7 Tips for Meal Planning with AI (and Staying On Budget!)

Jump to:

• 1. Build a Realistic Weekly Meal Plan 
• 2. Shop for Exactly What You Need 
• 3. Plan According to Your Fatigue Level 
• 4. Cook in Batches (AI Can Help You Plan Smarter!)
• 5. Transform Leftovers into a New Meal 
• 6. Get Ahead with Meal Prep 
• 7. Keep It Fun – Be open to use AI
• Last Thoughts

Are you juggling work, family, and everything in between? Meal planning can feel like one more time-consuming task. As parents, we need a little help, we are not super heroes! I suggest we take advantage of the tools we have and make the best of the power of AI, you can streamline your weekly meal plan, cut down on food waste, and eat healthier without spending too much time in the kitchen. Enters AI meal planning, well no fully but acting as your assistant!

And don’t worry—I’m not here to tell you to let an AI meal generator take over your kitchen! That would not be my vibe at all, however, let's embrace the free tools we have to make our lives easier. Instead, I am going to share some tips on meal planning and how AI tools can help organize your grocery list, suggest meals based on your preferences, and keep you on track, while still letting you enjoy the human touch of cooking.

One last thing, we are  asking AI to help us out to be organized, if you have serious dietary restriction, health issue, please see a health professional. 

1. Build a Realistic Weekly Meal Plan 

Before you start grocery list, take a few minutes to populate a few meal ideas that your family likes. I find it handy to have a few favourite on a phone app, I have an ongoing list on Google Keep so when I feel uninspired, I refer to it. A few favourite that you may want to consider are my broccoli salmon pasta, there are a hit but also we love doing crêpes night and using the Instant Pot for a shorter cooking time. 

Now, let's involve AI here, here is a prompt that you could use to get started on your conversation and get recipe ideas:
"I would like 5 meals ideas for this week, we love pasta, one meal with chicken, one with pork, one with something with fish and a vegetarian one, the recipes should be 30 to 45 minutes to make."

And from there, tell 'him' what to keep and adjust. 

Hot Tip: Try to list of 15 meal options that are the all time favorites so when you need inspiration or to make your life easier, use it!

2. Shop for Exactly What You Need 

Did you know that planning meals around what you already have at home can help you avoid wasting food and cut down on grocery costs? Before going crazy with your grocery list, take a moment to check your fridge, freezer, and pantry for what you already have. There’s no need to spend money on food items you don’t need!

Now, we can have our 'virtual assistant' chime in and ask to generate meals ideas with what you have:  
"I have chicken drumsticks in the freezer and a lot of eggs to use up. Adjust my weekly meal plan to make sure I’m using what I already have."

Hot Tip: By using AI to refine your meal plan based on what’s already in your kitchen, you can save money, reduce waste, and make meal planning even smarter! 

3. Plan According to Your Fatigue Level 

Do you feel as motivated and rested on Fridays as you do on Mondays? Personally, I don’t. That’s why I plan my meals based on my energy levels throughout the week.

At the beginning of the week, when I have more motivation, I go for meals that require a little more effort—think lasagnas or spinach-goat cheese roll-ups with creamy butternut squash.

By Thursday, when I’m running on fumes, I need quick and easy meals like an Instant Pot chicken.

This is how AI can help you: Instead of deciding on the spot, add that information in your prompt. Simply input:
"I have more energy on Monday and Tuesday—give me the meals that require some prep for this days and plan for quick and easy options with minimal effort on Thursday and Friday."
If you already have your meal ideas, ask it to reorganize it or make suggestion for swap if some are too ambitious. It can be an idea for next week! 

Hot Tip: Smart planning = less stress, better meals, and more time for you and your family! The best results you are looking for! 

4. Cook in Batches (AI Can Help You Plan Smarter!)

Batch cooking saves time, reduces food waste, and makes meal planning so much easier—especially when life gets busy.

Instead of cooking every single night, you can prepare larger portions of versatile foods that I can use throughout the week. A big batch of shepherd's pie, soup or pork can turn into multiple meals.

How AI can help you on this one? Ask it to suggest multiple meal ideas from a single batch of ingredients. or if you bought a family pack of chicken breast or ground beef, here a good prompt:
"I have a 4 pounds of chicken (or ground beef), what are three different meals I can make with it?"

One more thing, ask to organize your week, if there is some chopping you can do ahead of time and store or some pasta or grain you can cook ahead. 

Hot Tip: Cooking in batches does not mean always making 3 same meals. For me, it can be chopping vegetables ahead of time, cooking some rice and store it and making a double batch and freeze the other one for another time. 

5. Transform Leftovers into a New Meal 

I love giving leftovers a second life instead of eating the same thing twice. Although, I do love a good 'Eat the leftovers' night but sometimes, I like to be creative and repurpose a previous dinner into a whole new meal! While there are some obvious ones like chicken sandwich, pork quesadillas or salmon quiche, I am sometimes stuck. 

For this one, what you can ask AI is what you have as a leftover and also something from your fridge or pantry:
"I have leftover roasted chicken, brown rice, and a handful of almonds—what can I make?"
You can also add, don't suggest a sandwich but rather make a new recipe. 

Hot Tip: Don't let your leftover kick around too long in the fridge. Make it a point to plan a meal with it or if possible freeze it. Reduce waste and save money! 

6. Get Ahead with Meal Prep 

A little prep work can go a long way for our busy lifestyles and make weeknight dinners way easier—and with AI, you can help you plan efficiently. No only you can be organized but also, you can get other family members to help with a few tasks. You are not alone in this. Remember, get everyone involve in the kitchen (not a crowd, take turns to make it safe). 

Once your meal for the week is set, ask your little helper, artificial intelligence, to help you plan. If you have the recipes for each meals, add it in your prompt and from there, ask to organize your grocery shopping list so you don't overbuy, to organized the detailed recipes into tasks throughout your week like marinating the meat, chopping bell peppers, or portioning some snacks. 

Spending a little time upfront saves you much time during the week, avoid too much stress. If you have a specific diet, meal preparation makes your life easier. 

Hot Tip: Get time-consuming tasks out of the way by doing them one day and use as a meal planner assistant. 

7. Keep It Fun – Be open to use AI

Meal planning doesn’t have to feel like a chore. If you’re stuck in a rut, let AI bring a little excitement to your weekly menu with some meal suggestions and you might try something new and unexpected! Please note that ai-generated recipes are not tested, tried and loved by a real human like any recipes from my blog. 

It is fascinating that you can build your own meal plan for your family with your personal preferences with any specific goals you may have (saving time, healthy eating or saving money). 

Hot Tip: Share with your virtual assistant your goals if you have any, for example, if you want to save money, ask it to plan accordingly. 

Last Thoughts

Using innovative tools such as AI for our daily lives doesn’t mean losing control of your meals! Instead, it helps you plan smarter, shop efficiently, and make delicious, nutritious meals without feeling overwhelm.

Let AI do the heavy lifting with your daily meal planning, so you can focus on cooking meals that fit your individual needs, dietary preferences or fitness goals —with a little help from me, of course.