Back to School, Back to Routine: Menu Planning with a Little Help from AI

As the holidays come to an end and the new school term approaches, many families begin to feel that familiar urge to get organised. The aim? Less rushing around, more structure—and ideally, menu planning to help prepare before the busy days start. And now, with AI tools entering the scene, there’s an entirely new way to get help.

For many households, back to routine means getting back into menu planning.

It’s one of the simplest ways to reduce daily decision fatigue, save money, and bring a bit of calm to chaotic evenings, especially when the plan is flexible, realistic, and built around what your family actually eats.

But even with the best intentions, we often find ourselves:

• Staring into the fridge at 6 pm with no plan.

• Falling back on last-minute food delivery orders.

• Cycling through the same five dinners on repeat.

• Endlessly scrolling for inspiration that never quite fits.

And now, AI has joined the conversation — giving us a whole new way to tackle menu planning. Whether it’s through apps or chatbots, it can whip up recipes, shopping lists, and meal ideas faster than you can say “What’s for dinner?”

But is AI actually helpful? Or just another thing that sounds good in theory, but doesn’t quite work for real-life families with picky eaters, sensory needs, or cultural food preferences?

In this blog, I’ll walk you through:

• 3 ways AI can support your meal planning;

• 3 things to watch out for;

• A simple AI prompt you can try today;

• My top meal planning tips;

• And a free downloadable meal planning guide to help you get started.

3 Ways AI Can Help with Meal Planning

1. It Gets the Ball Rolling

Sometimes the hardest part is just getting started. AI can give you a few quick suggestions, even if only one or two are helpful, it’s often enough to spark an idea or remind you of something you’d forgotten. Even if four out of five ideas are off, that one good one might save dinner.

2. Personalised, Actionable Ideas in Seconds

With the right prompts, AI can suggest meal ideas that suit your family’s needs, whether you're catering for gluten-free, vegetarian, or sensory-sensitive eaters. Some tools even generate shopping lists and recipes, which means less mental load.

3. It Adds Variety Without the Overwhelm

If you’re stuck rotating the same five meals (because they work), AI can gently expand your options. It’s excellent at suggesting similar meals with minor tweaks, like swapping the protein or cooking method, so things stay familiar, but don’t get boring. This is very useful for reducing the mental load when feeding a family, especially if you have limited capacity, e.g. neurodivergent parents, parents with chronic diseases or disabilities.

3 Drawbacks to Keep in Mind

1. It Doesn’t Know Your Family (or Your Child’s Sensory Profile)

Even the best AI prompts can struggle to account for your family’s unique needs. Whether your child avoids certain textures, prefers deconstructed meals, or has strong sensory preferences, most AI tools won’t get it right, unless you spell everything out in detail. And even then… it often misses the mark.

Sometimes the combinations are just… off. Too dry. Too saucy. Not very appetising, or just unrealistic for busy families. My one client told me the following:

I find AI-generated menus often feel overly Americanised and disconnected from the flavours, routines, and cultural food traditions my family enjoys. It’s helpful for ideas, but it doesn’t always feel like "our" food.

Some platforms are improving in how they handle neurodivergence, cultural food norms, and dietary needs, but there's still a long way to go.

2. It Takes Time and Effort to ‘Train’ It

To get useful results, you need to know how to prompt it well. That means learning how to ask the right questions, give feedback, and refine your requests. It’s not impossible, but it does take time and trial and error, which might not be realistic when you're already juggling a million things and not very tech-savvy. Sometimes it's just easier to get the job done yourself.

3. Mistakes Creep In

If there is one thing we all have learned, it is that AI isn’t perfect. From missing ingredients in shopping lists to odd portion sizes or confusing nutrition data, there’s plenty of room for error. This is especially worrying when it comes to creating specialist menu ideas for allergies or medical conditions.

And while it can help generate ideas, it doesn’t always apply innovative meal planning strategies - the kind that factor in practical leftovers, shared ingredients, or how real-life families eat.

That’s the skill I’ve spent years learning, testing, and refining with families—and it’s where I believe human insight still matters most.

What About Paid Meal Planning Apps?

Alongside AI, there are now dozens of subscription meal planning and menu apps that mainly use AI technology. Some families love them — especially those that offer built-in recipes, grocery list syncing, or even direct links to online shopping. They can be a real time-saver if you like having everything in one place.

A few of the most well-known menu planning apps include:

• Plan to Eat – A recipe-clipping and meal planning tool with a drag-and-drop calendar. Great for those who like to organise recipes in one place.

• EatLove – A more structured platform that generates personalised meal plans and grocery lists, sometimes used by health professionals with clients.

• Mealime – Popular for quick recipe suggestions and automatic shopping lists, designed for weeknight dinners.

• Let’s Foodie – A newer app with a clean interface and curated recipe database, aimed at making everyday cooking simpler and more approachable.

  
  

Like AI tools, these aren’t a perfect fit for every family. Many are subscription-based, most are US-based, and they often don’t sync with local shopping platforms here in Singapore (or across Asia). Some also have limited flexibility for picky eaters, sensory preferences, or cultural food traditions.

If you’re someone who enjoys structure and doesn’t mind adapting recipes, they can be useful. But in my experience, most parents do best with a mix of tools — a little digital support, paired with the flexibility to adapt meals to their unique family routines.

Want to Try It? Here’s an AI Prompt You Can Use Today

You can paste this prompt into your favourite AI tool to get quick, tailored meal ideas:

You are a professional chef and a budget-savvy home cook. Suggest a simple dinner for a family with two adults and ___ kids. I only have 20 minutes and the following ingredients: [list your ingredients].

Tweak the Prompt to Make It Work for You

The real magic of AI isn’t in copying a perfect prompt, it’s in adapting it to your life. If the first answer doesn’t quite fit, try adjusting your request. You might add:

• Avoid spicy foods.

• Make it a meal that can be deconstructed for a selective eater.

• Keep it simple. I have limited kitchen equipment.

• Meals should be nut-free.

• I want to use leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

  
  

You’re allowed to ask for exactly what you need. Don’t be afraid to rephrase, add more details, or even say what didn’t work in the first reply. AI gets better with feedback, and you don’t have to settle for a meal plan that doesn’t feel doable.

My Real-Life Menu Planning Tips (That Don’t Require Perfection)

After years of working with families, developing meal plans for schools and events, and navigating my own busy household, these are the strategies I come back to again and again. They’re simple, adaptable, and, most importantly, realistic.

Use Meal Themes

Think “Pasta Night,” “DIY Bowls,” or “Soup & Sandwich Sunday.” Themes give structure without boxing you in, and make it easier to brainstorm meals quickly.

Tweak, Don’t Reinvent

Most families have about 10–15 meals that work. Once you have a few themes you like, create 2–3 variations per theme. For example, you might be used to serving a Tex-Mex DIY Bowl in Week 1. For week 2, tweak this to a Mediterranean-style bowl. And week 3, a Salmon Poke Bowl.

Don’t Plan All 7 Nights

Start by planning just 3–4 dinners. Leave room for leftovers, takeaway, or flexible “whatever’s in the fridge” nights. Over-planning often leads to frustration and food waste.

Always Include a ‘Safe’ Element

Whether it’s plain rice, wrap chips, or scrambled eggs, making sure that there is one part of the meal that suits everyone (especially selective eaters) helps reduce stress. This doesn’t have to perfectly match the meal, and can be served as a side dish that doesn’t draw too much attention.

NOTE: For children with eating disorders like ARFID, menu planning often needs to look different. Having the appropriate professional support in place can help you find strategies that truly work for your child and family.

Plan Before the Week Begins

Spending just 15–30 minutes on the weekend to plan your meals and write the grocery list can save hours of stress during the week.

Make it a little “me-time” ritual. Take your phone or notebook and sit by the pool, or grab your favourite bench next to the football field. I like to reward myself when I’m done (hello, takeaway coffee).

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to give you a head start.

These tips (and more!) are included in my Free Meal Planning Guide, along with templates and flexible dinner ideas to bring calm and rhythm to your week.

 

My Updated Free Meal Planning Guide Is Here!

If you’ve ever said:

“I want to plan meals, but don’t know where to start.”

“My kids all eat differently—how do I make one meal work?”

“I don’t want anything too rigid or complicated.”

This guide was made for you.

Inside you’ll find:

✔️ 5 easy-to-rotate dinner categories

✔️ A flexible weekly template

✔️ Tips for variety, leftovers, and picky eaters

👉 Grab your free copy here

Need Help Creating a Personalised Meal Plan That Works for Your Family?

AI can be a great tool. It can personalise meal planning based on your preferences. But it can’t replace human insight and lived experience.

If you want individualised strategies for yourself or your helper, I can help you build a flexible structure that works for your family. From custom recipes to shopping lists, visual templates to sensory-friendly routines, we’ll reduce the overwhelm and create a plan that fits.

👉 Book a free discovery call here and let’s chat.

Final Thought

Menu planning is just that: a tool. Not a test. Not a measure of how “together” you are as a parent.

The goal isn’t perfection. It’s about making sustainable changes that work better for your family — and having one less thing to worry about.

Whether your meals are planned in a spreadsheet, scribbled on the back of an envelope, or figured out five minutes before dinner, you’re feeding your family. That counts.

If AI helps you do that with less stress? Amazing. If not, your instincts are still your best guide.

Use AI as inspiration, not instruction.

And always trust that you know your family best.