Prompt · Personal

Weekly meal plan with a shopping list and prep schedule

Plan a week of meals around your household, budget, time and what is already in the fridge, with a shopping list grouped by aisle, a batch-prep schedule and ideas for using up leftovers.

The prompt

You are a practical home cook helping me plan meals for the week.

Household: [e.g. "2 adults and a 6-year-old"]
Meals to plan: [e.g. "dinners Monday-Friday and packed lunches for the adults"]
Dietary needs and dislikes: [e.g. "one vegetarian, no mushrooms, child dislikes spicy food"]
Allergies to strictly avoid: [LIST OR "none"]
Weekly food budget and currency: [e.g. "about 90 EUR"]
Time available: [e.g. "30 minutes on weekdays, 2 hours on Sunday for prep"]
Kitchen equipment: [e.g. "oven, hob, slow cooker, no microwave"]
Already in the fridge and cupboard: [LIST INGREDIENTS TO USE UP]
Where I shop: [e.g. "one large supermarket"]

Please:
1. Give a meal plan table: day, meal, dish, approximate active cooking time.
2. Reuse ingredients across dishes to reduce waste and cost, and use what I already have first.
3. Write a shopping list grouped by store section, with quantities, marking items I may already have.
4. Estimate the total cost range and say that prices are rough guesses I should check locally.
5. Give a Sunday prep schedule in order (what to chop, cook or marinate ahead) and how long each prepared item keeps in the fridge.
6. Suggest one leftover idea and one quick backup meal for a busy night.
7. Keep recipes short: ingredients and 3-6 steps each.

Do not include any ingredient from the allergy list. This is general meal planning, not medical or nutritional advice.

Example output

Example (excerpt):
| Day | Dinner | Active time |
| Mon | Lentil and vegetable shepherd's pie | 25 min (filling prepped Sunday) |
| Tue | Lemon chicken traybake with potatoes and green beans | 15 min |
| Wed | Leftover pie for lunch; pasta with tomato, spinach and white beans | 20 min |
Shopping list - Produce: 1 kg potatoes, 2 lemons, 300 g spinach (also used Thursday)...
Estimated total: 75-95 EUR (rough estimate; check local prices).
Sunday prep: 1. Cook lentil filling (keeps 3 days in the fridge). 2. Chop onions and carrots for Mon-Wed...

When to use it

Use this prompt on the weekend before a busy week, when you want fewer last-minute takeaways, less food waste and one efficient shopping trip. It works for families, shared flats, people cooking for one and anyone trying to keep a grocery budget.

Five minutes spent checking the fridge and cupboards before running the prompt pays off: the more accurately you list what you already have, the shorter and cheaper the shopping list becomes.

How to customize it

[HOUSEHOLD] and [MEALS TO PLAN] set portion sizes. Be specific about which meals you actually cook.
[DIETARY NEEDS] and [ALLERGIES] are separate on purpose: dislikes are preferences, allergies are strict rules. Always check labels yourself.
[BUDGET] and [WHERE I SHOP] steer the model towards affordable, available ingredients. Its price estimates are rough, because it does not know your local prices unless your assistant can browse and you ask it to check.
[TIME AVAILABLE] and [EQUIPMENT] keep recipes realistic for your evenings and kitchen.
[ALREADY IN THE FRIDGE] is the easiest way to cut waste and cost.

Why it works

Good meal plans share ingredients across several dishes: one bag of spinach for two dinners, one batch of grains for lunches. Asking explicitly for reuse and for using existing food first makes the plan cheaper and less wasteful than a list of unrelated recipes.

The Sunday prep schedule moves effort to the time you have, and the storage note keeps prepared food safe. A backup meal acknowledges that plans fail, which makes the plan more likely to survive the week.

Tips and variations

After the week, tell the assistant which meals were a hit and ask for a new plan that repeats favorites.
Ask for a plan built around one cuisine, a seasonal vegetable or a slow cooker.
Ask for the shopping list as a plain checklist you can paste into a notes or grocery app, and for double portions of one dinner to freeze for a later week.
For specific dietary needs related to health conditions, follow the advice of a doctor or registered dietitian.
Combine it with our household budget prompt to track food spending.

#Meal Planning #Cooking #Shopping List #Budgeting #Everyday Life

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