Menu Planning is a Snap with GIANT’s Savory Cooking App

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by GIANT Food Stores and Build Your Influence Summit. All opinions are my own.

Over the past few years I have found myself moving further away from my trusty cookbooks and instead relying more and more on online recipes that I find on favorite websites and apps. Since I committed to weekly menu planning several years ago, I often spend some time on the weekends browsing my favorite apps for meal ideas and planning my grocery shopping list for the week.

If you shop at GIANT like I often do, I am sure by now you are familiar with the awesome FREE Savory Magazine that is offered at checkout throughout the year.  If you haven’t already checked out the magazine, you have no idea what you have been missing!  It is loaded with awesome recipes and ideas, beautiful pictures of delicious meals, coupons, articles and more!  They even have an online Savory Magazine by GIANT Food Stores app where you can download current and previous issues to enjoy at anytime! The magazine is chuck full of meal ideas – perfect for busy families on the go!  The majority of the recipes we have made have been easy to follow with fresh ingredients that you will easily find at the grocery store.  I am hooked and I am always looking forward to the next issue.

I have found most especially at the holiday time that I am frequently in need of a quick appetizer or dessert recipe to bring along to a holiday party, cookie recipes to inspire me to bake something extra yummy for a cookie swap with friends and of course meal inspiration not only for our busy weekdays throughout the season (and year) but also to plan a wonderful holiday meal our family can enjoy on the special holidays that are quickly coming our way! I couldn’t be more excited about GIANT’s Savory Cooking App for the iPad which has been a wonderful inspiration and guide for all of the above!

The new GIANT Savory Cooking App not only has a ton of recipes, but it also has step by step videos you can watch before (or while preparing your meal), gorgeous photos and ingredient lists, an easy search menu bar and get this – voice activation that will walk you through each step of the recipe – without having to touch or swipe your iPad!  How cool is that?

My 9-year-old daughter absolutely LOVES assisting me in the kitchen so this app has also been especially helpful for her as she can watch the step by step preparation of the meal before we get started and listen along as we prepare the dish.  I’m excited to introduce my husband to the app as well as he struggles with cooking and I think that this very visual and interactive app may be just the inspiration he needs to give his hand a try in the kitchen!

Let me show you just how easy (and fun) using the app can be!

Log into the App Store on your iPad and search for GIANT Savory Cooking App. Download the FREE app.

Open the app on your iPad and get started!

Browse the recipes on the home page or use the search bar to search for a recipe type or ingredient.

Select your recipe by clicking on it. (In the spirit of the holiday season, I chose a festive cookie recipe to display.)

The page will open to a gorgeous photo of the recipe, where you can also click on a video of the recipe. I especially love that I can see what to expect when preparing the meal and how quick and easy it will be to prep my meal (or dessert) and get it on the table for our family to enjoy! This page also displays serving size and well as prep and bake time.

Check out the ingredient list (which makes gathering your ingredients simple)

Follow the recipe step by step. (I love that pictures that are also included with each step)

The nutritional value per serving is included at the bottom of each recipe for easy reference.

If you choose to use voice activation – which I highly recommend – you will need to quickly set it up with a few easy steps!

First – click on the full screen link in the upper right corner of the recipe.

It will walk you through a few quick steps to activate the voice control via the microphone on your iPad

Start speaking commands to the iPad. Speak slowly and clearly and beware of background noise as it may interfere with using the voice controls.

Use voice commands such as “next step” or “previous step” to work your way through the recipe! No swiping necessary – and so high-tech! I found the voice commands super simple to use – and very convenient. And it’s no surprise that my 9-year-old is obsessed with this feature.

Although I chose a cookie recipe as an example,  I will definitely be using this app on a regular basis for meal planning. I am especially loving the “quick weeknight dinners”, “family meals”  and “lunch just got interesting”categories! I cannot wait to work my way through many of these recipes!

Have you tried the Savory Cooking App yet? Which recipe are you most excited to try?