Favorite and Useful Websites: Ziplist.com

I came across Ziplist.com several months ago on Once A Month Mom (a freezer cooking website).  When I first saw her review, I quickly passed by it not thinking twice.  I already had my tried and true list making "software," paper and pen.  However, after seeing it on several of my favorite food websites as well as in the app store, I had to take a second look.  I am TOTALLY hooked!  I have a feeling you might be, too.

What is Ziplist.com?  According to their website, it is  "all the tools you need to effortlessly organize this [grocery shopping] weekly chore in one place. What does that mean? It means having your personal recipe box, shopping list and grocery coupons all on one place, at ZipList.com"  These three sentences do a great job describing it, but its ooohhh so much more than that.  It's an idea hub, a drug store reminder, store locator, budgeting tool and now its a meal planner as well!  I now have the app on my phone, so this amazing wonder is transportable.

Here's are a few examples of how I use the app.

• While meal planning, I check out my recipe box and "add" the ingredients from each recipe I'm going to make to the shopping list.
• If there isn't anything I feel like making, I can use the search tool to get new ideas or view the most popular recipes of the week. All of the recipes are gathered from popular websites and/or partnered food blogs.
• I use the barcode scanner to scan-in items to my grocery list, to make sure we don't forget our must-have items the next time we go shopping.
• While at the grocery store, the list is perfectly organized through the aisles so that I get everything in each section, rather than zigzagging and backtracking through the store....which with two goslings in toe, is not fun!
• I like to go back and add in the cost of my items, so I can budget my list and have a clear idea of how much I spend.
• While surfing the web, I can add new recipes to my Ziplist recipe box directly from the participating site.

The website and app are such amazing tools and so hard to describe in one small blog post, so please go over and check it out.  I promise you will not be sorry you did.

Momma Goose

P.S.  Just in case you were wondering, I have not been compensated by Ziplist.com to write this post. (However, if they'd like to do so now, I won't turn away any cash. Hee-hee!)  I'm just a BIG fan of the website.