Keeping track of recipes....

[Maria]

I've tried a lot of recipes since I went raw last year, and I've found that I don't remember what I liked and didn't like. I make notations in the cookbooks, but when I'm trying to think of something great to eat, I seem to draw blanks.

So, I started a recipe journal. Every day I write down what I eat and comments on how it tasted. If I liked the recipe, I note the page in the recipe book so it's easy to find later. When I'm stumped for inspiration, I go through my notes and always come up with something besides green smoothies and salads.

Maria

[Veganforlife]

Good idea!
I go through eating stages. Like for a couple weeks I'll eat say avos in everything, then the next couple weeks I'll want sauerkraut in everything, then I'll want sweets.
Keeping a journal is awesome!

[Beckla]

Yep - great idea. I keep them in my gmail account, so that I can easily search for them and pull them up.

[tvillemom]

What's gmail??? I always draw blanks on what to make...and seem to get stuck making the same thing..and then get bored. This is a great idea.
Wendi

[Veganforlife]

Isn't that a google mail account?

[Maria]

Becla, gmail would work, yes!

Twillemom,

I kept drawing a blank every dinner and was easily bored until I came up with my journal. I just jot down quick notes on what tasted good. Sometimes you have to plan ahead of course, but I usually sprout during the week (a variety of things) and then load the dehydrator on the weekend. I make the large batch that the recipe calls for and freeze what I don't eat for easy access later.
I've been time challenged since I work two jobs, but raw meals are important to me. Sometimes I have to take two meals to work, and more often than not I end up with FOUR tupperware containers. People think my diet is disgusting, but I've passed out some "crab cakes" and "chocolate chip cookies" and everyone liked those.
Last year I fell off the raw wagon because I didn't have enough recipes that I liked on hand. I got really really tired of salads, smoothies, pates, and flax crackers. Now that I've learned to make a wider menu, it's easier to stay RAW!! Yeeees. And feeling like a million dollars...

[Maria]

For the most part I have sprouted almonds, sunflower seeds, pumkin seeds on hand. If I plan to make a pizza crust, I sprout the grain ahead of time, rinse it and drain it really well, then store it in the fridge in a sealed container for a couple of days until I have the time to use it. I rinse it again a couple of times before using it. If left too long, it'll go sour.

Slowly but surely, I'm gaining more skills, so it's easier to stay the course.
Basically, un-cooking education is the best tool to stay on track, IMO.

Anyone has other methods to keep track of recipes and menus?
Sometimes I keep some scrap paper by the computer and jot down some quick recipes, which I then glue into a notebook. Primitive, I know.... but it works.

Maria

[tvillemom]

I have "cut and paste" so many recipes and printed them...I now have a whole notebook. It's just hard to remember WHICH recipes I liked??!! I think I'll start keeping a small notebook just for listing things I'VE TRIED!! (not the whole recipe. Like, what recipe it is...and where it is (ie. book, or my notebook) Maybe my small notebook could even be split into a couple of sections...like entree, dessert, cracker, etc. What do ya'll think?? Would it work...I'll give it a try. Maybe even a "star" rating...depending on how much I liked it???!!! OOOHHH Now I'm excited .....thanks for the idea!:D (doesn't take much, does it??)
Wendi

[tvillemom]

by the way, I never EXACTLY found out what "gmail" was???
Wendi

[Frecs]

I have a recipe program on my home computer. I store any recipes I want to try there (but not the ones from books I have in my own home library) and then when I try them, I can put a rating for different catagories like cost, difficulty, taste, appearance.

[Veganforlife]

Welcome to GmailGoogle-owned, web-based email service that includes over 2gigabytes of storage (and growing).
www.gmail.google.com

[Beckla]

Oops - sorry - just saw this.. gmail, as VFL demonstrated - is google's email thing. Great, great resource to search for stuff by keyword... and you can star stuff, etc. =)

[greenfeline]

I have a recipe software storage system called accuchef. You copy and paste recipes into it and then later you can search by ingredient or title. It also has a notes box for each recipe. I use the search a lot! If I have certain ingredients and don't know what to make, I can just type in what I have and matching recipes with those ingredients come up.

[Ertarox]

I totally put the name of the recipe in my subject line and the recipe in the body, then email it to myself. I have a yahoo folder in my email account for recipes. Works like a charm.

[RawCutter]

Yep - great idea. I keep them in my gmail account, so that I can easily search for them and pull them up.


I do the same thing. I have a gmail account specifically for recipes. You can add labels, search, etc very easily. I've been using it for a long time.