The Ultimate Meal Planning and Recipe Guide

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If you’re anything like us, food is the core of our lives. Our schedule, conversations, and memories revolve around it. We love to eat and we make sure we have the time and the tools we need to thoroughly enjoy it.

The Problem

Week after week we found that going out to eat was consuming our budget. We would come home from work very hungry and not in the mood to cook and would resort to going out. When we would stay home we were indecisive on what to make and often lacked the ingredients to complete something that was healthy, tasty and out of the ordinary. We were getting bored, yet were overwhelmed with the prospect of meal prepping.

My Process

The first step was to analyze our current approach to mealtimes and identify pain points. These included the time it took to plan and a space that both of us could access to see what was on the schedule. We made a list of the most important steps to planning our meals for the week. With those steps in place we created a shared Airtable base and tables that corresponded to these new steps. The final design included 4 tables that are linked within each other to help plan the schedule quickly each week.

The Solution

The solution came in the form of a single shared Airtable base designed with linked tables for each of the tasks at hand:

  • A schedule for planning out a week of meals: based on a schedule of going for groceries once a week for two people (who don’t always eat the same thing for every meal). The master view is grouped by date. There is also a view of items to be prepared for the week on meal prep day. The recipe is also linked to the day for quick access.
  • A list for grocery shopping: The master view for this table is grouped by stores with additional list views for each store. The individual store views are configured to be easily viewable on the Airtable mobile app with a field to check off each item as you secure it in your cart. Additionally, you will be able to refer to the recipe the item is needed for.
  • A Recipe Gallery to store and select from: We found that a recipe gallery was essential to planning quickly. Our goal is to choose 3-4 new recipes each week and to fill in with leftovers and go-to meals. The Gallery view presents images of the recipes (note: images are from websites where recipes were taken from). You can also access a master view of all of the recipes in grid format and by breakfast, lunch, and dinner tags. In addition you can filter tags and/or ingredients to easily find what you are looking for. You are able to rate each recipe you have tried as well as add chef notes. Each recipe can be linked across other tables such as the schedule and the grocery list.
  • A review log of our tried and true favorite brands: We consider ourselves professional consumers of food. We like to find the best quality foods and brands for the best deals. We found this table helpful when determining a grocery list. We like to try new brands and foods often and mark our reviews here for future reference. I see this as a potential tool and content for influencers.
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Updated February 28, 2019 at 5:48 PM
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Jac Stark

“A place for everything and everything in its place.” Product and Content Strategist, Community Designer, Encourager
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Trader Joes
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My Recipe Book (Master)
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