I arranged today’s guest post from Erin, of Coupon Cravings, a couple of weeks ago to run this week while I’m tied up with moving.  Then just a couple of days ago I received this timely email question from a reader:

I recently bought an iPod touch and I canNOT believe there are NO apps to aid in menu planning. I have searched for hours. I was wondering if there’s anything we can do to get this changed. I know a lot of Mom’s would use it. Thank you for any ideas you may have. Connie

Well Connie, you’re in luck.  This post is sure to help you out!  I don’t have an i anything but after reading this post I definitely want one now :)

And you don’t want to miss the fun giveaway at the end of today’s post either!  There will be four winners chosen, woohoo!

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a whiz in the kitchen. I stick to a handful of recipes I can make with my eyes closed, but if in the process of making dinner I realize I’m missing an essential ingredient, I freeze. I have four kids, so it’s not easy to run out to make an impromptu trip to the grocery store. Fortunately, I’ve found five iPhone apps that have kept me more organized (and far more sane) during the dinner hour.

ZipList (free): Some of my recipes require ingredients with longer names that don’t always make it onto my shopping list in their entirety (e.g., organic diced tomatoes with basil and garlic). I like that ZipList, a shopping list app, lets you scan product barcodes to add specific items to the weekly grocery list. This reduces the amount of time I spend standing in front of the diced tomatoes like a deer in headlights thinking about which variety to buy.

AllRecipes Dinner Spinner (free): If you’re here at I’m an Organizing Junkie, then you may already be a meal planning expert (do you use Laura’s printable Menu Planner Template?). If you’re like me and need a little inspiration sometimes, check out the Dinner Spinner. I like that I can choose dish type (main dish, side dish, etc.), ingredients and desired “ready in” time to get ideas on the fly. Saves me from flipping through the cookbooks in my pantry.

Smart Chef Substitutions ($1.99): If you don’t have, can’t find or don’t want to spend money on a certain recipe ingredient, then Smart Chef Substitutions is for you. This app has helped me out in a pinch (no pun intended) with over 300 substitutions for spices, herbs, vegetables, etc. You can also try Handy Replacements. It’s a free app, but you’ll find a much abbreviated list of substitutions (baking powder, tomato paste, etc.)

Kitchen Calculator ($1.99): I love the Kitchen Calculator app because as my family grows (and eats more!) it makes it easier to convert recipes for more servings. This is nice too when you need to convert recipes with measurements like milliliters, pints and even jiggers (jiggers?). This definitely keeps me from ruining recipes and having to order take-out.

CookIt ($.99): One of my biggest problems is timing my meals so that everything is ready at the same time. I like to have dinner on the table at a set time every night, so this is useful in reducing the number of times I hear “Is dinner ready yet?” in my house.

Now if only there was an iPhone app that also did the dishes. One can dream.

So, what are your favorite iPhone apps that keep you more organized and less crazy at mealtime?

Erin Gifford is a working mom of four who blogs at Coupon Cravings. She also works for new online shopping list and recipe search service, ZipList, which is rolling out free tools to enable bloggers to integrate recipe boxes and shopping lists into their web sites. She can be found on Twitter at @eringifford.

GIVEAWAY

Erin has kindly provided me with FOUR Blue Avocado Reusable Grocery Bag Starter Kits (each kit includes one carry-all, one stuff n’ go and one produce bag) courtesy of Ziplist to giveaway to four lucky readers!!  Simply leave a comment on this post prior to Wednesday, August 4th at 4:00 pm PST.  Winners will be chosen randomly.

Thanks Erin and Ziplist!

{ 162 comments }