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Improvements to shopping list and menu planning   Go to last post Go to last unread
#1 Posted : Saturday, June 29, 2024 11:28:49 PM(UTC)
These upgrades would make this site even more amazing;
- ability to click off ingredients as you shop.
-ability to adjust shopping list to include quantities.
- weekly menu planning option.

I am at a loss for finding a good app to help me with this.

I think it has been said but all of this integrated into an app would be great.
Thank you!
#2 Posted : Sunday, June 30, 2024 5:29:45 AM(UTC)
Originally Posted by: christinezac Go to Quoted Post

- weekly menu planning option.

I am at a loss for finding a good app to help me with this.
Thank you!


When not in the kitchen I am by trade a computing scientist/software engineer and your comment about a "good app" had me looking on Apple's App Stores (both Mac and iPhone/iPad) for candidates. There were not many programs on the Mac store — five in total and one of those turned up to be a planner/calendar program geared to meals. Whereas for iPhone/iPad there are dozens. I cannot comment on any of them except that they all look different one from another and a couple are geared toward gym-rats who want to plan their nutrition. Finding a "good one" in all that mess is hard. Probably as many Android apps in the Game Store but being an Apple user that is an area I have never frequented.

However, it begs the question as to what does "good" mean? Decade or so ago I did some research on menu/meal planning for a meal planning app idea and discovered two wonderful datasets both intended for the same purpose of producing balanced meals; calories, essential vitamins and micronutrients, etc. These datasets were freely downloadable from DEFRA in the UK and FDA in the US. Great start I thought until confronted by a family member who has food allergies and intolerances; mostly intolerances but also some strong dislikes. Then there is the common advice from health organisations (including the United Nations' World Health Organisation) suggesting the too much red meat or meat in general is bad for people's health. And yes I have relations who are vegetarian/vegan. Made the design of any program or app I might think about developing too complex to deal with in my spare time.

Afterall that I still have no idea what a "good" menu planning app should do. Sadly of the few App Store apps I checked they look great but the funtionality is limited.
#3 Posted : Sunday, June 30, 2024 10:58:36 AM(UTC)
You are right- what makes a “good” app could vary a lot! I have downloaded I think every app and they are way too complicated and still not serving “my” needs. I wish I knew how to develop!

For me, I am looking more for a simple self planning function with flex to basically make a weekly plan of recipes I want to cook, and then have a corresponding grocery list with flex to add things to buy.

I want to use my cookbooks so I love eat your books for that.

Right now I am trying to use the “shopping list” function on the site.
In this way, it serves as my “menu planning” and list in one since it shows
the recipes up top.
However, it does not have the ability to actually put my plan into a weekly calendar which would be great ( eg simply adding the days up top and ability to move them into the day without getting fancy). With this it would be great to have ability to add something outside your books as well ( eg tuna sandwich).
The more critical gap for me is the ability to actually use the shopping list to check things off .
Also, to add items to your shopping list for things that aren’t directly in your recipe meal plan. And quantities are also missing so it would be great to have flex to add these.

I say it would be great to have it as an app based on my assumption it would be easier to get to and view ( vs web view on phone, having to log in, multiple clicks etc).

I would love to help design this ( or user test!) if there is a developer to assist! :)
#5 Posted : Monday, July 1, 2024 8:40:48 PM(UTC)
I highly recommend Anylist for menu planning and grocery shopping. You can access your lists on an iPhone, Apple Watch, pc or Mac desktop. This is a typical use case for me:

I see a recipe on the internet that I want to make
Using the Anylist extension or by pasting the url, I import the recipe into AnyList.
From the imported recipe, I can tap any ingredient to add it to my grocery list.
I assign the new recipe to make for dinner on Sunday in the menu planning calendar.
I go to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. When shopping, I check AnyList on my Apple Watch and cross off the items from my shopping list as I put them in my cart.
A few days later when I don't remember what I had planned, I check my AnyList calendar on my Mac desktop and pull the recipe up.

Another way I use it is to view everything I have ever added to my grocery list (and since crossed off). I go through and un-cross anything I want added back to the list. No more forgotten baking powder!

#6 Posted : Tuesday, July 2, 2024 4:12:50 AM(UTC)

Was reminded of this thread today reading a piece on the BBC News website about how Tour de France teams prepare meals for their riders. These meals are varied in content and directly targeted at individual athletes. One of the teams has created its own app for riders to aid riders get the most nutrious and desirable meals while out of the road cycling upto 210km per day. That team (Visma-Lease a Bike) has made the app publically available, its features can be evaluated, and downloaded from The Athelte's Food Coach; from my brief look this app is meal planning done proper.

#7 Posted : Tuesday, July 2, 2024 11:09:08 AM(UTC)
I am a huge fan of the AnyList app! I began using it during the pandemic as a way to make trips to the grocery store as efficient as possible.

In addition to all of the features mentioned by Churchim808, you can easily scale recipes, edit ingredients and preparation steps, include photos, and toggle between an imported online recipe and the website of origin. I use an iPad while I am cooking and it is so convenient to edit on the spot. I manually add recipes from my cookbooks once I have decided that it is a recipe that I will revisit.

I use AnyList Complete, which is the paid subscription for $14.99 per year. This allows my husband and I to share our weekly meal plan and grocery lists in real time. No more forgotten items and extra trips to the market!

I have also created custom lists for our Pantry and our Freezers (both of which are located in our basement.) When I am menu planning I can check out what we have in the freezer, for example minced pork, and do a search in EYB to find something new and exciting to try!
#8 Posted : Tuesday, July 2, 2024 2:04:52 PM(UTC)
We do have on our development agenda to improve the meal planning and shopping list functionality on EYB. So it would be useful to hear from members on the features they would consider important and useful.
#4 Posted : Saturday, December 28, 2024 9:47:59 AM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: christinezac Go to Quoted Post
You are right- what makes a “good” app could vary a lot! I have downloaded I think every app and they are way too complicated and still not serving “my” needs. I wish I knew how to develop! For me, I am looking more for a simple self planning function with flex to basically make a weekly plan of recipes I want to cook, and then have a corresponding grocery list with flex to add things to buy. I want to use my cookbooks so I love eat your books for that. Right now I am trying to use the “shopping list” function on the site. In this way, it serves as my “menu planning” and list in one since it shows the recipes up top. However, it does not have the ability to actually put my plan into a weekly calendar which would be great ( eg simply adding the days up top and ability to move them into the day without getting fancy). With this it would be great to have ability to add something outside your books as well ( eg tuna sandwich). The more critical gap for me is the ability to actually use the shopping list to check things off . Also, to add items to your shopping list for things that aren’t directly in your recipe meal plan. And quantities are also missing so it would be great to have flex to add these. I say it would be great to have it as an app based on my assumption it would be easier to get to and view ( vs web view on phone, having to log in, multiple clicks etc). I would love to help design this ( or user test!) if there is a developer to assist! :)


I have also tried many apps without being able to find exactly what I am looking for.  Most seem to be catered to fitness and as such are all about tracking macros or calories etc.  Right now I am trying a workaround of a google sheets editable monthly calendar template and the eyb shopping list.  I love that the shopping list has the list of recipes up top, I just wish it allowed you to add extra items.  FOr instance, if I serve a certain recipe with baked sweet potato then I just want to add sweet potato to the list.  

#9 Posted : Saturday, December 28, 2024 12:27:36 PM(UTC)

We do currently have an app in development so it would be useful to hear from members on what features they would want in meal planning and shopping lists on an app.

#12 Posted : Saturday, December 28, 2024 2:51:29 PM(UTC)

I am glad to hear it.  I do use the current shopping list on EYB I would just like the ability to add extra items to it that may not necessrily come from a specific recipe.


As far as meal planning, I am not really interested in tracking macros, carbs, ww points, etc.  There are tons of apps that do this, like chronometer.  I am more interested in being able to plan out my week or month of recipes, including books and page numbers or links.  A monthly and weekly view would be great.  It would also be awesome to have a notes feature, maybe have it linked to the notes in EYB so that you could see the note in your planner view and it would also be available on EYB.  


Currently I use the EYB shopping list and a editable monthly calendar in google sheets.  I tried to insert a screenshot here but i couldn't get it to work for some reason.  :)

#10 Posted : Sunday, December 29, 2024 6:39:42 AM(UTC)

When you say


Originally Posted by: Jane Go to Quoted Post
We do currently have an app in development …


For which platforms? I am a fervent iPhone/Ipad user and by choice have as little to do with Google as possible — DDG is my search engine of choice — so if the app is Android only it leaves me out.

#13 Posted : Sunday, December 29, 2024 4:05:40 PM(UTC)

It will be both iPhone and Android.

#14 Posted : Monday, December 30, 2024 7:48:01 AM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: Jane Go to Quoted Post
… both iPhone and Android.


Great. Thank you. It's just that so many people when they talk an app or the app only consider Android as that is what they have in their hand.

#15 Posted : Sunday, January 5, 2025 3:33:43 PM(UTC)

I highly recommend Cook Smarts (https://www.cooksmarts.com/) for meal planning. There are a ton of recipes, lots of nutritional information, and the ability to select different dietary need versions of each recipe (vegetarian, paleo, gluten free), and number of servings. You plan your menu from the meals featured each week, with the preferred dietary version and number of servings, or swap out the featured meals with any of the archived meals. It will generate your grocery list, taking into account your selections (it usually does a good job if there are shared ingredients across the meals - at worst, it will list an ingredient multiple times). You can check off the ingredients you already have from the list easily, and it gives you the ability to email a link to the shopping list, so you can access it easily when you're out shopping and check them off. And, if you're an iPhone user, the app just became available: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cook-smarts/id6717616148 . I've found that I don't really need an app (I'm an Android user) because the site works pretty well on mobile devices. It costs $90 a year, which I find well worth the solution to my "what am I going to make" dilemma I used to have constantly. And there are occasional sales, especially for gift subscriptions.

#11 Posted : Saturday, January 18, 2025 7:20:25 PM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: Jane Go to Quoted Post
We do currently have an app in development so it would be useful to hear from members on what features they would want in meal planning and shopping lists on an app.


When I sit down to plan a menu for the week I'm almost instantly overwhelmed. I don't have a lot of experience to draw from which poses two problems. I don't have effortless go-to meals to make and I don't know enough about global foods ways, hell even American food ways to know what to pair with what. I would love a meal planning app that takes the thought out of meal planning while utilizing my cookbooks. What I’m looking for is an app that creates a meal plan from my cookbooks. In a perfect world it should have the ability to customize meals based on dietary restrictions, total time to table, type of cuisine, and seasonality. It should produce a grocery list, a timeline and substitutions. Including a feature that restricts the recipes to those with a percentage of shared ingredients would be great for cost efficiency. Bonus points for creating an inventory of my pantry and referencing that as well. I would pay big money for an app like that.


I’ve thought of doing it myself. I’m working on indexing all my cookbook recipes in Access. However, I don’t have a ton of time to devote to the project.

#16 Posted : Sunday, January 19, 2025 7:52:41 AM(UTC)
In terms of shopping lists: it would be nice to somehow have an "add to shopping list" button. For example, I'm meal planning for my week and choose 5 recipes. I add those to my shopping list. Then it would be great to have checkboxes where you can check/uncheck items you need (so you can weed out the ingredients you already have at home).
#17 Posted : Thursday, February 6, 2025 3:04:24 PM(UTC)

Another suggestion to improve the shopping list feature: Please add the page numbers to the recipe list at the beginning of the shopping list.


This would help, because I need to look up the recipes in each book for 1) unindexed store cupboard ingredients that may not be in my kitchen already; and 2) amounts for ingredients. Thank you!

#19 Posted : Saturday, February 15, 2025 9:11:26 AM(UTC)

It would be great to have an AI meal planning feature so you could have a prompt like I have these ingredients to use up can you check my " I want to cook this list" and suggest some recipes.  

#18 Posted : Wednesday, April 23, 2025 11:44:28 AM(UTC)

Originally Posted by: lkgrover Go to Quoted Post
Another suggestion to improve the shopping list feature: Please add the page numbers to the recipe list at the beginning of the shopping list.


This would help, because I need to look up the recipes in each book for 1) unindexed store cupboard ingredients that may not be in my kitchen already; and 2) amounts for ingredients. Thank you!


I would love this feature too. 


I use the shopping list every week  and have for years. I would love to be able to save my weekly shop or weekly list.


I'd also like to know where the ingredient is coming from on the list. ie. where are these onions needed. 


I'm really excited for an app but this is my most used website and I'm so nervous about the potential changes.

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