 seconds, stir until chocolate is completely melted. Set chocolate aside to cool for a few minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk whole eggs and egg yolks. Add in sugar and flour and continue to whisk until well combined. Gradually add chocolate into the batter, stirring well after. Pour batter over cookies in muffin tin, making sure there is an even amount of batter in each cup. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes, then invert onto serving plate and peel away paper liner. Serve cakes with whipped cream. Crush remaining 6 cookies and sprinkle on top.

I'm super excited to announce that I have teamed up with 5 other amazing bloggers to celebrate National Chocolate Chip Day today. We are also kicking off a monthly venture called Recipe Round-Up. Today we are ALL sharing Chocolate Chip Recipes together- stay tuned to see what we share next month. Please visit all the other blogs listed here & gather these amazing recipes for your book.

    Recipe Round-Up May:   1. Best Chocolate Chip Coffee Bars from Kleinworth & Co. 2. Best Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Ever from Nap-Time Creations 3. Best Chocolate Chip Brownies with Kahlua from One Martini at a Time 4. S'Mores Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe from The Taylor House 5. Chocolate Chip Cannoli Bites from Let's Dish 6. Chocolate Chip Cookie Lava Cakes from Mostly-Homemade Mom     Do you want to participate in future Recipe Round-Up's & join in on the fun?? email Gina at Kleinworth & Co (chichomeschoolmama{at}att{dot}net) for details.  


Don't miss another Mostly Homemade Mom recipe! Click here to have recipes delivered by email. 
{linking up!}

Show & Share Wednesday #37

Time for another Show & Share Wednesday! I've decided to start sharing 8 features each week, I hope you're ok with that. :) Here are the features from last week:

(1) Beefy Sour Cream Noodle Casserole - Who Needs a Cape?
(2) Comfort Salad - Sweet Caroline's Corner
(3) Smore's Pizza - Table for 7
(4) Cheesy Chicken Bacon Ranch - Life is Fantasmic

(5) Mexican Bruschetta - Couponing & Cooking
(6) Apple Fritter Muffins - I Heart Eating
(7) Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble - Caramel Potatoes
(8) Twice Baked Tostada Crisps - Anyonita Nibbles

Aren't those features awesome this week?! Such yummy ideas, be sure to head on over and pin your favorites. :)
Ok, let's party!
Show & Share link party rules:

• Link up your newest recipe, diy project, kid activity, anything you are proud of and want to share.
• While I love Etsy shops and giveaways, they are not in the spirit of this party.
• I reserve the right to remove any link that is not family friendly.
• Grab a button below to display on your post or provide a text link back either in the post or on your link party page.
• Some link-ups will be featured on Semi Homemade Mom's Facebook and Twitter, so make sure you follow both. Check back next week to see who got the most clicks!

<div class="Mostly Homemade Mom" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.mostlyhomemademom.com" rel="nofollow"> <img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-uEOv8hSjo74/UW3_qTAyyBI/AAAAAAAAEic/90Wo5vvRJfg/s150/150-x-150-Show-and-Share-Overhaul.png" alt="Mostly Homemade Mom" width="150" height="150" /> </a> </div>