Meal Planning Made Easy—How I Use Tech to Feed My Family

Figuring Out Dinner Every Night is the Worst—Here’s How I Fixed It

Let’s be real—the hardest question of the day isn’t deep or philosophical—it’s “What’s for dinner?” And it happens every. single. day. Between picky eaters, last-minute grocery runs, and that one ingredient you swore you had, meal planning can feel like a full-time job.

But here’s the truth: you don’t need an elaborate meal-prep board, a rainbow of labeled containers, or a spreadsheet of themed dinner nights. You just need a system that works—and a little tech to do the heavy lifting.

Enter Recipe Keeper (check it out here),(all rights reserved to Recipe Keeper) the meal-planning app that saves me from the daily dinner crisis. No more lost recipes, forgotten grocery items, or last-minute takeout. Just stress-free, streamlined meal planning that actually works. (Nope, I'm not an affiliate but I should be with how much I recommend this. I just appreciate great organizing products that make my life easier!)

Here’s how I use tech to take the chaos out of dinner prep—so you can, too.

Step 1: Get Every Recipe in One Place

No more flipping through old cookbooks, scrolling through screenshots, or digging through 47 Pinterest boards just to find that one chicken recipe. Recipe Keeper keeps all my meals in one spot—fast.

✅ Save recipes from websites instantly (no messy formatting!)
✅ Add family favorites manually (Grandma’s lasagna? Covered.)
✅ Organize by category (breakfast, dinner, snacks, desserts you pretend are for the kids)

💡 The best part? It syncs across devices, so whether I’m meal planning on my laptop or checking my grocery list in the store, everything is right there.

Step 2: Plan Your Meals Without the Overwhelm

Here’s the deal: Winging it never works for me. That’s how I end up with a fridge full of random ingredients that don’t make an actual meal.

With Recipe Keeper, I can:
✔ Drag and drop recipes into a weekly meal plan
✔ Adjust portions so I don’t accidentally cook for an army
✔ Save my best meal combos to reuse again later (hello, autopilot dinners like Taco Tuesday)

Pro Tip: Check Your Calendar First & Theme Your Nights for Instant Sanity

Staring at a blank meal plan is overwhelming, so we check our calendar first to see which days we are pressed for time because of the kids afterschool activities and to make it easier on us, we like to theme each day to keep it simple:

• Monday: Breakfast for Dinner 🥞
• Tuesday: Mexican Night 🌮
• Wednesday: American Classics 🍔
• Thursday: Italian Night 🍝
• Friday: Movie Night (Translation: Easy food. Corndogs for the kids, takeout for mom & dad.)
• Saturdays & Sundays: are for new recipes that require more time or eating out

Now, instead of panicking at 5 p.m., I already know what’s for dinner—and that I have everything I need. Game. Changer.

Step 3: Grocery Shopping—Made Foolproof

If you’ve ever left the store without the one thing you actually needed, welcome to the club.

The built-in shopping list in Recipe Keeper fixes this. It auto-generates a grocery list based on my meal plan, so I:

✔ Never forget an ingredient
✔ Skip the last-minute “run to the store” panic
✔ Actually save money (bye-bye, impulse buys!)
✔ Get a list organized by aisle—so no more zig-zagging across the store like a lost toddler

💡Pro Tip: Grocery shopping is not my happy place. I save time, money, and sanity by ordering groceries online and getting them delivered every week. I can see my total before checkout, stick to my list, and completely avoid impulse buys (except when my husband goes to Costco—doesn't stick to the list!).

Step 4: Get the Family Involved (So It’s Not All on You)

Because let’s be honest—you shouldn’t be the only one handling meals. Recipe Keeper makes it easy for everyone to pitch in.

✔ Let the kids help pick meals (within reason—no, we can’t have pancakes for dinner every night)
✔ Share grocery lists so anyone can grab missing ingredients (it updates in real-time, so if my husband is at Costco and we forgot something, I just add it to the list!)
✔ Assign cooking nights—because “Mom makes everything” is not a life plan

Step 5: Stop the Dinner Time Stress—For Good

Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated—it just needs to work.

With Recipe Keeper, I spend less time stressing over what to cook and more time actually enjoying meals with my family. And the best part? No more last-minute dinner panic.

Next Up: Conquering Toy Overload—Our Family’s Path to a Peaceful Living Room

Now that mealtime is under control, let’s talk about the endless toy takeover. Next week, I’m sharing exactly how we manage toy clutter (without meltdowns), including the one in, one out rule and why designated play zones are a game-changer.

📣 Ready to simplify mealtime? Join the Simplify & Shine Waitlist for more tech-savvy organizing solutions! Because dinnertime should be easy—not an episode of Chopped.

#MealPlanning #FamilyCooking #TechInTheKitchen #Carlsbadmoms #Encinitasmom