How is your cooking goal challenge going?

January 30, 2026·Jane

Like many EYB members, I have vowed that this year I will cook more new recipes from my cookbooks. The new 2026 Cooking Goal on the CookShelf app is helping a lot for tracking my progress. Though I haven't cooked as much as I'd like this month as I'm moving house next week and packing is taking up all my spare hours. Boxing up 3,700 cookbooks takes a very long time!

For anyone who hasn't yet seen this new CookShelf feature, make sure you update the app. Then click 'Me' at bottom right. You can set your goal depending on how many new recipes you think you will make this year. As you cook them, add your photos, notes and ratings which will add that recipe to your progress tracker. If you are adding photos, notes or ratings for recipes you have cooked in the past, you should change the date from 'Today' to the date you cooked it. Otherwise that recipe will count towards your 2026 goal. You can view the new recipes you have tagged on the My Cooks page, also accessed from 'Me'.

If you prefer adding the 'I've cooked this' bookmark, photos, notes and rating on the EYB website, doing any of those actions will add the recipe to your My Cooks on CookShelf and increase your 2026 count (unless you also add an earlier date).

Talking of adding photos, we have just passed the milestone of 40,000 member added recipe photos. Thank you to everyone who has added their photos - they really enhance the site for all members. A reminder that you should only upload your own photos of the dish you cooked, not photos from the cookbook, which would be a breach of copyright. Please also don't include the cookbook in the shot - the cover isn't an issue but the recipe inside the book is.

4 comments

dbuhlerJanuary 30, 2026

First, when this feature first rolled out, in order for me to see it I had to uninstall and then reinstall the app to be able to see it...just updating didn't bring up the changes. So, if anyone else has that same issue, try uninstalling first.

My goal is going well so far...I've clocked 14 new recipes from my books so far! I prefer to log on the website and utilize all my bookmarks I've set up, but I have really enjoyed opening the app and looking at the Me tab. I especially love the "My Top Books" section! I also love that when I look at one of my books I can easily see all the recipes I've made from that book in one glance...that is so helpful! I also love that I can see popular recipes from a book...that is one thing I always look at when I get a new book...what do people love! The more I play around on the app, them more I find that I like it!

whitewoodsFebruary 1, 2026

I'm not the most prolific cook. I sometimes go long periods without much creative cooking--so I picked the lowest goal of just 25 recipes over the year. I figured I could handle that--just over 2 per month. I've cooked 4 so far--so I guess I'm ahead of schedule.

averythingcooksFebruary 1, 2026

My goal as 2025 was coming to an end was to hit 2500 comments by December 31. This count started on Dec 31, 2016 when I joined EYB. My comments are a key way (but not the only one) that I track how I am using my cookbooks. I should be on track to hit my goal by the end of February (currently at 2489) as January gets a bit sidetracked by a month long pantry challenge that I participate in. I've said it before but EYB has completely changed how I use my cookbooks!

breakthroughcFebruary 4, 2026

Averythingcooks - I enjoy reading your notes. We seem to have a lot of the same books and I have come to trust your notes as they are usually spot on. Keep it up!