Inspiration

Meal planning and stress-free shopping with Kikki.K’s Kristina Karlsson

Article by Your Home and Garden

Foodie and founder of Kikki.K Kristina Karlsson shares tips for meal planning, stress-free shopping and recipe filing

If there’s one surprising thing about me that not everyone knows, it’s that I’m a complete foodie! I absolutely love flicking through gorgeous new cookbooks and magazines or scrolling through some of my favourite blogs, finding new inspiring recipes to try. Creativity in the kitchen is a wonderful thing. Not only is it lots of fun, but it’s the perfect way to spend valuable time with family.
When it comes to shopping for groceries, finding and filing recipes, meal planning and even cooking, it’s still important you’re using the best tools and systems to make your creative time in the kitchen even more enjoyable.

Spring is the best time to start afresh and get everything you need in order, so here are some simple organisation tips for foodies:

Plan your meals for the week in advance. Planning your meals means you’re dedicating time to creative (or healthy) thinking, and not making decisions on the fly. It gives you the chance to take into consideration everyone’s tastes, and will make creating shopping lists and going shopping a whole lot easier. Sure, things don’t always go to plan (there’s sometimes nothing better than a surprise meal out with family or friends!) but having a plan is definitely not a waste of time.

Put pen to paper and write a shopping list. Going to the grocery store will be a much more pleasant experience, and you’ll stop yourself making those impulse purchases. Impulse purchases only lead to spending unnecessarily – and they’re often the items that cause your pantry to quickly become disorganised and chaotic.
In your kitchen, have a place for everything and everything in its place. Whether it’s on your benchtop or in your pantry, try and have designated, well-labelled storage – particularly for those items you tend to use a lot. Cooking is so much more enjoyable when you’re not frantically looking for an ingredient you know you have somewhere, but can’t find in time. I even use gorgeous white storage boxes for kitchen organisation, especially if it’s something I have out on display.

File your favourites in style. If you’ve got a stylish, easy-to-use filing system for recipes, you’re going to be more inclined to stick to it. Whether it’s a beautiful book to put pen to paper with family favourites, or a folder that you can easily file magazine tear-outs or blog print-outs in, find the best solution for you and your space, and try to stick to it.
With so much inspiration around us and stylish tools for foodie organisation, there’s boundless creativity and fun to experience in the kitchen.