How to Use AI to Make a Custom Meal Plan

In today’s world where inflation is soaring, meal planning is a non-negotiable if you want to save money on groceries. ChatGPT is my favorite FREE tool to streamline the meal planning process, making it as efficient and cheap as possible.

In this article I'll teach you how to use ChatGPT to make a custom weekly meal plan focused on using the ingredients you already have on hand. Download my Free Chat GPT Meal Planning Prompts to make it a breeze!

Why Preset Meal Plans Fall Short

Preset meal plans sound convenient and may be helpful in some cases, but if your goal is to spend less money on groceries, a preset meal plan created by someone else is almost never going to help.

This is because preset meal plans do not take into account the ingredients you already have — the most important step of smart meal planning on a budget! This will in turn lead to unnecessary grocery purchases, increased overall grocery costs, and eventually food waste.

Plus, preset meal plans lack the personalization needed to cater to your specific dietary needs, family's taste buds, and weekly schedule. All in all, they're a big thumbs down from me!

Using ChatGPT 🤖 as a Solution

The recent introduction of AI has changed the game for at-home meal planning on a budget! Unlike preset meal plans, ChatGPT allows you to generate personalized meal plans that fit your dietary preferences and help you make the most of what you already have in your pantry.

By leveraging this free tool, you can ensure that each meal is tailored to your specific needs, available ingredients, and personal budget – something no other meal plan will do for you.

Part 1: How to Use AI to Find Recipe Ideas

Take inventory of what you already have

Start by taking stock of the ingredients you have and highlight the foods that need to get used up ASAP. I go into depth on how to do this in my post, How to Meal Plan to Save Money and offer free printables to keep you organized and up to date on a weekly basis. If you're just getting started, read that post, then come back here!

Use AI to Generate Recipe Ideas

Once you have your inventory lists of the ingredients you have on hand, go to ChatGPT.com and tell AI to give you recipe ideas using your provided list of ingredients to use up. I find giving AI a list of the top 5-10 ingredients you want to use up most effective.

To make this super easy, Download my Free Chat GPT Meal Planning Prompts and I'll tell you exactly what to write – all you will have to do is copy and paste my written prompt.

Review Suggested Recipes

ChatGPT will provide recipe ideas using up your ingredients. For instance, if you have potatoes, pasta, and apples on your list, you might get suggestions like potato salad, apple yogurt parfait, and pasta primavera.

This tool will not give you written recipes to make, but simply ideas to get you brainstorming.

Search for Tested Recipes

Take the ideas you like and search for human-tested recipes on trusted websites. For example, if AI suggests chickpea potato curry, you can then Google “chickpea potato curry recipe” and find a tested, reliable recipe on websites like mine or other reputable sources.

ChatGPT Generated Example

Here is an example result I received using my Free Chat GPT Meal Planning Prompt (download your own here).

I then asked it to give me 10 more ideas for each meal, just to have more ideas to choose from. Feel free to keep doing this until you get enough ideas you like.

From these two lists, here are my favorite ideas:

Breakfast

• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Breakfast Tostadas
• Sweet Potato and Kale Hash
• Carrot and Sweet Potato Muffins (I would have never thought of this!)

Dinner

• Beet, Black Bean, and Carrot Burgers
• Black Bean and Kale Enchiladas
• Pasta Primavera with Zucchini
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

Next, I will use these ideas to find recipes I think sound good. I recommend Googling broad key terms. Instead of typing in “Beet, Black Bean, and Carrot Burgers” I will type in more broad searches, such as “Black Bean Burgers” or “Beet Burgers” to get more variety of results.

For another example, I Googled, ‘Black Bean Vegan Breakfast Tostadas' and came across this Black Bean Tostadas with Avocado Salsa Recipe.

It sounds good, I can easily add roasted sweet potatoes if I like, and I don't need to buy more than 4 new ingredients to make it. Perfect!

Keep up this process until you've settled on 4-5 dinners and 1-2 breakfast recipes. And don't forget to browse your tried and true recipes in your recipe binder, too!

Part 2: How to Design a Custom Meal Plan with AI

AI can also help you design a weekly meal plan tailored to your specific needs and preferences. Whether you want to repurpose leftovers, stick to a certain number of recipes per week, or eat the same breakfast every day, AI can create a free meal plan 100% tailored to you.

1. Define Your Parameters: Determine your meal planning parameters. For example, you might want to cook four dinners per week, repeat leftovers for lunch, and have the same breakfast every day.
2. Add in your recipe preferences: Next, add in the titles of the recipes you settled on in part 1 to incorporate into the meal plan. Again, use my free prompts to make this super easy.
3. Review and Adjust: AI will generate a meal plan based on your inputs. Review the plan and tell it to make adjustments as needed. For example, if it did not follow your guidelines, tell it to rewrite the plan with your specific guidelines. ChatGPT isn't perfect, but the more you use it as a tool, the more it gets to know your preferences.

Here is an example result I received from using my Free Chat GPT Meal Planning Prompt:

Why You Should Not Use AI Written Recipes

A quick disclaimer! While AI is excellent at generating meal ideas and plans, it is NOT reliable for writing recipes. Never follow a written recipe that AI has given you for the following reasons:

• Lack of Testing: Recipes generated by AI have not been tested and lack accuracy in terms of ingredients, measurements, and cooking times. This is guaranteed to lead to inconsistent results, both frustrating and a waste of time and money!
• Quality Assurance: Tested recipes from trusted websites, like this website, have been tried and perfected by experienced home and professional cooks, ensuring reliable and delicious results.
• Human Touch: Cooking is an art that often requires a human touch. Tested recipes often include tips and nuances that AI-generated recipes will miss.

In summary, AI bots are fantastic at generating ideas. They should never be used to create recipes.

If you're looking for more recipe ideas for your meal plans, make sure to check out these recipe collections:

• 50+ Vegetarian Black Bean Recipes
• What to Serve with White Rice (50+ Budget-Friendly Ideas!)
• What to Serve with Spaghetti (51 Sides and Salads!)
• 43 Delicious Sides to Serve with a Casserole
• 43 Best Vegan Stir Fry Recipes
• 43+ Vegan Red Lentil Recipes