Meal Planning

Overview

Generate complete weekly meal plans with categorized shopping lists, batch cooking instructions, nutrition breakdowns, and cost estimates. Handles specific dietary restrictions like keto macro calculations, gluten-free substitutions, vegan protein sources, and budget constraints under $100/week. Takes 90 seconds to create what normally requires 2-4 hours of recipe research, nutrition calculations, and grocery list organization.

Use Cases

• Plan healthy meals for weight loss goals in 90 seconds instead of researching recipes for hours
• Generate keto meal plans with exact macros when training for strength or endurance goals
• Create budget-friendly vegan meal plans under $75/week for students or tight budgets
• Build gluten-free Mediterranean meal plans for celiac disease or food sensitivities
• Plan batch cooking sessions for Sunday meal prep that covers weeknight dinners
• Generate family meal plans for picky eaters that handle multiple dietary restrictions simultaneously

Benefits

Meal planning typically takes 2-4 hours weekly when you factor in recipe research, nutrition calculations, and shopping list creation. This template cuts that down to under 2 minutes.

You get organized shopping lists sorted by grocery store category, which saves 15-20 minutes per store trip and reduces impulse purchases. Batch cooking instructions show you how to prep multiple meals at once, turning 3 hours of weeknight cooking into 1 hour on Sunday.

The nutrition summaries track macros automatically if you’re hitting protein targets for muscle gain or staying in ketosis. Cost estimates per meal help you stick to food budgets without spreadsheets.

Most people abandon meal plans because they’re too rigid or take too long to create. This template adapts to your actual constraints - how much time you have, what’s already in your pantry, who you’re feeding - so you’ll actually use it.

Template

Create a {{duration}} meal plan with the following preferences:

Dietary Restrictions: {{dietaryRestrictions}}

Cuisine Preferences: {{cuisinePreferences}}

Meals per Day: {{mealsPerDay}}

Cooking Time Available: {{cookingTime}} minutes per meal

Budget: {{budget}} per week

Nutritional Goals:
{{nutritionalGoals}}

Ingredients to Include: {{includeIngredients}}

Ingredients to Avoid: {{avoidIngredients}}

Household Size: {{householdSize}}

Please provide:
1. Day-by-day meal breakdown
2. Shopping list organized by category
3. Prep instructions for batch cooking
4. Estimated costs per meal
5. Nutritional information summaries
6. Leftover utilization suggestions

Special Considerations: {{specialConsiderations}}

Properties

• duration: Single Selection
  • Options: 3-day, 5-day, 7-day, 14-day
• dietaryRestrictions: Multiple Selection (default: None)
  • Options: Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Keto, Low-carb, None
• cuisinePreferences: Multiple Selection (default: Any)
  • Options: Italian, Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean, American, Indian, Middle Eastern, Any
• mealsPerDay: Single Selection (default: 3)
  • Options: 2 meals, 3 meals, 4 meals, 5+ meals
• cookingTime: Single Selection (default: 30)
  • Options: 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60+ minutes
• budget: Single Selection
  • Options: $50-100, $100-150, $150-200, $200+
• nutritionalGoals (optional): Multi-line Text (default: Balanced nutrition)
• includeIngredients (optional): Single-line Text (default: None)
• avoidIngredients (optional): Single-line Text (default: None)
• householdSize: Single Selection (default: 2)
  • Options: 1 person, 2 people, 3-4 people, 5+ people
• specialConsiderations (optional): Single-line Text (default: None)

Example Output

Here’s what you get when you generate a 7-day gluten-free Mediterranean meal plan for 2 people focused on high protein:

Day 1 (Monday)

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt parfait with berries, almonds, honey
• Lunch: Mediterranean chicken quinoa bowl with cucumber, tomatoes, olives, feta
• Dinner: Italian chicken piccata with lemon caper sauce, roasted vegetables, quinoa

Shopping List by Category

Proteins

• Chicken breasts: 4 lbs ($16-20)
• Chicken thighs: 3 lbs ($9-12)
• Eggs: 3 dozen ($12-15)
• Greek yogurt (plain, full-fat): 2 large containers ($8-10)
• Feta cheese: 12 oz ($7-9)

Grains

• Quinoa: 3 lbs ($12-15)

Fresh Vegetables

• Spinach: 2 bags ($6)
• Tomatoes: 3 lbs ($6-9)
• Cucumbers: 4 ($4)
• Bell peppers: 6 ($8)

Estimated Total: $120-145

Sunday Batch Prep (3 hours)

1. Cook quinoa in bulk (30 min): 6 cups cooked, portioned
2. Roast vegetables (45 min): batch roast bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant
3. Cook chicken (45 min): bake breasts, roast thighs with seasoning
4. Prep ingredients (30 min): wash/chop salad vegetables, make tzatziki, make pesto
5. Assemble meals (30 min): portion chicken and quinoa into containers

Nutritional Summary (Per Day, Per Person)

• Calories: 1,800-2,200
• Protein: 140-160g (30-35%)
• Carbs: 180-200g (40%)
• Fat: 60-70g (30%)

The full output includes all 7 days of meals, complete ingredient lists with prices, detailed prep instructions, and leftover utilization strategies.

Common Mistakes

Picking too many cuisines - If you select Italian, Mexican, Asian, Mediterranean, and Indian all at once, your shopping list becomes a pantry restock. Stick to 2-3 complementary cuisines so ingredients overlap between meals. Mediterranean + Italian works well since they share olive oil, tomatoes, herbs, and cheese.

Unrealistic cooking times - Setting “15 minutes per meal” when you’ve never cooked before guarantees frustration. Most people need 30-45 minutes for actual meal prep when you include chopping, cooking, and cleanup. Be honest about your skill level.

Ignoring what’s already in your kitchen - Use the “Ingredients to Include” field for things you already have or need to use up before they spoil. If you bought a huge bag of spinach, work that into multiple meals instead of buying more greens.

Vague nutritional goals - “Eat healthy” gives you generic advice. “High protein 150g+ daily for strength training” or “Under 50g carbs for ketosis” produces meal plans actually aligned with your goals.

Not planning for leftovers - Cooking fresh meals 3x daily for a week is unrealistic. Good meal plans intentionally create leftovers from dinner that become next day’s lunch. This isn’t lazy, it’s efficient.

Forgetting about Sunday availability - If you pick “Meal prep on Sundays” but you’re never actually home on Sundays, you’ll skip the batch cooking and the whole plan falls apart. Pick a prep day that fits your actual schedule.

Frequently Used Together

• Budget Tracker - Track actual food spending against meal plan cost estimates
• Workout Routine - Align meal macros with training intensity and recovery days
• Morning Routine - Schedule breakfast prep and meal planning time into your morning flow
• Event Planning - Scale meal plans up for dinner parties or holiday gatherings

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