User Guide
Learn how to use My Family's Cookbook and its features.
Home View
The Home View displays all of your recipes. Tap any recipe to view the details for that recipe.
Home View Features
Use the search bar to filter your recipes by recipe name.
Use the filter icon to filter your recipes by recipe category.
Use the favorite icon to show only recipes you've marked as favorites.
Recipe Detail View
The Recipe Detail View displays all of the information for the selected recipe. Use the back arrow in the upper-left corner to return to the previous view.
Recipe Detail View Features
Mark or unmark the recipe as a favorite.
Edit the recipe's details, including its ingredients, instructions, and other information.
Delete the recipe from your cookbook.
1) The Recipe Detail View also includes an Add Recipe Ingredients feature that lets you select ingredients from the recipe and add them directly to your grocery list.
2) After adding the ingredients you can parse them into your shopping list in the grocery list view.
Grocery List View
The Grocery List View displays your current grocery items grouped by grocery category.
You can add your own grocery items directly from this view, and swipe left on an individual item to delete it. Ingredients can also be added to the grocery list from an individual recipe or from recipes in next week's meal plan. Tapping a grocery list item takes you to the details of the ingredient from the recipe.
Using the Grocery List
The simplest way to use the grocery list is to add your own grocery items to build a shopping list. While shopping you can swipe left to delete an item after placing it in your cart, or select multiple items and use the eraser option, or use the clear option to clear your entire shopping list.
In addition, you can add a recipe’s ingredients to your grocery list automatically using the ‘Add Recipe Ingredients’ feature in the recipe detail view. After adding the recipe’s ingredients, come back to the grocery list view and parse them into your shopping list with the ‘Parse Ingredients’ feature. While shopping you can tap on an individual item to see the measurement and preparation from the recipe.
Yet another way to use the grocery list is to add recipe ingredients from the recipes in your meal planner using the ‘Add Meal Planner Recipes’ feature. After adding the recipe ingredients, parse them into your shopping list with the ‘Parse Ingredients’ feature. Again, while shopping you can tap on an individual item to see the measurements and preparations from the recipe(s).
Grocery List View Features
Filter the grocery list to items from a specific recipe or to your grocery shopping list.
Add ingredients from the recipes in next week's meal plan to your grocery list.
Normalizes the ingredients from recipes (removes measurements and preparations), and combines them (eliminating duplicates), while adding them to your shopping list.
Remove selected ingredients from the grocery list.
Delete all items from the grocery list.
Assign a grocery category to an ingredient to keep your shopping list organized.
1) Tapping a grocery list item will show the quantity and preparation from the recipe.
2) If you change the category of an ingredient, it will be remembered for the next time that ingredient is added to the grocery list.
3) If you add a grocery item that is not in the suggestion list, it will be remembered for the next time the suggestion list is presented.
New Recipe View
The New Recipe View is where you can enter your own recipes into. Enter the recipe details, select a category, add as many ingredients as needed, add instructions, and save the completed recipe to your cookbook.
New Recipe View Features
Use the dropdown list to select the category for your recipe.
Add multiple ingredients to your recipe as needed.
Save the completed recipe to My Family's Cookbook.
Meal Planner View
The Meal Planner View is where you plan your meals for the following week and view your meals for the current week.
Each day includes an add recipe feature that lets you select a meal type and choose recipes from your cookbook for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Meal Planner View Features
View the meal plan for the current week instead of next week's meal plan.
Delete recipes from the meal planner.
1) Tap any recipe in the Meal Planner to quickly view the recipe details.
2) To remove just one recipe from the plan, swipe left on that recipe and delete it.
What Can I Make View
The What Can I Make View is where you can find recipes based on the ingredients you already have available.
What Can I Make View Features
Enter the main ingredients you have available and tap the + button. You can add as many ingredients as you want.
Tap Find Recipes to compare the ingredients you entered with the recipes in your cookbook.
Recipes in this section contain all of the major ingredients you need.
These recipes match some of the ingredients you entered. The missing ingredients are shown beneath each recipe.
1) Enter the main ingredients you want to use rather than common pantry staples.
2) The percentage shown beside each recipe indicates how many of the recipe's major ingredients match the ingredients you entered.
3) Tap a recipe in the results to view the complete recipe.
4) Use the red minus button to remove an ingredient and run the search again.
Load Default Recipes View
The Load Default Recipes View allows you to load the default recipes supplied with My Family's Cookbook into your cookbook.
Load Recipes View Features
Select which of the supplied default recipes you would like to add to your cookbook.
1) This feature is also useful for restoring default recipes that you may have accidentally deleted.
2) If additional default recipes are included with future releases of My Family's Cookbook, you can use this feature after upgrading to add the new recipes while leaving all of your existing recipes in place.
Import from Web View
The Import from Web View allows you to import recipes from your favorite recipe websites and blogs without having to type them in yourself.
Importing a Recipe
Find a recipe that you want to import and copy the URL of the recipe webpage and paste it into the 'Recipe URL' field.
Tap the Fetch button and My Family's Cookbook will retrieve the available recipe information and prepare it for you to review.
Import from Web View Features
Save the imported recipe to My Family's Cookbook.
Settings View
The Settings View contains options for sharing your cookbook with family members and friends, managing any existing cookbook sharing you have setup, and managing learned groceries and ingredient category overrides.
Settings View Features
Share your cookbook with family members and friends so you can access the same recipes, meal planner, and grocery list.
Manage an existing cookbook share or stop sharing the cookbook.
View groceries the app has learned from items you've entered, and remove any you no longer want included in grocery suggestions.
View category choices the app has remembered when you've changed a grocery item's category, and remove any you no longer want remembered.
Sharing and Syncing
Your recipes, meal planner, and grocery list can be synced across your devices and shared with family members and friends.
Sync Across Your Devices
Syncing occurs automatically across all of your devices. When you make changes to your recipes, meal planner, or grocery list on one device, those changes are automatically reflected on your other devices — including the devices of family members and friends with whom you've shared your cookbook.
Plan on One Device, Shop on Another
For example, you can do your meal planning and build your grocery list on your iPad. Your meal plan, grocery list, and recipes will then be available on your iPhone when you — or a family member you're sharing with — head to the grocery store.
Setup and Manage Sharing
Sharing across multiple devices using the same Apple ID is automatic and does not require any setup or management.
To setup sharing for a family member or friend, tap the 'Share Cookbook' button in the 'Settings' view to open the Apple iCloud sharing dialog. From here, select a method to send a sharing invitation to the person you want to share your cookbook with, and send the invitation. Typically the person you're sharing your cookbook with will install the app, and before adding any data, open the invitation and accept it, to start the cookbook sharing.
To manage the sharing for a family member or friend, tap the manage sharing button to open the Apple iCloud manage sharing dialog. From here you, or they, can manage the sharing options and stop the sharing if desired.
About View
The About View provides information about My Family's Cookbook, along with options to rate and share the app, contact support, and view the privacy policy.
About View Features
Rate My Family's Cookbook and provide feedback about your experience with the app.
Share the My Family's Cookbook App Store link with family and friends.
Contact us with questions, comments, or support needs.
Access My Family's Cookbook privacy policy.