With the new year starting up, if you’re like me, you’ve got organization on your mind. I’ve found that using my Amazon Echo — which is strategically placed in our kitchen, the hub of our house — can be a huge help. So, we’re sharing some of favorite organization tips in a five-part series to get you off to a great start in 2019.
First up, some of our favorite Alexa meal planning skills to help you keep your family well fed this year. Good luck!
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Related: How to use the Amazon Echo to make your grocery list
Meal Planner. This skill is so simple. All you have to say is, “Alexa, ask Meal Planner to add pizza to our dinner on Monday,” and it’s done. Then, in the morning ask, “Alexa, ask Meal Planner what’s for dinner.” Set those ingredients out, and you’re done.
Live Plan Eat. This skill is like Meal Planner, in that you can add ideas to your daily schedule, but it goes beyond that. You can ask Alexa to suggest a greek dessert or to add a Southern side dish to your dinner Friday night. Because this skill incorporates recipes, I think it’s probably best if you have an Echo Show, which has the display screen.
OurGroceries. Once you install this app on your phone, you can simply tell Alexa to add anything to your grocery list, and it will be automatically added to a synchronized list on all your iPhone or Android devices. Life saver. The same goes for AnyList, which we love.
Related: 44 cool things you can do with the Amazon Echo: From productive time-savers to just plain fun
Allrecipes. There are lots of recipe skills for the Echo, and if you have a favorite cooking show or chef, they likely have their own. But we we prefer Allrecipes, since they have 60,000+ recipes in their vault. And with the Echo Show, you can read the recipe right on the screen.
Reorder items from your Amazon list. Of course, you can ask Alexa directly to reorder items you’ve purchased from Amazon in the past. So, if you use Amazon Pantry for bulk items — I love ordering the snacks my kids seem to go through at insane rates — you can just say, “Alexa, reorder granola bars,” and like magic, they’ll appear at your doorstep in a day or two.
Related: How to turn off auto-purchasing on the Amazon Echo.
Order a pizza. And on those nights when a home cooked meal just isn’t happening, you can tell Alexa to order you a Pizza Hut pizza, with their new partnership and skill integration. “Alexa, order me a veggie lover’s pizza with Diet Coke.” Easiest dinner ever.
Other posts in the Alexa Organization Series:
The best Alexa calendar skills
The best Alexa fitness skills
The best Alexa finance skills
