Saturday, April 18, 2009

30 meals: Step 2

First, Don't Panic if you don't have all 30 of your recipes ready yet... neither do we but this step goes along with step 1 and will help you see where we are going next.

STEP 2: Put your recipes/ meals on individual cards. Like I said, even if you don't have ALL 30 of your recipes picked out yet (it may take a while to find 30 meals you LOVE) go ahead and start copying the ones you have onto individual cards.


There are several ways you can do this but we wanted to have them on the computer so that we could reprint the cards and also easily email them to friends and family.
We found these free recipe card templates here and just used photoshop elements to put in the text then we printed them as 4x6 photos at our local costco. You could also just use a word processor and print them on your printer or even hand write them onto index cards.

This is what the our cards look like- and by the way if you love Cafe Rio Sweet Pork you should totally make this recipe, it is awesome!

After we printed them we laminated each card.
Then we punched a hole in the top left corner and put all of the recipes on a ring.

This way at the begining of the week we can pick the meals we want to make for that week and remove them from the ring and put them in in this little card holder we made to stick on the fridge.

btw- We looked everywhere... well almost everywhere, to find a card holder like this to hold our 4x6 cards for the week on the fridge and couldn't find anything which is why we had to make our own. Anybody know where to find something like this?

ALSO, is anyone interested in a tutorial on how to make one of these boxes for your 30 meals cards?
andPhotobucket

39 comments:

Sandra W said...

yes please, I need a tutorial for the box :)

Connie Babe said...

i would recommend the locker accessories part of office max (or such)...you can cover the plastic.

or the office accessories part...for the organizer things...

DairyQueen said...

this is wonderful! i'm in!

i would love a totorial on the box!

Teryn said...

On the fridge! That's genious. I am all about tutorials. This is such a great Idea. I love the master list, way to simplify my life. Thanks!

Danielle said...

I would love a tutorial on the box.

Also, what kind of laminator do you have? I am looking into buying one.

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

The laminator is made by Scotch. I've seen them at Target, Walmart, Mejier etc. This one was about $20 and it works great!

Crafty Mom said...

I'd definitely like a tutorial, no need to rack my brain to recreate it. I'm sure I could, being crafty and all, but I always love a good tutorial. It's easier on my brain, lol. I craft because I'm creative, not logical.

P.S. I'm loving this system more and more as I find out more about it. :)

{amy k.} said...

Love the recipe card templates- it'd be fun to use a different color for each meat (pink- fish, green- veggie, yellow- chicken....)

I'd love to know how you made that cute card box, great idea!

(ps love the name Kathryn, that's my middle name... and I spell it the same way!)

Josh and Amber Wilkins said...

Good idea! I love the box on the frige, but ya I do need a tutorial! Thanks for doing all the hard work!

Junella Sgro said...

Thanks you so much for the idea! I'd love to see a tutorial. I have 4 little ones too and I totally know what you mean. I've always told people that between 5-7 (dinner and bedtime) is my witching hour. This is a BRILLIANT idea.

The Zeller Family said...

Would love a tutorial on the box, so cute!!!

Lorie said...

Don't know where to find one, but would love a tutorial.

Anonymous said...

I have one similar to this that I got at the container store. It has a heavy duty magnet so it always stays in place.

Stephanie said...

What I really want to know is all the recipes on those cards!!

Unknown said...

Yes! I would love a tutorial to make that box!

The Staker Family said...

LOVE your site, and this idea! What you described in step 1 was every night at my house lately, I love to cook, but with four kids six and under it has become more of a pain than anything. I am excited to get started on our list, and I agree with Stephanie, you should post your 30 recipies so we can try them!

Sarah and John Root said...

I love, love, love this idea!! Yes, a tutorial on the box would be great!

Kip said...

whoa, it's so cool to see what someone's done with my cards! They look awesome :) Thanks for choosing them.

Jana said...

Darling project as always! I don't know how exactly this would work, but the first thing I wondered when I read step 1 was how we could all share our recipes with each other? I'd love some new ideas!

Carrie Snider said...

Awesome! I love the concept and was wondering how to organize my 30 meals for the month. Thank you for this!

I already have magnet baskets on my fridge. I bought a set for $6-7 here: http://www.currentcatalog.com/080179.html?AS=1&keyword=magnet

Controlling My Chaos said...

I have a plastic one that's a bit larger than that (it holds my 5x7 recipe cards) and I found it at an office supply store (probably Office Max) years ago.

LeAnne Ballard said...

Oh I would love the tutorial. :) Just found your blog today...big fan. :) Thanks for all your ideas.

Priscilla said...

Hi! I was wondering about the Cafe Rio Sweet Pork- it says to use 3/4 bottle of salsa, but what size is the bottle?! There are a few sizes out there.

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

Good point Priscilla, I usually have 25oz. salsa bottles and use 3/4 of that and it has turned out great everytime.
Good luck... you're going to love it, mmmmmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

I can't get the recipe cards to downlown. Any ideas about what I'm doing wrong?

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

Huh, I didn't have any problems. If you want I can email the files to you. Just email me at kathrynsphotography@gmail.com and I'll get it to you.

Deborah said...

Awesome project - I am so in need of something like this. Thank you. It is truly much appreciated in my household.

I'll be working on my own box template - to fit the recipe cards I do. ( I'm going to use a stampin up stamp for the cards )

Zack and Holly said...

I just joined in on the 30 meal plan, and am very excited, and so ...relieved?.... I rack my brain every night, trying to scramble to make a nice meal for my family.... and some days I just don't suceed. I love it! Have you already taught the tutorial on the recipe box?

Danielle (Life with the Hewitt Family) said...

This is such a wonderful project! I would love to know how you made that cute little box. I am going to get started on my 30 meals!

Delightful Dwelling said...

Such a cute project! My first thought on the holder for the fridge was to look at all the back to school stuff and find some kind of locker basket or holder that would work.

Cap Creations said...

Love the menu planning idea! Can I just get all your recipes now LOL! I need all the help I can get in the kitchen!

Nissa said...

I meal plan, but my cooking schedule is currently jotted down on typing paper & stuck on the fridge. This is sooo much better & organized! I can't wait to get started on this!

tongfengdemao said...

This is a great project! For me, however, what seems to work best is simply to print the recipe on a sheet of paper and put it in a page protector. I have two notebooks. One is recipes to try and the other holds the recipes we like. I simply put this week's recipes in the front. It's not as cute as your system, but works well for me. An added advantage is that I can pull the recipe out of the protector and add a note (change in recipe, good accompanying foods, etc.).

Karen said...

Yes, yes, yes...too cute!! Such a good idea and I would love to learn how to make it! With 3 busy ones at home and full schedule, this would make my life SO much easier!!

Carrie said...

All I have to say is you girls rock! I'm going to try this!

dcprattfamily said...

Try this link...
http://www.officemax.com/catalog/sku.jsp?productId=prod1812419&history=oodmhxtd|prodPage~15^freeText~magnetic^paramValue~true^refine~1^region~1^param~return_skus@ryh8rs23|prodPage~15^paramValue~true^refine~1^region~1^categoryName~Desk+Accessories+%26+Organizers^param~return_skus^categoryId~45^return_skus~Y^parentCategoryID~cat_10001&ssp=true&csRedirectSearchString=null&csRedirectSearchResultCount=1&csSearchTag=true&_requestid=1819691

It's not as cute as your box, but I think it might work.

Anonymous said...

I have used a recipe box with the lid removed and magnets attached to the back

Anonymous said...

I have a nice silver wire mesh basket with magnets on the back that I bought from HannahDirect.com. It is 8 1/2" wide and 4 1/2"long and about 1 1/2" deep. I keep it on my refrigerator.

Anonymous said...

Cut off the bottom portion of a cereal box or other food box. Cover with fabric or scrap book paper. Embellish with a theme if desired (owls, jewels, apples, etc) attach a magnet to the back. Place on fridge.