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Meal Planning

Plan your meals for the week or month with momoChef's intuitive meal planner. Never wonder "what's for dinner?" again.

Calendar View Overview

The meal planning calendar gives you a visual overview of your meals. Access it by clicking Meal Plans in the sidebar.

Calendar Layout

The calendar displays one week at a time by default:

  • Columns: Each day of the week
  • Rows: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks
  • Recipe Cards: Shows the recipe name, photo, and prep time

Navigation

  • Use the arrow buttons to navigate between weeks
  • Click Today to jump to the current week
  • Use the date picker to jump to a specific date
  • Toggle between Week and Month view

Multiple Meal Plans

Create separate meal plans for different purposes:

  • Family dinner plan
  • Work lunch prep
  • Special event planning
  • Holiday meal scheduling
Tip: Color-code your meal plans to easily identify them at a glance.

Adding Meals

There are several ways to add recipes to your meal plan.

Click to Add

  1. Click on any empty meal slot on the calendar
  2. A recipe picker will appear
  3. Search for a recipe or browse your recipe books
  4. Click on a recipe to add it

Drag and Drop

  1. Open the recipe picker by clicking Add Recipe
  2. Drag a recipe from the picker onto any meal slot
  3. The recipe will be added to that slot

From Recipe Page

  1. Open any recipe
  2. Click Add to Meal Plan
  3. Select the date and meal type
  4. The recipe is added to your plan

Adding Leftovers

Mark a meal as leftovers to indicate you're having something from a previous meal:

  • Click on a meal slot
  • Select Mark as Leftovers
  • Optionally link it to the original meal

Adding Notes

Add notes to meal slots for non-recipe meals:

  • Click on a meal slot
  • Select Add Note
  • Enter text like "Eating out" or "Ordering pizza"

Drag and Drop Scheduling

Easily reorganize your meal plan by dragging recipes between slots.

Moving Meals

  • Click and hold on a recipe card
  • Drag it to a new slot on the calendar
  • Release to drop it in place
  • The original slot becomes empty

Swapping Meals

  • Drag a recipe onto another recipe
  • The two recipes will swap positions

Copying Meals

  • Hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) while dragging
  • The recipe will be copied instead of moved
  • Great for scheduling leftovers or repeated meals

Removing Meals

  • Drag a recipe off the calendar
  • Or click the X on the recipe card
  • Or right-click and select Remove
Tip: Plan leftovers efficiently by copying dinner to the next day's lunch slot.

Recurring Meals (Premium)

Set up recurring meal patterns to automate your planning. This is a Premium feature.

Creating a Recurring Meal

  1. Add a recipe to a meal slot
  2. Click the Repeat icon on the recipe card
  3. Choose how often to repeat:
    • Weekly: Same day each week (e.g., every Tuesday)
    • Bi-weekly: Every two weeks
    • Monthly: Same date each month
  4. Set an end date or number of occurrences
  5. Click Save

Recurring Meal Ideas

  • Taco Tuesday: Set up weekly tacos
  • Pizza Friday: Weekly homemade pizza night
  • Meal Prep Sunday: Batch cooking session
  • Date Night: Special dinner every other Saturday

Managing Recurring Meals

Recurring meals are indicated by a repeat icon. To modify:

  • Click on the meal to see the recurrence settings
  • Edit the current occurrence only, or all future occurrences
  • Delete a single occurrence or the entire series

Calendar Export

Export your meal plan to your favorite calendar app for easy access.

Export Options

  • iCal/ICS: Works with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more
  • Google Calendar: Direct export to Google Calendar
  • Share Link: Create a read-only link to share with family

Exporting to iCal

  1. Click the Export button in the meal plan toolbar
  2. Select Export to Calendar (iCal)
  3. Choose the date range to export
  4. Download the .ics file or copy the subscription URL
  5. Import into your calendar app

Subscribe to Meal Plan

For automatic updates, use the subscription URL:

  1. Copy the subscription URL from the export menu
  2. In your calendar app, add a new subscription calendar
  3. Paste the URL
  4. Your calendar will automatically update when you change your meal plan

Calendar Event Details

Exported events include:

  • Recipe name as the event title
  • Meal time (if set) or all-day
  • Recipe link in the event description
  • Prep and cook time information

AI Meal Suggestions

Get smart meal suggestions powered by AI to help plan your week.

Accessing AI Suggestions

  1. Click the AI Suggest button in the meal plan toolbar
  2. Choose what you want help with:
    • Fill empty slots for the week
    • Suggest meals for a specific day
    • Plan based on what's in your pantry
  3. Review the suggestions
  4. Click to add any suggestion to your plan

How Suggestions Work

The AI considers several factors when making suggestions:

  • Your preferences: Dietary restrictions, cuisine preferences
  • Seasonality: Appropriate meals for the time of year
  • Variety: Avoids repeating the same meals
  • Balance: Mix of quick meals and more involved cooking
  • Your history: Recipes you've enjoyed before

Customizing Suggestions

Provide additional context for better suggestions:

  • "I need quick dinners under 30 minutes"
  • "Looking for vegetarian options"
  • "I have chicken and broccoli to use up"
  • "Something kid-friendly for tonight"
Tip: The more you use momoChef, the better the AI suggestions become as it learns your preferences.

Nutrition Tracking

Track calories and macros for your planned meals.

Setting Nutrition Goals

  1. Go to Settings > Nutrition Goals
  2. Set your daily calorie target
  3. Set macro targets (protein, carbs, fat)
  4. Goals appear as a progress bar in your meal plan

Viewing Daily Totals

See nutrition totals for each day:

  • Calories and macros for all planned meals
  • Progress toward your daily goals
  • Breakdown by meal

Meal Plan Templates (Premium)

Save and reuse meal plan layouts.

Creating a Template

  1. Plan out a week of meals
  2. Click Save as Template
  3. Give your template a name
  4. The template is saved for future use

Using a Template

  1. Click Apply Template
  2. Choose from your saved templates
  3. The template fills in your meal slots
  4. Customize as needed

Adding to Grocery List

Generate a grocery list from your meal plan with one click.

Creating a Grocery List

  1. In your meal plan, click Add to Grocery List
  2. Select the date range (e.g., this week)
  3. Choose which meal types to include
  4. Review the consolidated ingredient list
  5. Add to an existing list or create a new one

Smart Consolidation

When multiple recipes use the same ingredient, momoChef:

  • Combines quantities automatically (2 cups + 1 cup = 3 cups)
  • Converts units for easier shopping
  • Groups items by grocery store aisle

See the Grocery Lists guide for more details.

Meal Planning Tips

  • Plan with sales in mind: Check grocery store flyers before planning to take advantage of deals.
  • Cook once, eat twice: Plan for leftovers. Double recipes that reheat well for lunch the next day.
  • Theme nights: Taco Tuesday, Pasta Thursday - themes reduce decision fatigue.
  • Keep backups: Always have a few quick 15-minute meals for busy days.
  • Prep ahead: Schedule prep time for ingredients you can prepare in advance.

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