In my endeavor to become a better and more consistent cook, I've started meal planning. I've been interested in this process as a way to save money and try new meals, but especially as a way to reduce food waste along with my overall carbon footprint (more on that later).
Searching for recipes and creating a meal plan on my own is possible, but it's time-consuming. So, as an editor at CNET, I wondered whether artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, could help. If this generative AI application can be used to negotiate bills, write resumes and even help you talk to your doctor about your health symptoms, could it help with something as simple as meal planning, too?
I decided to find out. I asked ChatGPT to create a seven-day healthy-dinner meal plan for me, with a few parameters. Here's how it did.
Read more: ChatGPT 4 Review: A Smarter AI Chatbot, but It'll Cost You
Meal planning with ChatGPT
Prompt: "Hi, ChatGPT. Can you provide me with a seven-day meal plan for quick and healthy dinners for two people?"
ChatGPT: "Certainly! Here's a seven-day meal plan for quick and healthy dinners for two people. Each meal is designed to be simple and fast to prepare."
I also asked for a meal plan that avoids fish (personal preference) and to provide an accompanying grocery list. Here are the meals it gave me:
Day
1:
Lemon
garlic
chicken
with
roasted
vegetables
Day
2:
Beef
stir-fry
with
broccoli
and
rice
Day
3:
Veggie
tacos
Day
4:
Baked
chicken
with
quinoa
and
spinach
Day
5:
Pasta
primavera
Day
6:
Chicken-and-vegetable
skewers
Day
7:
Easy
turkey
chili
Ingredients and a short sentence with instructions were also provided, but the ingredients didn't offer any measurements, though you could ask the application for specific measurements if you needed them. I was able to estimate the amount of each ingredient that my small household of two needed. I headed to the grocery store with the list provided, then made the first meal that evening.
Putting the AI-created meal plan to the test
Day 1: Lemon garlic chicken with roasted vegetables
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Chicken
breasts,
lemon,
garlic,
olive
oil,
mixed
vegetables
(carrots,
bell
peppers,
zucchini).
ChatGPT
instructions:
Marinate
chicken
breasts
in
lemon
juice,
minced
garlic,
olive
oil,
salt
and
pepper.
Roast
alongside
mixed
vegetables
at
400°F
(200°C)
for
25-30
minutes.
I'm happy to report that ChatGPT kept its word and provided me with an extremely easy recipe to start off the week with. I was able to pop everything together in the oven, then clean up and set the table as it cooked.
I made slight tweaks to this recipe, including cooking the carrots for about 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients to the pan, since I know from past experience that zucchini and peppers cook a lot quicker than carrots. I also added a couple of extra seasonings.
Sheet-pan dinners such as this one are perfect for weeknight dinners.
Corin Cesaric/CNETDay 2: Beef stir-fry with broccoli and rice
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Beef
strips,
broccoli,
soy
sauce,
garlic,
ginger,
rice.
ChatGPT
instructions:
Stir-fry
beef
strips
with
garlic
and
ginger,
add
broccoli,
and
cook
until
tender.
Serve
over
steamed
rice.
This recipe is the one I adjusted the most, but it was still quick to prepare. I felt like something was missing from the ingredients ChatGPT suggested, so I decided to make a slightly more involved sauce. I was inspired by this recipe, which I've used in the past, and I ended up adding only two extra ingredients: cornstarch and brown sugar. This was a perfect and filling weeknight meal.
With a few adjustments to ChatGPT's original recipe, this dish turned out tangy and delicious.
Corin Cesaric/CNETDay 3: Veggie quesadillas
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Tortillas,
black
beans,
corn,
bell
peppers,
avocado,
salsa,
shredded
cheese.
ChatGPT
instructions:
Saute
bell
peppers,
mix
with
black
beans
and
corn.
Fill
tortillas
with
veggie
mix,
avocado
slices,
salsa,
and
cheese.
Although ChatGPT recommended veggie tacos, I ended up making quesadillas instead after accidentally buying the wrong size tortillas, but they were just as tasty. The one notable thing about this recipe is that ChatGPT didn't add any seasonings to the ingredient list, so I made sure to add my own.
Whether you make this meal as quesadillas or tacos, it'll be delicious.
Corin Cesaric/CNETDay 4: Baked chicken with quinoa and spinach
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Chicken
thighs
or
breasts,
lemon,
olive
oil,
quinoa,
fresh
spinach.
ChatGPT
instructions:
Season
chicken
with
lemon
juice,
olive
oil,
salt,
and
pepper.
Bake
at
375°F
(190°C)
for
25-30
minutes.
Serve
with
cooked
quinoa
and
sauteed
spinach.
Even though this was probably the simplest recipe of the week, it was my favorite. I loved how the sauteed spinach and quinoa tasted together. It's a great recipe to make when you have spinach left over in the fridge that may be on the brink of going bad, since even numerous cups of spinach still isn't a huge amount after it's sauteed.
If you want to add more flavor to your quinoa, you can cook it in chicken or vegetable broth instead of water.
Corin Cesaric/CNETDay 5: Pasta primavera
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Pasta
(e.g.,
penne
or
spaghetti),
cherry
tomatoes,
zucchini,
bell
peppers,
olive
oil,
Parmesan
cheese.
ChatGPT
instructions:
Cook
pasta,
saute
vegetables
in
olive
oil
until
tender.
Toss
pasta
with
veggies
and
Parmesan
cheese.
It's hard to go wrong with pasta, but this recipe missed the mark. ChatGPT's instructions said to saute the cherry tomatoes, zucchini and bell peppers in olive oil, then toss the cooked pasta with the veggies and parmesan cheese. Though no seasonings were listed, I added them, but it was still a lackluster meal.
I still ate it for dinner (and lunch the next day), but if I make this meal in the future, I'll add fresh garlic, a few more varieties of vegetables, and lemon juice to enrich the flavor.
Additional vegetables you can add to pasta primavera are onions, asparagus and carrots.
Corin Cesaric/CNETDay 6: Chicken-and-vegetable skewers
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Chicken
chunks,
bell
peppers,
onions,
cherry
tomatoes,
olive
oil,
your
favorite
seasoning.
ChatGPT
instructions:
Thread
chicken
and
vegetables
onto
skewers.
Brush
with
olive
oil
and
seasoning.
Grill
or
bake
at
400°F
(200°C)
for
15-20
minutes.
These chicken thigh kebabs were so delicious and filling. Something I especially liked about the ChatGPT meal plan was that meals were basic enough to make slight adjustments. For example, this recipe listed bell peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes for the vegetables, but it's simple enough to swap out those vegetables with any of your choosing.
I skipped using cherry tomatoes, since I'd had plenty the night before in the pasta primavera,but mushrooms would be a great addition to this meal.
You can cook these kebabs in the air fryer or oven.
Corin Cesaric/CNETDay 7: Turkey chili
ChatGPT
ingredients:
Ground
turkey,
canned
tomatoes,
kidney
beans,
chili
seasoning.
ChatGPT
instructions:
Brown
the
ground
turkey,
then
add
tomatoes,
beans,
and
chili
seasoning.
Simmer
for
20-30
minutes.
People either love chili or hate it. I'm in the former category so this meal was a great way to end my week (and to welcome in fall!). After you brown the ground turkey, this meal largely cooks itself while it simmers on the stove, so it's an especially good recipe for days you don't want to spend all night in the kitchen.
Turkey chili is typically a healthier alternative to beef chili.
Corin Cesaric/CNETMy overall opinion on using ChatGPT for meal planning
I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't love grocery shopping, so one of my favorite parts about using ChatGPT for a meal plan was getting an accompanying grocery list along with it.
The application made my trip to the market painless by grouping items by category for ultra convenience. With the list copied into my iPhone's notes app, I was in and out of the store within 30 minutes.
While the simple meals ChatGPT gave me weren't groundbreaking, I appreciate that you can continue asking the application questions to get exactly what type of meals you desire. Whether you want meals for the week that can be made in under 30 minutes or you want them to be vegetarian, gluten-free or even zero-waste, you can ask ChatGPT to customize a meal plan for you.
Most importantly though, I realized this week that I didn't throw away any food — not even a single scrap. My fiance and I either ate all the food the night we cooked it or ate the leftovers for lunch the following day. And that felt even better than an uncomplicated grocery store trip.
How meal planning helps fight food waste
In the United States, it's estimated that 30% to 40% of food is wasted each year. Though food waste occurs at all stages of food production, it can (and often does) happen directly in your kitchen. This largely occurs from over-purchasing food or not eating it before it spoils.
Read more: Stop Throwing Away Your Food Scraps: 11 Ways to Repurpose Them and Save Money
This level of food waste can negatively affect the environment by forcing food production to increase, adding to its carbon footprint, which is based on how many greenhouse gasses are emitted into the atmosphere during the food production process. And rotting foods in landfills actually release methane into the environment, which is the second-largest contributor to climate warming (directly behind carbon dioxide).
But there's some good news: Meal planning can help you tackle food waste. If you plan out your meals, you're less likely to buy too many ingredients at the grocery store, and you can also map out how you'll use any leftover food or ingredient scraps.