ShopNCook Recipe Management and Menu Planning - Review Software

If you spend time in your kitchen. And you spend time on the internet. Chances are the two have collided for you. You are probably also discovering the wealth of recipes and recipe sources available and wondering how to collect all of this into a usable format for your cooking needs.

I like to cook. Sometimes it’s well involved recipes. Sometimes it’s quick and easy. Sometimes it’s healthy, light, and refreshing. Sometimes it’s the most calorie laden thing I can find.

But the issue is organizing these recipes. I have recipes dating back to my childhood. Papers ripped from magazines, photocopied from coworkers and jotted down over the phone.

The Past...

When I first started getting busy on the computer Mastercook was the way to go. I loved that software. Not only would it organize my recipes into books, categories, meal plans and what not. I could also print them out.

But alas as does all good software originally made for the PC, Mastercook stopped updated for the Macintosh and then new 10 or X series system software came out I was out of luck unless I booted in system 9 (Mac people will understand this jargon).

The issue is WHAT DO I USE NOW??!?!!! So I began the hunt for a new recipe management software with all of the bells and whistles I had become accustomed to.

Frustration Era...

I downloaded many demos. From Yum Yum to Organized Gourmet (which is now out of business). I ended up with the later and was okay with it but it was still missing some of the stuff I needed. There were a few others out there but I couldn’t see paying the price for them when they didn’ t have the features that were important to me.

I’m a mom and wife who really likes to cook. In addition to organizing my recipes for easy access I needed a grocery planning module,  meal planning, and a feature to make the recipes big on the computer while I cooked (so I could read them). While the nutritional data is nice it’s not an super important feature in my recipe management software.

Voila!

Every few months I would search again but nothing. Then one day I landed upon Shop N’ Cook Menu. It seemed to have all I needed but I downloaded a demo to be sure. I tried it for a teeny bit, found I couldn't do without it and then went on and bought it.

Created by a mom also looking to manage her meals the Shop N’ Cook Software is created to work on both the Mac and PC. (YIPPEEEE!!)

Besides being easy to use Shop N’ Cook Menu also has the features that are important to me.

• It is super ultra easy to import recipes. You can do some batch import thing from your various other recipe management software programs. Or you can import from the clipboard. Or you can paste all your recipes into text, separate them by a few lines and batch import that way. I didn’t realize how easy it was to import when I first bought it but now I’m on a roll! I've been importing MasterCook files with no problems.

• The shopping list is also a great feature. It’s ordered by aisle and you can adjust it according to the layout of your store. There’s some maneuver you do too to make it remember what you keep in your pantry. Mathilde has instructions for that on her blog.

• It has lots of extras too such as combining recipes (ex. put a link to your salad dressing recipe in you salad recipe), adjusting your preferences so shopping lists include exact needs for items instead of ‘ketchup’, or ‘noodles’ and freebie cookbooks.

• You can also make sublists of ingredients to add to your grocery shopping list. Such as salad ingredients. This makes it quick and easy to add to your list instead of searching the whole database.

• Oh did I forget the menu planning part? I have Shop N’ Cook Menu which features the menu planning section. I drag and drop recipes to make my weekly meal plan. Mostly I work with dinner but you can put whole menus on there click a cute little basket to add the items to your grocery list or send to email. I admit there is more to the menu section that I have yet to explore. I’ve been spending a lot of time fine tuning my recipes and adding them to the menu so that when I’m ready I (cross my fingers) will have a full menu plan for a month and then I’ll try monthly menu planning.

• But I digress. What’s that about the iphone app? Yes Shop’NCook has an iPhone app so you can send your grocery list to your iphone. I don’t have one so I am missing out but this alone makes me think hard about getting an iphone.

• There are three levels of Shop’NCook based upon your needs. The Shop’NCook Home does not have the menu planning feature and that was very important to me so I went up a level to Shop N’ Cook Menu. Shop’NCook Pro is geared towards those who may have a food service operation such as catering, a diet professional.

The one Con... For me I miss being able to print a complete cookbook with a table of contents. While it does print out a beautiful page for your individual recipes that cookbook layout is not there. Oh Mathilde.....

Well don’t take my word for it. Go try a generous 45 day free trial version of Shop'NCook Menu to see if it meets your needs. I liked it so much I became an affiliate.