Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Recipe Toolbox

Good afternoon, bloggie friends! :)

How are you all doing on this Tuesday??

Let me start out by saying I'm so sorry I didn't catch you guys here yesterday.  It was a little cray cray, and I didn't have anything inspired to share with you all.

I missed my morning workout, didn't make my evening one that I had planned because I was bogged down in the books, and guess what I had for dinner...

Cheese & crackers & chips & salsa.

Now there is some delicious nutrition for ya!

I went to bed with a "tomorrow's another day" attitude, and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for a more active and nutritious day.

So far so good!

I knocked out one of my favorite booty burners this morning at the gym, and have plans to make a more wholesome dinner tonight.

Only problem is: I'm still not so sure what I'm going to make!!

While I usually plan out my meals on Sunday so that I don't waste time googling for hours wracking my brain as to what the dickens I am going to make for dinner that night, this week I just picked up a bunch of staples I knew I could throw together for some meals (chicken, ground beef, sandwich thins, vegetables, you get the gist!).

As I was searching for the perfect dinner this afternoon, I got to thinking about my "go to" recipe sources, which single-handedly keep me from ordering pizza every night multiple times a week.

Here is the "toolbox" I call on if I find that my inner chef is taking a nap on a particular day:

1) Cooking Light: This site is like an encyclopedia of lighter recipes.  Usually I head straight to the recipe page and do some browsing.  On that page, you can even access the "recipe index" from the recent magazines.  Pretty saweeet.

2) My favorite healthy living blogs: This is a no-brainer.  Often, when I'm stumped, I'll call on the amazing recipe pages over on Sweet Tooth Sweet Life or Peanut Butter Fingers.  These two blogs are my favorite for recipes because these bloggers and I seem to have similar taste in food, they both cook meals for themselves + a significant other daily, and their recipes call for simple, healthy ingredients that I usually have on hand.

3) Blogs devoted specifically to recipes: Duh! :) My favorites are Gina's Skinny Recipes (the Chicken Taco Chili might not be seasonal right now, but I swear it will change your life) and CrockPot 365, since I'm obsessed with slow cooking.

4) Betty Crocker: This is the site I basically started cooking with, searching and searching, then molding the recipes to be more waistline-friendly.  My favorite thing about this website is that it is very navigable. You can choose recipes by "main ingredient," or by "meal type," so it's virtually dummy proof. Be creative with substituting ingredients, or check out the health & diet page, and you'll make it out alive.

5) Dinner Spinner: My friend Ashley introduced me to this iPhone app, from allrecipes.com, which randomly selects matching recipes for you after you enter in "dish type," a main ingredient, and prep time.  I use this when I am really feeling indecisive, and I just need someone else to tell me what to do!! If you have an iPhone, get to downloading, it's free! :)

6) My own recipe box!: A few years ago, I received this adorable recipe box.  I started filling out the cards with recipes gifted from friends & family, magazine clippings, and my own special creations.


With this little treasure chest & my own recipe blog posts, I always have my own "go tos" to rely on in a moment of crisis.

{My box is by Gina B Designs if you are interested in picking one up for yourself or as a gift!}

**Something to talk about: Now that I've revealed my recipe "toolbox," time for you to share yours!! What are your go-to sources for recipes when you get stumped?? 


I've gotta get back to studying, and I still have to figure out what's for dinner?!?!?

Make sure to check back tomorrow, because I will be participating in my first ever WIAW {What I Ate Wednesday}!


I will be posting 2 to 3 times tomorrow to share with you all my breakfast, lunch, dinner & snacks throughout the day.  Endless fun, especially for my fellow curious Georges! :)

xoxo

Jess

3 comments:

  1. What a nice list! Most of my meals are random meals where I throw together stuff from the pantry, but I like to plan out two recipes a week.

    My best sources are
    1.) I keep a spreadsheet of recipes I want to try - LAME, I know! But I can't keep all my ideas straight in my head or binders or wherever. So when I see a good recipe I want to try, I add it to my spreadsheet. If it's a blog, I paste in the link. If it's a book from my shelf, I write down the page. We even add a score to the recipe after we've made it.
    2.) Or if there is something specific in my head that I want to make and I don't have a recipe for it, I go to www.allrecipes.com. AWESOME web-site! I haven't tried their Dinner Spinner - will have to check it out!

    :-)

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  2. Ooooo I love the spreadsheet idea!!! Nothing is better than a good spreadsheet! :) I'm going to have to give that a try too. You will LOVE dinner spinner, endless fun!

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  3. yey for your first WIAW! :) I loved participating for the first time last week, it's a great weekly blog bash! Dinner spinner is such a great idea! Now if only I could get a smart phone sometime in the near future! :P

    Hope you have a great wednesday! :)

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