So you’ve read all about how I menu plan, and how I have a meal rotation.
You might be wondering how I find new recipes to try.
Ready?
magazines
Y’all may know by now my love affair with magazines.
They’re a quick, joyful read, and they provide SO much inspiration.
While I may not use every recipe in every magazine, oftentimes magazines unintentionally (or intentionally!) give me the best meal inspiration. Even if I don’t like a recipe (like, it looks toooooo laborious, or an ingredient I don’t like, or the recipe seems too…not-our-tastes), the recipe might give me an idea of something else to try.
Also, magazines are THE BEST way to not only get my creative juices flowing, but they’re also THE BEST way to celebrate the holidays with all their seasonal ideas and recipes. The happiest mail ever!
I subscribe to a few magazines as one of my birthday traditions. The best gift that gives all year long!
magazines I’ve loved:
Allrecipes (my favorite of all time in the history of ever. I may not use these recipes 1000% of the time, but often they give me the best ideas for a starting point or an idea of something to go google)
Cook’s Illustrated + Cook’s Country (also a favorite - I learn so much)
Pioneer Woman - she taught me to cook over ten years ago. i will always have a soft spot for Ree.
my binders
whenever I see something in a magazine I find inspiring - whether it be a recipe I actually want to try, or a recipe that inspires me to do something else, I tear it out and it goes in my binders.
but again, I’m picky about what I save - I want these binders to be inspirational, not overwhelming.
I have six binders with page protectors:
Grill and Chill (grilled recipes, sides, and bread recipes)
Soup + Sandwich + Salad + Bowls
Snack Dinner Saturday + Appetizers
Dessert
Breakfast + Brunch
Dinner (Mexican recipes, Italian recipes, and other recipes)
And in these beloved binders, I keep printed recipes, family recipes, photocopied recipes, and magazine/newspaper clippings, etc. When menu planning, if I’m looking at our schedule and feeling like trying some new recipes, I’ll peek in the binders.
blogs
I do have some trust issues here, since I’ve been let down by quite a few food bloggers.
But I do love food blogs. My happy place - since I was 18 years old - is sitting on the couch, scrolling through food blogs, and saving any recipe that looks amazing. (I’m picky about what I save.)
I keep a bookmark on my computer of online recipes I’m dying to try (and a Pinterest board), so I might pull a recipe or two from there when I’m menu planning.
My go-to favorites will always be Mels Kitchen Cafe, oldddd Pioneer Woman, and Two Peas and their Pod.
newsletters
I really don’t follow many food bloggers on Instagram, since I prefer saving recipes on my computer, and oftentimes I can find Instagram overwhelming. So I subscribe to a few food bloggers’ newsletters, but I’m picky about who I follow.
I love Newsletters when they share weekly menu plans, fresh ideas without too many personal stories, and easy-to-read formats.
Here are some of my favorites.
Cool Mom Eats -I enjoy their weekly menu plan for ideas - although I may not use the recipes, the menu plans give good ideas
What’s Gaby Cooking - I enjoy her weekly menu plan for ideas - although I may not use her recipes, her menu plans give good ideas
Two Peas and Their Pod - best recipe newsletter, imo - a straight-to-the-point list of links
Yummy Toddler Food (I’ve followed her since before I had a baby - I loved her ideas because I’m such a picky eater, but also because she releases monthly meal plans full of ideas)
Naptime Kitchen - she just started a newsletter and I’m here for it. She’s one of the few Instagram stories I watch daily.
I also really like Didn’t I Just Feed You podcast - I’m usually not in the mood for podcasts, but when I am, this is usually the one I grab. That or Lazy Genius.
And I have a folder in my inbox labeled “food” and there I save any of the above emails. Like, I think I have every email from Two Peas in Their Pod saved. So if I’m ever in a rut, I take a few minutes and peek through there. Even if I don’t find a recipe I like, just scrolling through this folder will at least jog my memory for something I do want.
cookbooks
I don’t really have any go-to cookbooks, but I do enjoy reading them.
For our wedding, we registered for some America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Illustrated cookbooks, and I’m finally getting around to marking recipes in there I’d love to try.
(We experienced a rather traumatic pregnancy loss a few months ago, and I’ve found a lot of healing getting back into the kitchen. So lately I’m in a season where I’m very open to trying new recipes.)
If we’re traveling and we go to a famous restaurant that’s phenomenal, I’ll pick up the cookbook.
Dinner: A Love Story might be one of my favorites, as well as How to Celebrate Everything. I don’t particularly remember any recipes, but I do know I loved the messages (and the writing style!) of these two books.
I have every cookbook from Weelicious, Yummy Toddler Food, and Jenna Helwig. Their whole theme of cook-one-meal-for-the-entire-family, as well as their wealth of knowledge on the topic - is something I endlessly devour.
a meal rotation
okay, okay.
I know I say it a lot, but I swear by a meal rotation. Because by picking dinner themes, it gives me a starting point for menu planning, yes.
but it also encourages me to try new recipes in a manageable way.
like, if i’m feeling like trying a new recipe this week, i see that, say, wednesday would be a great night. and, “oh! our wednesday night dinner theme is ‘pizza, pasta, or rice.’ what recipes do I have saved that would work for that category?”
see that? it gave me a direction to go. and that feels both encouraging and not-overwhelming-at-all.
because otherwise I’m looking at a whole pile of brand-spanking-new recipes. with no idea which to choose.
and, oftentimes, when I don’t have a meal rotation, we hardly ever break out of our tried-and-true favorites.
which is fine. it really is.
but sometimes it leads to a rut.
and, sometimes it’s fun to try new recipes - our meal rotation gently nudges me to do that on my own time.
win, win!
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