Meal Planner Suggestions/Ideas

[MonsterMaha]

I just started using the meal planner, so I'm still getting used to it. One thing I would appreciate being able to do is view the planner as a month as well as just a week at a time. This would help me plan beyond just a week and see where I might be duplicating similar recipes in the month (for example, did I schedule 3 chicken nights in a row over a weekend and into the next week?) or see where I might be able to use left overs, etc.

I would also love to see this planner integrated with Google calendars. This would help my family to see what's coming up for dinner, since we have shared calendars, plus allow me to see if what I've planned for dinner makes sense for that day's activities. An export function would suffice for me if my google account can't be linked to the planner.

To the right of the planner is a huge vertical block of ads. I get that ads are important to support the site, but it would be great if this space could be used to "preview" the recipe instead. This would allow me to see how involved the recipe is when I go back to the planner to refresh my memory of what I said I would make. This would also be helpful as I'm starting to use my tablet (Android) as my cook book when cooking, so I'm no longer printing out recipes. I would stay on the same page as the planner and could quickly bounce between all the recipes for that day and still see what I have to get going on.

I personally don't care for the side bar on the left that shows the saved recipes and menus. This area is too small to see my recipes to choose from. If I add to the planner, I do it from my cookbooks or searches. I don't do it here. I think having that left bar there makes the page too cluttered.

Otherwise I'm glad to have the meal planner, so maybe now I'll finally get through all those pantry and freezer items I keep buying on sale!

Thanks!

Maha