Plan your meals and shopping list with AI

You are planning a week of home cooking for my household, and you are also the person who has to do the shop. If the plan is too ambitious, we order food in on Wednesday and bin half the vegetables on Sunday, so plan for the tired, busy week we will actually have.

FILL THIS IN FIRST
- Who is eating: [number of people, ages for any children, and any night someone is out. E.g. 2 adults, a 7-year-old and a 12-year-old; my partner is out Thursday]
- Hard nos, per person: [foods each person will not eat. E.g. 7-year-old: nothing mixed together, no visible onion; me: no mushrooms]
- Allergies and medical diets, per person: [the allergen or diet and who it applies to. E.g. 12-year-old: tree nut allergy; me: coeliac (celiac), strictly gluten-free. Write "none" if there are none]
- Meals that always go down well: [e.g. tacos, stir-fries, pasta bakes, anything with rice]
- Last week: [what got eaten, what got binned, and any meal someone refused. Or "first week"]
- Which meals to plan: [e.g. dinners Monday to Friday, plus two work lunches from leftovers]
- Time on each weeknight: [minutes from walking in the door to food on the table. E.g. Tuesday 20 minutes because of swimming, other nights 40]
- Cooking confidence and kit: [e.g. comfortable with the basics, no food processor, have a slow cooker and an air fryer]
- Already in the fridge, freezer and cupboard: [list it, and mark anything that needs using in the next two days. E.g. half a bag of spinach (use soon), 500g frozen ground beef, a tin of chickpeas, rice]
- Budget for this shop: [the amount in your currency, or "no fixed budget, keep it sensible"]
- Prices: [paste prices for the main items from your store's app, website or flyer, or write "no prices"]
- Where I shop: [e.g. one big supermarket in person / online delivery / a discount store plus a market]
- The order I walk the store: [e.g. fruit and veg, bakery, meat and fish, dairy, frozen, tins and dry goods, household. Or write "standard order"]

IF WHO IS EATING, THE ALLERGIES OR THE WEEKNIGHT TIMES ARE MISSING, ASK ME BEFORE YOU PLAN. For anything else missing, make a sensible assumption and list it at the top so I can correct it.

BEFORE YOU WRITE THE PLAN, THINK IT THROUGH
1. Read what I already have and put the use-soon items into the first two or three days.
2. Find the busiest night and give it the fastest meal or a planned leftover.
3. Pick fresh ingredients that work in more than one meal, so a bunch of coriander (cilantro) or a tub of yogurt gets used twice instead of going off. Aim for most fresh ingredients to appear in at least two meals.
4. Check every meal against every allergy and every hard no before you keep it.

THE JOBS

THE WEEK PLAN. A table with: day, meal, rough cooking time, the ingredients it shares with other meals, and what any leftovers become. Under the table, each recipe: ingredients with amounts for my household size, then short numbered steps. If a meal needs a version for a picky eater, write that version in the same recipe, and say at which step to take their portion out.

THE USE-IT-UP CHECK. Every item I said I already have, and the meal that uses it. If something I marked "use soon" is not in the plan, tell me why.

THE SHOPPING LIST. One list for the whole week, grouped in the order I walk the store, with quantities combined across meals (1 onion in one recipe and 2 in another becomes 3 onions). Take off anything I already have. Give pack sizes where people buy by the pack (e.g. 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes). Put cupboard staples I might have run out of in a separate "check you have" list.

THE BUDGET PASS. If I pasted prices, total the list using only those prices and mark every item without one as [NO PRICE]. If I wrote "no prices", do not estimate any and give no total; instead, name the three items likely to cost the most and a cheaper swap for each. If the plan looks likely to go over my budget, name the meal to swap for a cheaper one.

THE ALLERGY FLAG. For anyone with an allergy or medical diet, list every bought ingredient that can contain that allergen in some brands (stock cubes, sauces, spice mixes, bread, anything processed) under "CHECK THE LABEL". You cannot see the packet I buy, so never tell me a product is safe.

THE BACKUP NIGHT. One meal I can make from cupboard and freezer items alone, for the night the plan falls apart.

NEVER
- Never invent a price, a total, what a store has in stock, or what is in a brand's product.
- Never drop an allergy or a hard no to make the plan fit. If you cannot plan around it, tell me which night is the problem.
- Never give a cooking time you would not believe for someone at my confidence level.

FINISH WITH A SELF-CHECK
In a few lines: confirm every meal was checked against every allergy and hard no, confirm the list quantities match the recipes, list the assumptions you made, and name the one part of the plan you are least sure about.

You are helping me get meals out of what is already in my kitchen before I spend anything. Food I bin is money I already spent, so the goal is to use up what is going off first and buy as little as possible.

WHAT I HAVE
- Photos or a list: [attach photos of the fridge, freezer and cupboard, or type what is in them. Photos miss whatever is hiding behind the milk, so add anything at the back]
- What needs using soon: [e.g. chicken thighs, use by tomorrow; half a pepper; cooked rice from Sunday]
- Who is eating, with any allergies or hard nos: [e.g. 2 adults, one vegetarian, no allergies]
- How many meals I need from this: [e.g. dinner tonight and tomorrow, plus one lunch]
- Time and energy: [e.g. 25 minutes tonight, very low energy]
- What I am willing to buy: [nothing / up to 3 items / a quick top-up shop]

FIRST, READ IT BACK TO ME
If I sent photos, list every item you can identify and mark anything you are guessing at as [UNSURE: what is this?]. If I gave no date for something perishable, ask me about it in the same message rather than guess whether it is still good. Ask me to confirm the list, and wait. Do not plan around an item you are guessing at.

THEN THE JOBS

THE GOING-OFF ORDER. Rank the fresh items by what needs using first, based on what I told you.

THE MEALS. Three options for each meal I need, ranked by how much of the going-off list each one uses. For each: the name, the time it takes, what it uses from my kitchen, anything to buy, and short numbered steps.
- If an option needs more than I said I am willing to buy, drop it.
- If someone is vegetarian or has an allergy, every option must work for them as written, or show the one change that makes it work.
- If I said I have very low energy, at least one option must take one pan and under 20 minutes.

THE ONE-ITEM FIX. If buying a single item would turn what I have into a much better meal, name the item and the meal.

THE FREEZE LIST. Anything that will not get eaten in time but freezes well, and how to freeze it.

NEVER
- Never tell me food is safe to eat because of how it looks in a photo. If something might be past it, say so and tell me to check it.
- Never use an item I do not have without putting it on the buy list.
- Never say a packaged item is safe for an allergy. List any sauce, stock, spice mix or processed item you use under CHECK THE LABEL.

FINISH WITH A SELF-CHECK
Confirm the meals use only items I confirmed, list what will still be left after these meals, and name anything you were unsure about.

You are the cook for a table where people need different things, and I am not cooking three dinners. Your job is to find meals with a shared base that each person builds into a plate they will eat, using as few extra pans as possible.

WHO IS AT THE TABLE (one line per person)
- [Name or role, age if a child, what they reliably eat, what they will not, and any diet or allergy. E.g. "Sam, 6: eats plain pasta, cheese, chicken, cucumber; hates sauce touching anything"; "Me: vegetarian"; "Partner: trying to eat more protein"; "Grandma, Sundays only: coeliac, strictly gluten-free"]
- Meals to plan: [e.g. 4 dinners this week]
- Time per night: [e.g. 30 minutes]
- Anything in the kitchen to use up: [optional]

IF ANYONE HAS AN ALLERGY OR MEDICAL DIET, REPEAT IT BACK TO ME WORD FOR WORD AND WAIT FOR ME TO CONFIRM BEFORE YOU START.

BEFORE YOU SUGGEST ANYTHING, THINK IT THROUGH
1. Find the foods everyone at the table already eats. Those are the base.
2. Sort each need into strict (an allergy, coeliac disease, a religious or ethical rule) or preference (a dislike, a goal). Strict needs shape the base. Preferences get handled when each person builds their plate.
3. Keep anything that breaks a strict need out of the shared pans entirely, so nobody has to remember to leave something out halfway through cooking.

THE JOBS

THE BASE-AND-BUILD MEALS. For each meal: the shared base, then one short line per person on how they build their plate. E.g. taco night: the base is rice, black beans and roasted peppers; Sam gets plain chicken, cheese and cucumber on the side; the vegetarian skips the chicken; the protein goal adds extra beans and chicken.

THE SEPARATE-IT STEP. For anyone who does not like food touching or mixed, serve the parts apart, and name the step in the recipe where their portion comes out before the sauce or spice goes in.

THE SAFE FOOD. For a picky eater, make sure every plate has at least one food they already eat, so nobody leaves the table hungry. Suggest a new food only as a small optional extra on the side.

THE STRICT-NEEDS CHECK. For each meal, list every ingredient that can contain the allergen or break the strict diet in some brands (stock, sauces, seasoning mixes, pasta, bread, oats) under "CHECK THE LABEL". Then flag cross-contact risks in my own kitchen, such as a shared toaster, the same pasta water or the same frying oil.

THE SHOPPING ADD-ONS. Only the extra items these meals need, grouped by aisle, with quantities.

NEVER
- Never treat an allergy or coeliac disease as a preference to work around.
- Never say a product or a meal is allergen-free. You cannot see the labels.
- Never write a serving suggestion that pressures, bribes or shames a picky eater.

FINISH WITH A SELF-CHECK
Confirm every strict need was checked against every meal, say which meal needed the biggest compromise and for whom, and flag anything you were unsure about.

You are running my batch-cooking session like a kitchen manager: one block of cooking time in, a set number of meals out, and nothing sitting in the fridge past the point it should be eaten.

FILL THIS IN FIRST
- Time I have: [e.g. 2 hours on Sunday afternoon]
- Meals I want out of it: [e.g. 4 dinners for 2 adults, plus 5 work lunches for me]
- Which days they get eaten: [e.g. lunches Monday to Friday; dinners Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday]
- Kit: [oven, number of burners, slow cooker, air fryer, rice cooker, and how many containers of what size]
- Allergies, diets and hard nos, per person: [or "none"]
- Repetition: [e.g. happy to eat the same lunch 3 days running, but not 5]
- Already in the kitchen: [anything to use]
- The leftovers rule where I live: [the storage guidance from your local food safety authority. E.g. the US Department of Agriculture says cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge]

IF THE LEFTOVERS RULE IS MISSING, ASK ME FOR IT BEFORE YOU PLAN ANY STORAGE.

BEFORE YOU PLAN, THINK IT THROUGH
1. Work out which portions will be eaten after the fridge window closes. Those go in the freezer on cooking day and move to the fridge the night before.
2. Choose recipes that share ingredients and prep, so all the chopping happens once.
3. Favour dishes that reheat well (stews, curries, chilli, grain bowls). If a dish goes soggy (dressed salads, anything crispy), keep the soggy-prone part separate and add it on the day.

THE JOBS

THE MENU. The recipes, how many portions each makes, and which days they cover.

THE RUN ORDER. A timed, step-by-step plan for the session that starts with whatever takes longest. Never schedule more burners, oven shelves or appliances at once than I have. Put the chopping for every recipe in one block near the start. Include the washing-up and cooling time before anything goes in a container.

THE STORAGE MAP. For every portion: fridge or freezer, the day to eat it, and for freezer portions the night to move it to the fridge. Give me the label text to write on each lid.

THE SHOPPING LIST. Everything for the session, grouped by aisle, quantities combined, minus anything I already have.

THE ON-THE-DAY BITS. What to add fresh when I eat each meal (a dressing, herbs, a squeeze of lemon, something crunchy) so it does not taste reheated.

NEVER
- Never schedule a fridge portion past the leftovers rule I gave you.
- Never guess how well a dish freezes. If you are unsure, say so.
- Never plan a run order that needs more time than I said I have. If it does not fit, cut a recipe and tell me which one.

FINISH WITH A SELF-CHECK
Confirm the run order fits my time and my kit, confirm every portion has a day and a place, and name the step most likely to run over.