Recipe Software - what do you use?

[Deeau]

I have used mastercook for years and have been thinking of changing to Living Cookbook as it seems to do things better than mastercook does these days, can you tell me if I buy it can I run it on more than one PC, I have a laptop and a work PC ... I need the laptop in the kitchen but usualoly do my mealplans on the work PC?

[Kym]

They have a deal going at the moment for multiple licences so I doubt you can have more than one copy without paying.

[Bonsai]

I have used Living Cookbook for quite a few months now and love it. I have it installed on my office computer and notebook, but have the database on a separate hard drive which I can access from either computer (otherwise you could do the same thing by saving your recipes to a thumb drive and moving it between computers as you need to - don't forget to do backups though!!).

The license for Living Cookbook only allows you to install it on one computer, so either you have to get two licenses (I did this as it was on special)  or install it on a central hard drive which you can access from different computers. A good thing to add to the Xmas wishlist maybe?

[Kym]

I've just purchace Living Cookbook and I'm really liking it.  I got sick of printing out web pages and then having fun trying to find them again in my bookmarks.  I'm also hoping as my list of TMX all in ones grows that I'll use it to help menu plan.

[Cuilidh]

I thought I would go back to this thread following up on a comment by Frozzie on Tarasis' "I hate ...." thread.

Frozzie, you said that your (free) version Evernote regularly reaches its daily / weekly / monthly / Gb limit - what is that limit?  I really know nothing about the different recipe programs and have never even looked into or researched them (other than this thread), I just cut and paste all my recipes into Word then print off what I need and that seems to work adequately .... but is there something better?  So, now comes the naive question for the day:  What advantages have recipe programs got over a word document? 

I have been re-reading this thread but I am still not sure if they are worth the work.  How much do they cost?  How is everyone getting on with the various programs?  What are their strengths and / or weaknesses?  I would really be interested in hearing more.

[Deeau]

I posted earlier about Mastercook ( which I am still using BTW ) It is a fair bit  of work to set up but most of them have quick import features to help get your recipes in. I use mine for recipes, Meal planning and shopping lists, ( I only shop once a week so need to make sure I have everything at once ) So for me it has been worth the effort but I have been using the same software for about 15 years, so it has been a gradual built up.
Since purchasing a TM ( almost 2 years ago ) and becoming additcted to collecting the recipes on this forum I haveused Evernote as well. If you only using software to store and view recipes ( not menu planning or shopping lists ) then Evernote is fantastic. I have recipe catagories in the notebook section ie: cakes - beef etc etc. The search feature makes it must faster to find a recipe than my recipe software. And it is available for andriod etc so you can look up a recipe if you need to while at the supermarket. I use evernote mainly for recipes and a few other things I need to remember and I have only once gone near the free limit. You may go over when you first start transfering stuff but on a month basis you will probably be ok it is a 60mb limit for free I am half way thru the month and sitting at 15mb.
On the topic of Andriod ( Smart phones ) I have also been transfering my shopping list direct from my computer to "out of milk " app, to use at the supermarket and finding that I am getting through the asiles faster.

[em]

i have just downloaded the trial version of living cookbook and i like it, i am just abit stumped with unit measures, i have changed the measure to metric but everytime i create a shopping list of recipes  i have added, the ingredients come up in us measurements, even though when i entered the recipe i added them as metric...it seems that there are a few of you who use this and find it good, could you please give some advice on how i can get it to show the correct units..  thankyou in advance
em

[Twitterpated]

I am using the free version of Evernote. It's very easy to use and doesn't really take much time to set up as you just add categories as you go. I did try a free version of Living Cookbook but it would never download properly so I just gave up and went to Evernote. I have a small netbook computer as well as my main computer and an android phone so I really like being able to update on one and it syncs all three for you.

To menu plan I just add the "This Week" tab to the recipes and then remove it when I have cooked the meal. I add the hyperlinks to the recipes so I can then just click on them and post any comments without having to locate the thread in the forum. When it comes to shopping lists I generally have to go and check the fridge and cupboard as I keep most things on hand and only buy what I need for the week. For this reason I don't think I need a program with the shopping lists. I know that you can also download an extra which will allow you to copy from the forum direct to Evernote but I find it so easy just to copy and paste that I haven't bothered with it.

As everyone has said before, I really only ever went near the 60MB monthly limit when I was first transferring everything into it. Now I find I don't have any problems. I did start with a Word document myself but as I didn't have the mini computer (which I use on a recipe stand in the kitchen) I printed the recipes and found it was a big waste of paper. Also the search function on Evernote makes it very easy to locate recipes as you can search on title, date created, images, etc.

Hope all this helps.

[em]

thanks twitterpated, i have just about given up on lc, it seems complicated to customize it the way i would want it to work.  its a shame because i like the idea behind it.  will check out evernote.

[Cuilidh]

I'm still sitting here, undecided, so I very much look forward to your feedback, em, if you want to give it once you've checked out evernote.

Cheers

[Deeau]

With Evernote if you highlight the recipe ( and photos ) on the forum ( or where ever ) and then right click you will get an "add to Evernote" option if you have evernote installed on your PC it will then clip  the recipe and add it to whatever catagory you tell it too.
Love the idea anout the "This Week " Notebook never thought of that!

[maddy]

thanks twitterpated, i have just about given up on lc, it seems complicated to customize it the way i would want it to work.  its a shame because i like the idea behind it.  will check out evernote.

Em, you can't change things on the downloaded sample of living cook books.  It's just a structured sample to show you.
Once you purchase it, you then have the ability to change the layout, measurements, and everything else.