Meal Planner & Grocery List

Meal planning is the kind of weekly chore you know you'd save time on but never quite get around to. The agent does it: weekly cron, your stated preferences, what's already in the kitchen, generates a plan + categorised shopping list. You skim, tweak, send to grocery delivery — done in 5 minutes instead of 45.

What it does

Weekly cron generates a 7-day meal plan
Considers your dietary preferences (vegetarian, gluten-free, no nightshades, etc.)
Considers what you already have (fridge inventory you maintain or type fresh each week)
Produces a categorised grocery list (produce, protein, pantry, dairy)
Avoids repeats from last 2 weeks (so you're not eating curry every Monday for 8 weeks)
Surfaces the recipes for any meal on demand

What you'll need

Memory for preferences + meal history
Cron for weekly generation
5 minutes one Sunday to set preferences

Setup

1. Set preferences

Send to Flowly

Remember (tag "meal-prefs"): Dietary: - Pescatarian (no red meat, no poultry, fish OK) - Gluten-sensitive (avoid wheat, OK with sourdough/spelt) - Trying to keep added sugar low Likes: Mediterranean, Turkish, Japanese, Mexican, Indian Dislikes: heavy cream sauces, raisins, mushrooms Constraints: - 4 dinners cooked per week, 3 simple/no-cook lunches - Total cook time per dinner: 30 min unless explicitly weekend - Cooking for 2 (or 4 on Sat/Sun if guests) Pantry staples I always have: olive oil, vinegar, lemons, garlic, onions, eggs, rice, lentils, chickpeas, salt, pepper, basic spices. Don't put these on the grocery list.

2. Weekly cron

Send to Flowly

Cron "meal-plan" every Sunday at 10 AM: 1. Pull last 14 days of meals from memory tag "meals:<date>" if any (so we don't repeat) 2. Ask me in Telegram: "What's in the fridge worth using this week?" Wait up to 30 minutes for reply. If no reply, default to "nothing special, plan from scratch". 3. Generate the plan considering meal-prefs: - 4 dinners (vary cuisines, avoid last 2 weeks) - 3 simple lunches (often leftovers + extras) - Optional: 1 weekend cook (longer prep, batch leftovers) 4. For each meal: title, 3 main ingredients, prep_time, link to recipe (web search for a reputable source) 5. Generate grocery list: - Aggregate ingredients across the plan - Subtract anything already in the fridge (from step 2) - Subtract pantry staples - Group by aisle: Produce, Protein, Dairy, Pantry, Other 6. Save plan to memory tagged "meals:<this-monday>" + "groceries:<this-monday>" 7. Send Telegram message: 🥘 This week Mon: <meal> ... 🛒 Shopping list Produce: - <items> ...

3. On-demand recipe pull

"What's the recipe for Wednesday's meal?"

Agent looks up meals:<this-monday> for Wed, returns the recipe link + a 1-paragraph summary.

4. Mid-week swaps

If something changes (skipping a meal, friends coming over):

"Skip Wed dinner. Add a guest meal Sat — something Mediterranean, serves 6."

Agent updates the plan, regenerates the affected portion of the grocery list, sends the delta.

Tips

Honest preferences = good output. "I don't like X" matters more than "I should eat X." If you'll skip the kale, don't put kale in the prefs.
Pantry staples list is a lifesaver. Without it the grocery list re-buys olive oil weekly. Curate this once, save forever.
Don't over-plan. Plan 4 dinners, leave 3 nights flex. Life intervenes.
Cooking time matters. A "30-min dinner" that's actually 90 min is the fastest way to abandon meal planning. The agent should estimate honestly; tell it when it's wrong.
Use seasonal cues. "It's August, lean into tomatoes and corn." Add a memory note for the season; the planner adapts.
Pair with grocery delivery. Shopping list → copy → paste to Getir/Migros/Instacart. The 5-minute weekly cycle becomes the whole grocery experience.