Menu planning using chat GPT? Is this possible?

[Anonymous]

I have had a sudden health issue and need to quickly make some substantial changes including my diet to be Mediterranean based. I also need to feed a teen boy.

I am absolutely terrible at menu planning and am wondering if chat gpt or some other AI tool could help with this. Has anyone tried this?

Or is there another resource or cookbook you could suggest?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Anonymous]

Yes it’s possible. ChatGPT is free, just give it a try and see if it works for what you need.

[Anonymous]

From chat, GPT:

Absolutely — I can help with menu planning, whether it’s for a week of healthy meals, a themed dinner party, or a specific diet like gluten-free, vegan, or high-protein.

✅ To get the best menu planning help, here’s a great prompt template you can use:

⸻

“Can you help me plan a [duration]-long menu for [meal types, e.g., breakfast, lunch, dinner], focusing on [dietary preferences or restrictions]? I want the meals to be [describe your goals: quick, budget-friendly, balanced, high-protein, kid-friendly, etc.]. Include [how many recipes per day or week], and I’d like a [shopping list / meal prep tips / estimated cost], if possible.”

⸻

🧠 Example Prompts You Can Use or Modify:
1. Weekly, Healthy, Quick Meals

“Can you create a 5-day dinner menu with quick, healthy meals under 30 minutes to cook, including a shopping list?”

2. Budget-Friendly Family Plan

“Can you help me plan a week of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a family of 4 on a budget of $100 total? No seafood, please.”

3. Meal Prep Focused

“I want a meal plan for 4 days of lunches I can prep in advance, high in protein, low in sugar, and easy to pack for work.”

4. Themed Dinner Party

“Can you help me plan a Mediterranean-themed 3-course dinner menu for 6 people, including a vegetarian option and a wine pairing?”

5. Student Simple Plan

“I’m a college student with a microwave and mini-fridge. Can you make a 3-day menu with simple meals that require no stove or oven?”

⸻

Would you like to try one now? Let me know what kind of menu you’re planning — I can generate a plan with recipes, a shopping list, and prep tips.

[Anonymous]

^^^
The best way to find out what ChatGPT can do, is to just ask it

[Anonymous]

This is exactly what Chat is good at. I sometimes put what I have in my pantry and fridge in there and have it tell me what to make.

[Anonymous]

It's possible.

I recommend if you do it you also create a Google docs file or Word file where you cut and paste the recommendations so you can refer to it and repeat what you like.

Do this rather than just running repeated searches because each query into chatgpt takes a lot of computing resources (energy and water for data centers).

Your cookbook idea is also great. America's Test Kitchen has a Mediterranean book. I haven't used that one yet, but their other books I've tried are great. You can check cookbooks out of the library.

[Anonymous]

Go right ahead. I'm sure your guests will love glue pizza and rock salad.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11gzejgz4o

[Anonymous]

We can also be your chat got for this!

Here’s on trick I do:
I make pasta with meat (sautéed chicken or sausage over olive oil with lots of garlic.). For me, I will chop up half a bag of argula and then put the meat, olive oil garlic sauce and a small amount of the pasta over the arugula with chopped tomatos. So good and my teen son loads up on the carbs.

Or I sautee half a bag of spinach and do the same thing.

Basically have greens or green veggie on hand and sub put whatever carb you are giving the teens with those greens.

Tonight I’m making grilled chicken and will do garlic bread for the kids but I’ll just eat greens.

Another good option is a bean and rice bowl but use brown rice or quinoa — you can load up the veggies on that pretty easily.

For lunch, load up on veggies. A veggie soup is easy and can be quick to make.

Fish is also easy and cooks quick — you can add that to your menu 2x a week and lots ofteens like that.