Since moving into my new house, my husband having a complicated work schedule, and baby on the way, I’ve finally started getting more interested in recipes and meal planning.

I always joked I cooked for survival, not enjoyment. While that is still true, I’m trying to be more interested in the process for our little family.

A creative way I thought would make it a bit more fun is by creating a recipe journal / meal planner.

I wasn’t sure where to start so I figured others probably need some help and ideas too.

And therefore this blog article. Read on for more ideas!

How to Organize a Recipe Journal

So some thoughts on this.

Start out by thinking of your personal lifestyle and how you like to organize items.

For example, maybe you only really want a go-to notebook for dinner ideas. Focus on creating that type of guide.

Or maybe you want one big book for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert ideas.

Let’s stick to one category for the sake of this article.

So say you want to make journal of dinner ideas. First gather all your favorite recipes or things you would like to try to make.

Keep in mind recipes you may have in different locations.

Such as in a card box, magazine clip outs, printables, saved videos, recipe notes passed down through generations.

Then you can sort them by the category of your choice:

• Cooked before vs New and want to try
• Cooking style (stove, crock pot, air fryer etc.)
• Meat vs Vegetarian
• Cook time
• Serving Size

From there plan ahead to make designated sections in your journal for each category respectively.

After that, this may be going the extra mile but, you can list the recipe names alphabetically.

I suggest planning out the layout / order of items before officially writing or securing items in to the book.

And stick with a consistent pattern such as:

• Title
• List of Ingredients and Measurements
• Serving Size #
• Cook Time
• Steps for Making the Meal
• Space for Notes

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Make a Custom Recipe Book

Now it’s time to get creative!

You can make the book as simple or complicated as you want.

It may just be a straight forward recipe list or a scrapbook / junk journal types design.

For example, just writing out the recipes word for word or including extra details.

Such as:

• Photographs of meals you’ve made before
• Notes about where the recipe originated from
• Stories about why this recipe is special to you
• Decorative elements like stickers, drawings, washi tape
• Little envelopes that recipes can slide out of for use
• Pictures of you or your family cooking together
• List of stores you like to buy ingredients
• Grocery store prices at the times you made the meal

| Related Article: What is a Junk Journal

Using Your Recipe Book to Meal Plan

Now to take this recipe book craft project one step further, you can also use it as a meal planning guide / resource.

Towards the back of your journal you can designate an area, or have pull out pages, with a calendar.

This way you can reference all your recipes throughout the journal for ideas, and then schedule out when you would like to cook them.

Then all of your meal planning related information is in the same place.

It could also be a fun family activity designing the recipe journal, looking through the ideas, and then cooking together!

Printables!

For two instant download, journal printable bundles visit my Etsy shop here:

3 Page Floral Vintage Inspired Junk Journal

12 Page Nature Themed Journal Packet

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