As controversial as AI is, let’s be real: it can be super helpful at times – especially for busy moms trying to prioritize their health and get dinner on the table every night. Let’s go over how to use ChatGPT to create detailed grocery lists and meal plans to save time, reduce stress, make grocery shopping easier and promote overall health.
While AI is out here trying to steal all of our jobs, I actually find ChatGPT to be very useful and I enjoy communicating with “it”. It can be a helpful tool in your toolbox of things that make your life easier and healthier. ChatGPT played a big role in writing this post, too.
I try to answer all those questions you might have regarding the best prompts to use and some lesser-known secrets to maximize ChatGPT’s potential for meal planning/grocery lists, customized weight loss plans and other health needs. This is a very long overview of how to get the most out of ChatGPT with the potential downfalls as well.
How ChatGPT Can Help with Meal Planning & Health
The are endless ways you can use ChatGPT to make your life as a mom easier and help you with various health goals like weight loss or increasing protein and fiber intake.
- Custom grocery lists in seconds.
- Budget-friendly meal planning.
- Customized Meal Plans tailored to your specific health goals, like high protein, low sugar, or anti-inflammatory. It can even create weight loss meal plans as well. Example Prompt: “Create a 7-day meal plan with 120g protein per day for a busy mom.”
- Meal Prep Ideas: Save time and eat healthier by prepping meals in advance.
- Nutrition guidance, like healthy snack ideas. “Give me high-protein, low-sugar snack ideas“ for busy moms.”
- Food Substitutions: Swap less healthy ingredients for better options. Example Prompt: “What’s a healthy substitute for sour cream?”
- Hydration Reminders & Ideas: Get creative ways to drink more water.
- Encouragement & Motivation: Get reminders and pep talks when you need them.
Example Prompt: “Give me a motivational message to keep me focused on my health goals.”
Using AI to Create Meal Plans with Grocery Lists
ChatGPT can create custom grocery lists for you and your family – even listing the cost of each meal, offering budget tips, or grocery lists tailored to specific health goals or dietary preferences. It’s pretty insane, however, it all comes down to the right prompt.
If your goal is to use ChatGPT for weight loss meal planning, scroll down and I go over in detail how to do that.
The Best Tips When Assembling a Meal Plan With Grocery List
Be very specific about your needs.
The more specific you are with your prompt, the more likely the meal plan and grocery list will actually work for you and your family. You can even write paragraphs about your family with important details. List how many weeks you want the meal plan for, go into detail about your daily life, schedule, any days of the week that require very minimal cooking.
ChatGPT will also complement pantry or fridge items that you already have on hand if you list them.
Make sure to list allergies and dietary preferences.
If there are allergies or intolerances in the family, ChatGPT can customize each meal plan based on those details. Also think cultural preferences, cooking style (do you need easy meals? Minimal cook meals?), and cooking appliances you have on hand.
Give ChatGPT a budget, if needed.
With the cost of groceries these days, ChatGPT makes it a little easier to consume budget-friendly meals. You can even give it a specific dollar amount per day or per week.
Ask for an organized list by category
A messy list makes shopping harder! Instead, request items grouped by section (produce, dairy, pantry, proteins, etc.).
Example Prompt: “Create a grocery list for these meals and organize it by store sections: produce, dairy, protein, pantry, frozen, etc.”
Organize By Store Aisle
Tell ChatGPT to organize the grocery list in order of store aisles but give it your specific store location. This might not always be accurate but it can help budget-wise.
Example Prompts
It may take some trial and error to figure out exactly what you want out of ChatGPT – and what specific prompts to use. The more you use ChatGPT, the more it will get to know your preferences.
Most of the time, ChatGPT’s ideas are very, very basic with little instruction on how to prepare the meals.
- Very basic prompt: I have a family of four: me, my husband, and two girls under the age of 6. Make a 2 week detailed meal plan with grocery lists included featuring 5 homemade dinners, easy lunches, and healthy breakfasts.
- More specific prompt, more detailed response: Create a one week high protein meal plan (120 grams of protein per day) for my husband and I listing the calories per day, amount of protein per meal as well as very specific instructions for each meal. I would like some of the breakfasts to be super easy to meal prep and store in the fridge for grab-and-go. I would prefer leftovers for lunch the next day but for one day only. We also like to have a big breakfast on Sundays.
- Very basic prompt: create a 5-day dinner meal plan with high-protein meals for a family of four.
- More detailed prompt: create a 5-day dinner meal plan for a family of four for less than $100 total. Each dinner should have at least 20 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per serving. Two out of five of the meals chicken, one beef, and one pork. We do not like quinoa. Also, one of the days should be very little prep. Please create a detailed grocery list and list the price of each meal as well.
So, I asked the above prompt and it actually did not give me a grocery list. I had to request the grocery list again. The response: Prices are estimated based on average U.S. grocery costs and may vary by location. You can give it an exact location for a better estimate.
More Prompts for Meal Planning
- “Make a grocery list for the following meals: [insert meals].” ChatGPT will create grocery lists for you if you drop links from recipe blogs! I did this and it is a game-changer! You could plan your whole meal plan yourself and have ChatGPT just make the grocery list.
- “I have chicken, bell peppers, and rice. What can I make for dinner?”
- “Give me three easy and balanced lunch ideas for my kids.”
- Instead of planning day by day, ask ChatGPT to design a weekly meal prep plan so you can cook once and eat all week
- “Suggest a week of high-fiber breakfasts.” Then, once you approve of the breakfast ideas, ask ChatGPT to then create a grocery list for them.
Other Useful Prompts When Creating Grocery Lists
Optimize for seasonal and sale items. Example prompts:
- Make a grocery list with mostly seasonal ingredients for spring.” –> This is very basic – use this prompt but add some detail.
- “Create a budget grocery list with affordable, in-season produce.”
Plan for Batch Cooking and Leftovers
Example: instead of planning day by day, ask ChatGPT to design a weekly meal prep plan so you can cook once and eat all week.
Basic prompts for this per ChatGPT:
- “Give me a grocery list for batch cooking three meals that will last all week.”
- “I want a grocery list for meals that use the same ingredients in different ways.”
- “What are some healthy summer meals my kids will love too?”
- “Create a 5-day meal plan with grill-friendly, high-protein, and fresh summer meals.”
- “What are some picnic-friendly, nutrient-packed meals I can bring to the beach or park?”
- “Give me a meal prep plan where I cook 3 proteins, 3 veggies, and 3 carbs at the start of the week for easy meals.”
If you don’t get exactly what you are looking for, keep chatting and giving more details. The more it gets to know you, the easier it becomes. It’s really quite insane.
Using ChatGPT for Weight Loss Meal Plans
ChatGPT can be your nutritionist and create custom meal plans based on your preferences, lifestyle, and health goals. As I said earlier, there are some downfalls and can be a useful tool in the toolbox.
You’re going to use a lot of the same principles as listed above. I will go over some different prompts and what happened to me when I used them below.
Example Prompts for Specific Meal Plans
Again, be as detailed as possible. For example,”create a 7-day Summer Glow-Up Meal Plan with fresh, hydrating, and high-nutrient meals” will result in a very general, basic response.
Below is a more specific prompt which gave me itemized lists with the grams of protein for each food. Surprisingly, the macro breakdown appeared pretty accurate, too.
- Create a 4 week meal plan to promote weight loss with detailed grocery lists for a 37 year old female, 140 pounds, 5 feet 4 inches. List specific portion sizes, calories, and protein content for each food. Please give detailed instructions for meals with a few easy options for breakfast and dinner to choose from. Leftovers preferred for lunch for most days with the exception of 1-2 meal prep recipes.
Here is what ChatGPT said to me after this prompt.
“Here’s a 4-Week Weight Loss Meal Plan designed for a 37-year-old female, 140 lbs, 5’4” aiming for a balanced, sustainable calorie deficit with high-protein, fiber-rich meals to keep her full and energized. The plan focuses on whole foods, hydration, and easy meal prep while being mom-friendly.”
Again, my ChatGPT sort of knows me and that I focus on protein and fiber – and that I am a busy mom. So, if yours doesn’t know that about you yet – be sure to fill in those details. How many kids, your occupation, work schedule, physical activity level. All the things!
It gave me an estimate of 1600-1700 calories per day which is also relatively accurate. So, if you don’t have a specific calorie goal in mind be sure to list your height, weight, activity level, gender, and any other important information.
I might also get even more specific and state the grams of protein as well as the grams of fiber each day. However, it did a pretty good job for both nutrients.
Example ChatGPT Response #1
Here is a ChatGPT response prior to requesting specific calorie and protein breakdown for each food. You can see it is very basic and general. How much yogurt? What is the portion of chia seeds or almonds?
ChatGPT More Specific Response
Alright, so I asked ChatGPT to list the calories and protein as well as the portion size for each food – and I got a more detailed response. As you can see, though, it only listed the protein for the grilled chicken and the turkey breast!
Here is where you have to be careful with using AI – feta cheese, walnuts, hummus and the whole wheat wrap have protein in them! As you can see, though, it is not listed – even when I asked it to list the protein in each food item.
As long as you are aware of this, ChatGPT can be a great tool but will make mistakes. I would probably call ChatGPT out for this in my next prompt. “Why didn’t you list the protein in the foods that are not animal protein sources?”.
What ChatGPT Told Me For Best Results
1. Be Clear About Your Goals
- Are you looking for weight loss, muscle gain, improved energy, or general health?
- How much weight do you want to lose (if applicable)?
- Do you want a calorie target (e.g., 1,500 kcal/day) or just balanced meals?
2. Share Your Daily Protein, Carb, and Fat Needs (If You Know Them!)
If you track macros, let me know:
- Protein: How much per day?
- Carbs & fats: Do you prefer low-carb, balanced, or high-fiber?
If you’re unsure, I can suggest a breakdown based on your weight and activity level!
3. Tell Me Your Lifestyle & Meal Preferences
- How many meals per day? (3 meals + snacks? Or 2 bigger meals?)
- Meal prep or fresh daily? (Do you like grab-and-go options?)
- Quick meals vs. recipes with more variety?
- Favorite proteins? (Chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, etc.)
4. List Any Foods You Dislike or Need to Avoid
- Allergies (gluten, dairy, nuts?)
- Foods you hate (e.g., “I can’t stand quinoa!”)
5. Budget & Grocery Shopping
- Do you want a budget-friendly plan? (e.g., under $100/week)
- Do you shop at a specific store? (Costco, Aldi, Kroger?)
6. Activity Level & Special Needs
- Do you work out? (Strength training, cardio, both?)
- Hormonal balance goals? (PCOS, menopause, postpartum?)
- Energy struggles? (Blood sugar dips, fatigue?)
7. Extra Details for a More Personalized Plan
- Do you want sweet or savory breakfasts?
- How much variety do you like? (Same breakfast all week, or daily changes?)
- Any cultural or regional food preferences?
The More You Share, the More Tailored It Will Be!
The Downfalls of Using ChatGPT for Health
- No personalized medical guidance. ChatGPT can generate meal plans for specific disease conditions, however, it does not take into account lab work, medications, specific dietary needs and other factors that a dietitian takes into account.
- Limited behavior and mindset coaching. This is a big one, in my opinion. ChatGPT can provide habit-building tips but lacks the ability to offer real-time accountability or emotional support for struggles with emotional eating, binge cycles, or disordered eating. It also doesn’t have the motivational interviewing skills a nutritionist or dietitian might have help change our mindset. If you are someone who already has the right mindset and motivation, using ChatGPT can be useful.
- No real time adjustments based on progress.
- Doesn’t address family and lifestyle adjustments well.
Other Fun Ideas to Support Your Health
Here are a few other ideas you could try using ChatGPT.
Vitamins and Supplement Recommendations
You can list all of the supplements you are taking and ask ChatGPT for suggestions or review for duplicates. It can also offer suggestions based on specific details. Consult your physician or dietitian first – but ChatGPT can be a better solution than buying supplements blindly or based on some wellness influencers.
Use ChatGPT to Reverse Engineer Family Favorites into Healthier Versions
Instead of searching for “healthy recipes,” let ChatGPT analyze your family’s favorite meals and suggest healthier ingredient swaps without changing the taste too much.
- Swap heavy cream for Greek yogurt or cashew cream
- Use chickpea pasta for extra protein & fiber
- Add grilled chicken or shrimp for protein
- Blend cauliflower into the sauce for hidden nutrients
Use ChatGPT to Track Nutrients for Family Health Goals
According to ChatGPT, it will analyze your intake for you. Per ChatGPT: if you’re tracking macros or fiber for weight loss, gut health, or muscle gain, let ChatGPT calculate everything for you. I would definitely question the accuracy of this, though, and use an app like Cronometer for more detail.
What are your favorite tips and tricks when using ChatGPT? Let me know in the comments! I feel like we are just getting started and it will be very interesting to see what else you can do with it!