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I was recently introduced to the PepperPlate App. It is simply incredible. My wife and I always have a hard time planning out our meals since we are so busy. Often times we just eat cereal or a sandwich – that gets old really fast. However, this app gives me hope that we can change that. Here is what I mean:

1. First of all, this app has done a great job combining recipes (you can choose from hundreds of thousands of recipes on partner websites that will import directly into PepperPlate), a menu planner (complete with calendar), and an integrated grocery list that pulls all the needed ingredients from your planned meals and organizes them in a list for shopping. The grocery list is organized by aisle meaning that all the produce gets grouped in one section, the meat in one section, etc. Pretty handy!

PepperPlate automatically creates a shopping list for you based on the recipes you have selected and added to your shopping list.

2. The app is really easy to use. To start, simply go to the pepperplate.com website and import as many recipes as you want. The next time you open the app, you will see all of these recipes available to put on your weekly planner. Next, select a recipe and tap on the little blue arrow in the upper right corner. This will allow you to “Add to Planner”, “Add to Shopping List”, “Email Recipe”, “Print Recipe”, as well as share the recipe through Facebook and Twitter.

3. Once you have added some recipes to your planner and your shopping list, you are all set to go. Navigate over to the calendar to see what meals you have scheduled for each day. Tap on the list view to see what groceries you will need to buy. You can also create entire menus on the pepperplate.com website that includes appetizers, drinks, main dish, sides, and dessert. The options seem endless.

If you have an iPad and iPhone, you can connect the devices while running the PepperPlate app and use the iPhone as a timer for each item on the menu.

4. Timers: this is another great feature if you have an iPad and an iPhone. The two devices will sync up so that you can have multiple timers running while still keeping an eye on the important details and steps in your recipe. The recipes stay open on your iPad while your iPhone automatically creates a separate timer for each item on the menu.

5. Portions: this app also has a built in portion calculator that lets you adjust the entire recipe automatically based on how many people you will be serving. No more fiddling with dividing or multiplying fractions – the app does it for you. When you go to add the recipe to your planner, simply select the appropriate portion size in the option that pops up. This will also adjust your shopping list accordingly.

Here is a direct link to the app in the App Store: Recipe, Menu & Cooking Planner – Pepperplate Inc.

Overall, this is an excellent app and I would highly recommend it. The only improvement I would like to see for this app is the ability to import recipes and create menus in the app itself. At this point, you have to go to pepperplate.com to do both of these tasks.

Here is the description of the app from Pepperplate:

Pepperplate is the only app for serious cooks – it has all the tools you need to cook weeknight dinners or host a dinner party for 12. Manage your recipes, create menus, shop with ease and cook like a pro.

Features:

* Seamlessly manage your recipes, menus and shopping lists on the web, iPad and iPhone.
* Take your iPad into the kitchen and cook your whole menu with multiple cooking timers.
* Create recipes on the iPad and iPhone or make changes to existing recipes.
* Share your favorite recipes with friends and family via Email, Facebook and Twitter.
* Import recipes from your favorite sites and add your own from cookbooks, magazines or old family recipes.
* Combine recipes into menus for dinner parties or holiday meal planning.
* Organize your meals for the week or month by adding menus and recipes to the schedule.
* Add to your shopping list and it automatically syncs to your iPad, iPhone, iPod and Pepperplate.com.
* Organize your shopping to automatically match the way you shop in the grocery store.
* Create your own unlimited categories to organize your recipe collection.
* Your collection synchronizes from the website to the iPad and iPhone and is backed up without connecting to a computer.
* Take your entire collection with you to the grocery store or while traveling, no internet connection required.
* Manage your iPad cooking timers over wifi away from the kitchen on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
* Works with your free pepperplate.com account