Q: Can you give me some tips on how to organize my recipes?

A: Good question. Perhaps you’re like me and have a file drawer full of recipes you’ve clipped from magazines, newspapers, etc. But it takes forever to sort through them when you want to try something new, and you usually go back to your tried-and-true recipes. Here are some suggestions for getting them organized, shared by Alice Henneman, of the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County:

Dorothy Lehmkuhl and Delores Cotter Lamping, authors of “Organizing for the Creative Person,” suggest the following for all the recipes we’ve clipped and never used: Put them in an attractive box, secure it with a pretty ribbon, label carefully and “use them as a boat anchor …”

Kidding aside, most organizational authors do suggest as the first step in getting organized to discard recipes we’ve never used and aren’t likely to use. If you just can’t bear to throw them away – yet – put them in a separate folder or envelope and date it. If you haven’t used them in a year, toss.

Decide on a storage system

Organizational experts suggest several methods for saving recipes:

¢ Attach them to paper sheets in a notebook.

¢ Place them in plastic sleeves in a notebook.

¢ Place them in a photo album that has “self-adhesive” pages.

¢ Paste or copy them on recipe cards and keep them in a recipe box.

¢ Use page pockets in a notebook with a different pocket for each category.

¢ Store them in accordion files.

For example, you may wish to place your recipes, one per page, in a notebook. This should leave you plenty of space for writing “cook’s notes” by recipes. Plus, you’re less likely to lose a recipe when it’s “tied down” to something like a notebook. A different system may work better for you. For example, it may be simpler to toss recipes into page pockets or an accordion file.

Label recipe categories

To make retrieval easier, separate your recipes into categories, such as vegetables, desserts, etc. Insert some type of dividers that label the sections.

Make the categories meaningful for you. One way to start is to sort your recipes into piles and see what types you have. Then, label accordingly. It may help to check the table of contents in some of your favorite cookbooks to determine category labels.

Barbara Hemphill, author of “Taming the Paper Tiger,” recommends that if you don’t have many recipes in a category, start a broad category like “Bread.” As you collect more recipes, you can always expand to “Muffins,” “Yeast Breads,” etc.

The important thing is just to start – you can always modify in the future. Hemphill suggests it may be easier to use your system for the recipes you’re collecting now. Then, incorporate your backlog as time allows.

Separate ‘Keepers’ from ‘Never Tried’

Separate the recipes you’ve tried and consider “keepers” from those you’re still thinking about trying, Hemphill advises. A simple initial sorting system is file folders with labels similar to those on your more permanent collection. You might include a “Try Soon” file for those recipes that particularly catch your eye. Somewhere you also might designate a temporary storage spot for recipes that have passed from “never tried” to “keeper” until you can paste, tape, etc., them into your more permanent system.

No matter how many new recipes we collect, many of us have 15 to 20 meals we prepare over and over again, according to Georgene Lockwood, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Organizing Your Life.” Lockwood calls these “rotation recipes.” She advises putting these frequently used recipes together in a separate file from those used less often.

Whatever system you decide to use, it’s important to designate a place where you do your sorting, pasting, cutting, etc. Keep all your supplies nearby.

This might include hole-punched paper for your notebook, glue stick, scissors and so on.

Toss even “the tried-and-true” if they no longer fit your lifestyle. Or, if they are “family treasures” passed down from generations but you really never use them, store them in a separate file and label.

Q: Is flaxseed a whole grain?

A: Flaxseed is not considered a whole grain because it doesn’t have the same composition as grains that are whole grains. This means it must be nutritionally similar in bran, germ and endosperm and must be low in fat. Flax does not have the starchy endosperm.

Flax is an oil seed. The seed is made up of about 45 percent oil. It has fiber, but it doesn’t have much of the other components. It is nutritionally important and is beneficial in its crushed form.