Organize Your Recipes Using Google Keep
Google Keep is a great option to digitally store and organize your recipes. You can make it like a digital cookbook. Today I'm going to be showing you how to turn Google Keep into a digital cookbook and also at the end, give you some bonus tips and tricks that you won't want to miss.
You will need a Google Account set up prior to following these instructions, so if you haven't done that yet already, I'll link a video on how to do that here.
Quick Intro to Google Keep
Let's go through some of the basics of this Google App. Google Keep is one of several services Google offers, like Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive etc. It is a free service so long that you have a Google Account. To find it, log into your Google Account, whichever one you want to use for this "cookbook". Then, go to keep.google.com, click the 9 dots by your name, or tap the sidebar on Google Calendar to find it there. I should also mention that you can download the Google Keep app for your mobile device as well. Once you're inside Google Keep, this is what you will see. Notes is where you will see any notes you've created that have not been archived or put in the trash.
Reminders are for certain notes to trigger a notification for you and will also show up in your Google Calendar.
Labels are categories you can attach to your notes. You can attach multiple labels to a note. When you start adding labels, they will line up in alphabetical order on the left side here. You can edit your labels as well.
Archive are notes you've selected to not be put in the trash, but are hidden from the main page. This is a handy feature to help organize and clean up your space in Google Keep.
Trash is where your deleted notes go. Once you put a note in your trash, it will delete after being in there for 7 days. You can also manually empty your trash.
In the middle you will see a few options. Take a note, a checkbox, paintbrush, and a picture icon.
Take a Note This is where you can add a new note. You just click in the box and start typing.
Checkbox If you click on this, it will open up a checklist that you can start typing in. You can also literally check items off the list too.
Paintbrush The purpose of this is to create a drawing.
Picture Icon to upload a picture to your notes.
Search Bar find a note using keywords.
When you create a note, you are given some options here too.
Push Pin Icon To pin it to the top of your notes to make it easier to find.
Bell Set a reminder to look at this note.
Person with Plus Sign Share this note with someone or add them as a collaborator so they can change the note too.
Painting Pallet Change the Color of your note
Picture Icon Again, to add a picture or multiple pictures
Box with Down Arrow Again, to Archive the Note
Three Dots To add a label, add a drawing, or show checkboxes to make a list.
Undo and redo button.
Lastly at the top right, you'll see refresh button, the view (list or grid), and settings.
That's your crash course on using Google Keep. Let's dive into using it for your digital cookbook.
There are two main ways to do this. Manually creating a note, and web clipping.
Methods to Import Recipes
1. Manually Creating a Note
For this method, we are just going to click in "Take a Note" and name our Title to be the name of the recipe, and then start typing the recipe and directions in. If you have a picture of the recipe, you can upload it too.
2. Web Clipping
For this method, you can either find a recipe online and copy the URL to the note, or you can download the Google Keep Chrome Extension. What the Chrome Extension tool does is it allows you to go to any website with your recipe, click the extension, and it will allow you to save it as a note right then and there. I'll show you how this works.
Bonus Tips and Tricks
Right now, with these instructions, you really have everything you need to have a digital cookbook. But if you really want some bonus tips, keep watching.
Labeling Your Notes
When you start to get several recipes inside Keep, you will thank yourself for having an organized system in the beginning so you don't have to go back through and clean up. So, one tip I have is to label your notes. Some common examples for labels would be the type of meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert). Another could be the type of cuisine (American, Mexican, Vegan, etc). And, just remember that you can add multiple labels as well.
Archiving Notes
If you use Google Keep for any other notes you are taking, you might want to archive your recipes so that it cleans up your home-page if you will. Archive sort of acts like another folder to hide notes you want to keep, but just not see all the time.
You can also use this feature if you want to focus more on using all your recipes equally. What I mean by that is once you've used a recipe, you can archive it so that when you're picking meals for the week ahead, you won't re-use what you just cooked.
Setting Reminders
Another great tip is to use the reminders to pair with your Google Calendar. Let's say that you plan to have stir fry tomorrow for dinner. You can set a reminder on the note for a certain day and time and it will show up on your Google Calendar. Keep in mind that you will need to have your "reminder" calendar checked in order to see it. Then, when it's time to make the recipe, you just click on your reminder and the note will pop up, recipe and all. You can also create recurring reminders as well.
Backing Up Your Notes
In case anything would happen where you could lose your notes or Google would decide to retire their Google Keep App, it's important to know how to backup your notes ahead of time so all your recipes don't disappear. What you need to do is to go to https://takeout.google.com/, click "Deselect All" if you just want to save your Google Keep data and not anything from the other Google services. Then, you'll want to scroll down until you see "Keep" and then check the box beside it. You can see what formats this will export to. Then click next step. At this next window, you will be able to see how Google will send this backup to you, if you want them to automatically backup, the file type it will be, and if you want Google to split up archive if it is a certain amount of GB. When you're ready to export, click "Create Export".
Depending on how much data you have in Keep, it may take some time before you will get your backup file. You don't have to keep the window open while this happens. You will get the file via email and you will have to download the file within one week.
Sharing Your Notes
If you are wanting to share this online cookbook with someone else, there is one drawback of using Google Keep. You can only share one note at a time with someone else, you cannot share the entirety of your Google Keep notes with another person unless they sign into your profile. So, for this reason, I would recommend having one shared family Google account where anyone can access the files. Or, just share a common device that is logged into the correct Google account. This way, if your spouse, roommate, child, whoever, is cooking, everyone has access.
Grab Image Text Though not exactly perfect, this is a cool feature that allows you to take a picture and have it translate automatically to text. Again, it's not perfect, but it can save you some typing.
Copying Your Notes URL
When you open a note, you'll notice the URL changes. You can copy this into your meal planner, your calendar event in Google Calendar, send it in an email or however you'd like to use it. Just keep in mind that you will need to be logged into your Google account in whatever you go to click the link open, otherwise, it will first send you to the log-in screen and not the actual note you linked.
You can also put the URL of Google Keep itself (not note specific) into your routines that we made in last week's video. If you haven't watched that, go I'll also link that video here.
I love using technology to streamline and organize my life. I love having recipes digitally because it helps preserve them, organize them, and makes them accessible no matter where I am. If you need help with meal planning or following through, I just want you to know that you are not alone, and I'd love to help! I have the tools that you need to help build your dream meal planning system and also actually follow through. Just visit katiewredecoaching.com or check out the link in the description. See you in the next video.
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