What is Meal Planner?
Meal Planner is a visual weekly meal planning tool that helps you organize what to eat for every day of the week. With a clean 7-day grid layout, you can plan Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snack for each day — all in one place.
Smart Shopping Lists
Personal Meal Library
- 1. What is Meal Planner?
- 2. How to Use the Meal Planner
- 3. Features
- 4. Frequently Asked Questions
- 4.1. Is my meal plan data saved?
- 4.2. Can I plan for more than one week?
- 4.3. How does the shopping list calculate quantities?
- 4.4. Can I add items to the shopping list that are not in any recipe?
- 4.5. How does Random Fill work?
- 4.6. Can I use custom names for meal types?
- 4.7. Is my data shared with anyone?
How to Use the Meal Planner
Add Meals
Click any empty slot or the + button to open the meal editor. Enter a meal name and optionally add ingredients with quantities and units.
Organize Your Week
Drag and drop meal cards between days and meal types to rearrange your plan. Hover over a card to duplicate or delete it.
Use Your Library
Check "Save to library" when adding meals. Next time, click "From Library" to quickly add saved meals without re-typing.
Generate Shopping List
Click the Shopping List button to see all ingredients grouped by category with totaled quantities. Check off items as you shop and add custom items for extra groceries.
Save and Manage Plans
Click Save to name your plan. Use the plan selector dropdown to switch between saved plans or create new ones.
Additional Options
Random Fill
Automatically fill empty slots with random meals from your library, matching meal types when possible.
Export
Download your weekly meal plan as a PNG image to share or print.
Settings
Click the gear icon to show or hide meal types, rename labels, and enable multi-week navigation.
Multi-week
When enabled, navigate between weeks with arrow buttons and copy an entire week's plan to the next week.
Features
7-Day Weekly Grid
A clear, visual grid showing Monday through Sunday with customizable meal rows. Each cell can hold multiple meals, and the current day is highlighted for quick reference.
Paper Lists
- Manual writing and rewriting
- Lost or damaged notes
- No ingredient tracking
- Time-consuming updates
Digital Solution
- Drag-and-drop organization
- Auto-saved in browser
- Automatic shopping lists
- Instant rearrangement
Drag and Drop
Rearrange your meal plan effortlessly by dragging meal cards between days and meal types. Move a breakfast to dinner, swap between days, or reorganize your entire week in seconds.
Meal Library
Build a personal collection of your favorite meals. Every meal you add can be saved to the library with its ingredients. Browse, search, and reuse meals across different weeks without re-entering details. Each library item shows its meal type tag for easy identification.
Save Time
Easy Search
Unlimited Storage
Auto-Generated Shopping List
All ingredients from your planned meals are automatically collected and organized into categories: Vegetables and Fruits, Meat and Seafood, Dairy and Eggs, Grains and Bread, Sauces and Condiments, and Other. Quantities for the same ingredient across different meals are summed up. Check items off as you shop and copy the entire list to your clipboard.
Smart Categorization
Ingredients automatically sorted by type for efficient shopping.
- Vegetables and Fruits
- Meat and Seafood
- Dairy and Eggs
- Grains and Bread
- Sauces and Condiments
Quantity Totaling
Same ingredients from different meals are automatically combined.
- No duplicate items
- Accurate quantities
- Unit conversion support
Interactive Checklist
Check off items as you shop and track your progress.
- One-click checking
- Copy to clipboard
- Progress tracking
Custom Shopping Items
Need to buy something that is not part of a recipe? Add custom items to your shopping list. These items persist across sessions, so your extra groceries are always remembered.
Multiple Plans
Create and save multiple meal plans with custom names. Switch between plans instantly using the dropdown selector. Each plan is auto-saved as you make changes.
- Weekly family meals
- Meal prep for fitness
- Budget-friendly options
- Special diet plans
- Holiday menus
Multi-Week Navigation
Enable multi-week mode in settings to plan beyond a single week. Navigate forward and backward between weeks, copy an entire week's meals to the next, and use the Today button to jump back to the current week.
Random Fill
Quickly populate empty meal slots with random selections from your library. The tool prioritizes matching meal types — breakfast library items go into breakfast slots, dinner items into dinner slots — for a more realistic plan.
Build Library
Add your favorite meals
Click Random Fill
Let the tool work
Adjust as Needed
Fine-tune your plan
Export as Image
Download your weekly meal plan as a high-resolution PNG image. Share it with family members, print it for the fridge, or save it for reference.
- Share with family via messaging apps
- Print and post on your refrigerator
- Save as backup in cloud storage
- Include in meal prep blog posts
Customizable Settings
Show or hide specific meal types (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack), rename them with custom labels, and toggle multi-week navigation — all from the settings panel.
Show/Hide Meal Types
Custom Labels
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my meal plan data saved?
Yes. All data — meal plans, library, settings, and custom shopping items — is saved automatically in your browser's local storage. Your plans persist across page refreshes and browser restarts.
Can I plan for more than one week?
Yes. Enable Multi-week calendar in the settings (gear icon). This adds navigation arrows to move between weeks, a Today button to jump back, and a Copy Week button to duplicate your plan to the next week.
- Navigate forward and backward between weeks
- Copy entire week's meals to next week
- Quick jump to current week with Today button
How does the shopping list calculate quantities?
The shopping list collects all ingredients from every meal in your current week's plan. If the same ingredient appears in multiple meals (e.g., chicken in Monday's lunch and Wednesday's dinner), the quantities are added together. Ingredients are automatically categorized by type.
Collect
Gather all ingredients
Combine
Total same ingredients
Categorize
Group by type
Can I add items to the shopping list that are not in any recipe?
Yes. The shopping list includes a Custom Items section at the bottom where you can add any extra items you need to buy. These items are saved and will still be there the next time you open the shopping list.
Examples of custom items: Paper towels, cleaning supplies, pet food, toiletries, or any non-recipe items you need from the store.
How does Random Fill work?
Random Fill picks meals from your library and places them into empty slots on the grid. It tries to match meal types first — if you have meals tagged as "Breakfast" in your library, those will be placed in Breakfast slots. If no matching type is found, it picks from the entire library.
Can I use custom names for meal types?
Yes. Open settings (gear icon in the grid corner) and type a custom label in the text field next to any meal type. For example, rename "Breakfast" to "Morning" or "Snack" to "Dessert". You can also hide meal types you do not use.
- Personalize labels to match your lifestyle
- Use terminology that makes sense to you
- Hide unused meal types to simplify your view
Is my data shared with anyone?
No. Everything runs entirely in your browser. Your meal plans, library, and shopping lists are never uploaded to any server.
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