Photos of Oatmeal are Boring
Don’t get me wrong, I think oatmeal is the greatest breakfast known to mankind, but all of these oatmeal photos are really starting to bore me– even with the endless combinations of add-ins and toppings! I can’t imagine how you guys must feel seeing (and reading) about my oats every single morning… at least I get to eat them! So, I’ve decided to make some changes. I don’t plan to change my daily oatmeal habit anytime soon (I love it too much!), but the blog will likely change pretty soon– more about that later!
In today’s mix: oats, wheat berries, chopped walnuts, canned pumpkin, vanilla hemp milk, and peanut butter. This morning’s oats were wonderful, but I feel like I have snapped this same photo at least a dozen times already!
New Fav: MyRecipes.com
You guys know how I love the recipes from Real Simple, right? I try their recipes a few times a month and they’re always “real simple” to make and come out delicious! Anyway, I thought I would let you know guys know about a new recipe website called MyRecipes.com, which is an online database that features recipes (and food stories) from all the Time Inc. Lifestyle publications, including Real Simple, Cooking Light, Southern Living, Sunset, Coastal Living, Cottage Living and Health (I love Bethenny Frankel’s recipes). It’s basically a one-stop shopping for thousands of recipes that appear in these magazines. You can even save your favorites all in one place. It’s sweeeeet! 
Question of the Day
How do you keep track of your recipes?
Posted by: Tina 50 comments
Posted in: Uncategorized
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:16 am
At least you have many interesting dishes and bowls to keep your oats entertaining to us. My recipes are…pretty disorganized! I have a little box where I keep my 3×5 recipes, but then I also look up things online, print them out on bigger paper, and randomly stuff them between cookbooks on my shelf. And sometimes I scratch out a recipe from someone’s website and it lives on a little piece of paper in the kitchen, waiting for me to find it again.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:20 am
@life coach jen: Haha! Sounds like my method!
I need to get organized!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:32 am
yahhh i am really disorganized too. two of my friends BOTH gave me cute recipe binders last year, but I never use them! I keep recipes in the following places:
-in a random kitchen drawer if it has been printed out and tried… usually has a splash or two of some random food on it (ew)
-in my fav recipe books (south beach diet cookbook, giada’s everyday italian, etc) which sit on a shelf in my tv area
-in a file on my computer labeled “recipes”… I copy and paste from a website/blog/email and then write where I found it at the bottom of the text
-in a label on my gmail called “recipes” where i do the same as the file
-in my head, where a lot of my mom’s recipes reside.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Oh gosh, my recipes are strewn all over the place – earmarked in cookbooks, stuffed into binders, bookmarked online… I really must organize them at some point!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I file my recipes in a binder and obsessively mark my cookbooks with post-it notes
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:47 am
I need tips to keep track of the recipes that I want to try.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:48 am
I often wonder the same thing about my oatmeal pictures, and sometimes I find myself adding toppings just to make the pictures more interesting.
My recipe collection is pretty organized. I have a big red binder, divided into appropriate sections. My problem is usually printing them out-I have a lot bookmarked on my computer that need to be filed.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:59 am
I still love your oatmeal pictures!!! They never fail to make me drool
I organize mine in a folder and I bookmark them online. Then I go through my cookbooks and write recipes down that I want to make soon.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I feel the same way about oatmeal. It is amazing to eat, but not so amazing to look at. LE SIGH…. oh well!
My husband bought me the Recipe Wizard software for my computer. It is awesome! I highly recommend it!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I am with Veggiegirl with the post it markers
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:29 am
You guys are giving me such good ideas for oatmeal though!!!
I fold down corners in books and magazines and bookmark recipies online. I also have a huge binder of some…some are secret italian family ones!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:48 am
ooo cool! I’ll have to check that out! I just have a folder in my “favorites” in my IE browser…I find that all the recipes I want to try these days are from the Internet!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I try and stay organized!!! It’s not my forte! I set recipes aside thinking I’ll file them and I use lots of post-its. All notecards, tearouts and scraps of paper with recipes scirbbled on them are thrown into a drawer that i keep saying I’m going to organize. Yea, about that….
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:51 am
My recipes are out of control. I have a lot just saved in Word that I’ve copied out of magazines but then I have literally 200 saved on allrecipes.com.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I use a computer software program for the “family favorites,” but I’m slowly printing those out (as I use them) and filing them in a binder, with all of the clipped recipes I’ve saved from magazines, other people’s blogs, etc. I currently have six binders’ worth of recipes! (Most of them are recipes I still need to try, though!)
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I eat the same breakfast most days too, I know it gets boring for my readers but I love it so.
I have my recipes organized either in my gmail by main ingredients, the ones I have made, printed and want to make again, I have in pretty expandable folder things divided by main ingredient and those go in my cookbook bookcase and then of course, I have at least 100 cookbooks that we have in a beautiful antique glass door bookbase.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:57 am
i have a few binders with tons of printed out recipes in NO order at all….it’s sad, but I can still find the one I need – it just takes me a while
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 8:59 am
I think the same thing about soo many of my pics, been thinking about changing it up soon.
I keep binders with recipes from magazines that I’ve clipped out, now if I could just find time to use them!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:05 am
I also use that website to keep track. Plus on the foodnetwork website you can save recipes. Very useful.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Yeah I also use myrecipes.com to keep track of my favorites – you just save it to your “cookbook” and they are all stored! For example, I totally saved the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie recipe that I used last night from Cooking Light
.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:36 am
I have a folder on my Apple Desktop Called “Food blog recipes” where i copy and drag them into the folder!!!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I love breakfast, I don’t think it is boring, it is the most important meal of the day. I am excited to see your changes though!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I have a spiral notebook that I write all my recipes in. I write notes on top once I make them. If I don’t like the recipe it gets torn out and tossed! I love the spiral notebook cuz I can undo it and reorganize anytime I want! I recently bought 6 recipe keepers and made them for my family n friends to help them on their diets. I haven’t made mine yet!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I LOVE MyRecipes.com! I print out a full page recipe from their website and put it in a recipe binder. I use dividers for different categories – it works great!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Honestly? I keep track of my recipes on my blog! I add new recipes as I cook them, and they’re all organized by type of protein. Let’s just hope Wordpress never goes under!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I have binders… and I try to separate recipes by course and season. It’s an ongoing work in progress!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 9:58 am
I love the daily oatmeal pics..they are part of the reason I come to your blog!
Too bad bloggers feel they need to have fancy photos and meals, the simple meals are what helps me stay on track healthwise,so matter if they look similar day to day!I love that is it real like that!
just my two cents though!!!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I know what you mean about feeling like your pics are boring, but I assure that yours are not! Even if it’s the same, your commentary is constantly changing, which is why I love to read.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:04 am
have a binder with those clear plastic sleeves so no matter what the size of the recipe is, i can either just tape it to a piece of paper (ie. index card) or if its a whole piece of computer paper, it still fits. I’m a visual person though and the thought of bringing my computer in the kitchen = disaster waiting to happen!!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:08 am
Changes, hmm? Interesting…
I like to use Allrecipes.com. I find amazing recipes (especially for baking) and it has an organization section.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Hey! I’m just getting involved in this world of food blogging and I just came across your site. Love it!
My recipes are out of control- piled up in desk drawers at work and crammed into a recipe book at home- you may be inspiring me to get some organization going!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am
I have a binder and if I like the recipe, I put it inside a sheet protector and include it in my book =)
BTW I love your oatmeal pics! It inspires me to make mine more fun =)
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I am crazy when it comes to organizing my recipes. I actually have color coded folders in my hutch broken into categories, Soups, Breads, Appetizers, Desserts, etc… It makes it much easier.. Then I have my cooking light magazines tabbed with color coded post its as well..
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 10:52 am
I got a cute recipe box for my housewarming. If I like a recipe, I add to a card and file away.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:10 am
This past New Years Day I made a cute little recipe folder that I organized all my recipes in: Its in this post:) http://nhershoes.blogspot.com/2009/01/nyeblogger-meet-up-and-yummy-food.html
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:12 am
I’ve been a fan of Myrecipes.com for awhile now. As much as I usually try to avoid e-mail newsletters that fill up my inbox faster than I would like, I actually look forward to getting the e-mails from this website. I got hooked on it while searching the Cooking Light archives.
My recipes are NOT organized. That’s a problem.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:12 am
i bought a cute binder from target, like the kind kids take to school, and used dividers for different sections. of course, i never use recipes bc i never cook!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 11:33 am
I love that website
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Haha, I know what you mean about the repeated oatmeal pics. I feel the same way whenever I’m home and making my breakfast, oats simply sounds best 99% of the time. Can’t wait to see the creativity in the future
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Now that you are a member of the not so secret Mac Society, you must check out a program called MacGourmet. It looks a lot like itunes and it makes capturing and keeping recipes from the web super simple. You can search recipes by ingredient, by category, you can even add your own keywords to search your way. Plus there is an app for the iphone. If I have to stop by the store on my way home with no real plan, I have inspiration at my fingertips. Plus it’s so easy to share recipes now. I just click send email and the recipe is formatted into a draft email, with my cooking notes included. With my blog and magazine habit, it’s made life so much easier.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Mine are everywhere. In books, online, in my email inbox. It’s kind of a mess. I’m interested to see what sort of changes you’re going to make to the blog!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I like MyRecipes too. Other than that I don’t keep track of my recipes very well. It’s hard when you get ideas from so many sources (blogs, websites, TV, newspsper…a friend!). I have a folder on my desktop called “recipes” but that’s not an inclusive list at all! I really need to be more organized (but I’m not organized about anything, so why would I be organized about cooking!?!)
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Thanks for the websites! I used to cut out recipes or articles I like from magazines and put them into a binder but I found that I was starting to collect too many and have a lot of binders. Lately I have decided to start scanning recipes I like from magazines and books and save them on my computer. Have a great day!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Cool Link! I keep a regular 3 hole bunch binder categorized w/ my fav tear-outs from various magazines w/ recipes and fitness tips! I keep it right on my bed…people always end up reading it like a book when they come over!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Haha you should see if you could use raisins or sunflower seeds or cereal to make funny shapes or faces in your oatmeal—get creative! haha. Honestly though I’m sure it’s a pain in the butt to photograph you’re food everyday and just changing your breakfasts because they are boring to photograph would make me a grumpy blogger if I were in your place.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
When I see a recipe I like, I clip it or print it, then paste it into one of two huge, three-ring binders I have full of recipes. Each notebook is organized into sections — things such as “cookies,” “salads,” “bread,” and so forth — so it’s sort of like a real cookbook. I also sometimes tuck recipe tear-sheets or print-outs into related sections of my favorite cookbooks. All this, and I’m still overflowing with unfiled clippings!
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Hi Tina,
I have been looking at your website for about an hour – pretty awesome! I was reading your blog today about oatmeal and I was wondering – do you show the calories of what you are eating everyday? Because I think that would be so cool. I have been counting calories like crazy, and I just thought that would be pretty sweet.
Thanks!
Sarah
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I use recipezaar.com. It has over 350,000 recipes. I’ve organized my favorites into personal cookbooks on the site.
on Apr 8th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
@Sarah English: I don’t count calories anymore. I used to and it was very beneficial for learning about portion sizes, but it’s too time-consuming and I have better things to do with my time!
I do, however, meal plan. Basically, every meal starts with a serving(s) of a fruit or veggie and then it is built from there with carbs, protein, and fat.
on Apr 22nd, 2009 at 12:30 pm
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