Plan a Week of Meals With a Grocery List
Get a realistic weekly meal plan that fits your diet, budget, and schedule, plus a grocery list grouped by store section.
Make it yours
Fill in each variable and watch the prompt update. Anything still in {{braces}} needs your input before you use it.
Fill in the blanks
0 of 5 filledHow many days to plan.
Who you're feeding.
Allergies, preferences, and dislikes.
Budget and how long you have to cook.
Staples you already have.
Create a {{days}}-day dinner plan for my household. Household: {{household}} Dietary needs and dislikes: {{dietary_needs}} Budget and time: {{constraints}} Already in my kitchen: {{pantry}} Requirements: - Reuse ingredients across meals to cut waste and cost (e.g. one bunch of herbs used twice). - Include at least one cook-once-eat-twice or leftovers night. - Keep weeknight recipes realistic for the time I've given. Output: 1. A table: Day | Meal | Prep time | Notes (leftovers, make-ahead tips) 2. A grocery list grouped by store section, with quantities, excluding what I already have 3. A short prep-ahead plan for the weekend Don't give exact prices — just flag the items most likely to be expensive and suggest a cheaper swap.
Example
Example input
Create a 5-day dinner plan for my household. Household: 2 adults and a 7-year-old who's a picky eater Dietary needs and dislikes: vegetarian, no mushrooms, mild spice only Budget and time: tight budget, 30 minutes max on weeknights Already in my kitchen: rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, olive oil, spices, eggs Requirements: - Reuse ingredients across meals to cut waste and cost (e.g. one bunch of herbs used twice). - Include at least one cook-once-eat-twice or leftovers night. - Keep weeknight recipes realistic for the time I've given. Output: 1. A table: Day | Meal | Prep time | Notes (leftovers, make-ahead tips) 2. A grocery list grouped by store section, with quantities, excluding what I already have 3. A short prep-ahead plan for the weekend Don't give exact prices — just flag the items most likely to be expensive and suggest a cheaper swap.
Example output
| Day | Meal | Prep | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Black bean & cheese quesadillas, corn salad | 20 min | Kids can build their own |
| Tue | Tomato & spinach pasta bake | 30 min | Make double — Thursday leftovers |
| Wed | Veggie fried rice with eggs | 20 min | Uses leftover peppers & peas |
| Thu | Pasta bake leftovers + green salad | 10 min | Leftovers night |
| Fri | Chickpea & sweet potato curry (mild) with rice | 30 min | Coconut milk keeps spice gentle |
Grocery list
- Produce: 1 bag spinach, 2 bell peppers, 1 red onion, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 lettuce, 1 cucumber, 2 limes
- Canned & dry: 2 cans black beans, 1 can chickpeas, 1 can coconut milk, 1 can corn
- Dairy: 1 block cheddar, 1 tub ricotta
- Bakery: 1 pack tortillas
- Frozen: 1 bag peas
Weekend prep Cook a big pot of rice (for Wed and Fri), chop peppers and onion, grate the cheese.
Likely pricier: ricotta → swap for cottage cheese; fresh spinach → frozen spinach works in the bake.
Why it works
Meal plans fail when they ignore real constraints — the picky eater, the 30-minute limit, the budget. Listing what's in your pantry and asking for ingredient reuse makes the plan cheaper and less wasteful. A table plus a grouped grocery list gives you something you can use immediately in the store, and avoiding exact prices keeps the model from guessing at numbers that vary by place and time.
Techniques used
- Contextual promptingGive the AI the background it can't guess — who you are, your goal, your audience, your constraints — so answers fit your real situation.Learn the technique
- Structured output promptingAsk for answers in a precise format — tables, JSON, CSV, or fixed sections — so results are easy to scan, compare, or reuse.Learn the technique