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Meal Planning

Sharp Cooking’s meal planning feature helps you organize your week, reduce decision fatigue, and streamline grocery shopping. Plan breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for the entire week, then generate shopping lists automatically.

This guide will show you how to create meal plans, use the calendar effectively, and make the most of this time-saving feature.

What is Meal Planning? {#what}

Meal planning in Sharp Cooking is a visual weekly calendar where you assign recipes to specific days and meals. Instead of asking “What’s for dinner?” every night, you plan ahead and always know what’s coming.

Benefits of Meal Planning

Save time:

  • Decide once per week instead of daily
  • Shop once with a complete list
  • Reduce trips to the grocery store
  • Streamline meal prep

Save money:

  • Buy only what you need
  • Reduce food waste
  • Take advantage of sales and bulk buying
  • Avoid expensive last-minute takeout

Eat healthier:

  • Plan balanced meals
  • Ensure variety throughout the week
  • Accommodate dietary needs
  • Control portions and ingredients

Reduce stress:

  • No more “What’s for dinner?” panic
  • Family knows what to expect
  • Easy to coordinate schedules
  • Clear plan to follow

Getting Started with Meal Planning {#getting-started}

Requirements

To use meal planning, you need:

  • A free Sharp Cooking account (create one here)
  • At least a few recipes in your collection
  • A few minutes to plan your week

Accessing the Meal Planner

From the app:

  1. Open Sharp Cooking
  2. Tap Meal Plan in the main navigation
  3. You’ll see the current week’s calendar

From the web:

  1. Go to app.sharpcooking.com
  2. Sign in to your account
  3. Click Meal Plan in the sidebar

Planning Your Week {#planning}

The Weekly View

The meal planner shows 7 days with 4 meal slots per day:

  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Snacks

By default, you see the current week (Monday through Sunday). Use the arrows to navigate to future or past weeks.

Adding a Recipe to a Meal Slot

Method 1: Drag and Drop (Desktop)

  1. Find the recipe you want in your collection
  2. Drag it to the desired day and meal slot
  3. Drop it - it’s now scheduled!

Method 2: Click to Add (Mobile & Desktop)

  1. Tap an empty meal slot
  2. Search or browse your recipe collection
  3. Select a recipe
  4. It’s added to that meal

Method 3: From a Recipe Page

  1. Open any recipe
  2. Tap the calendar icon or Add to meal plan
  3. Choose the day and meal
  4. Tap Add

Moving Recipes Around

Already planned but need to change?

Drag and drop (desktop):

  • Drag a planned recipe to a different day or meal
  • It moves instantly

Tap and move (mobile):

  1. Tap and hold a planned recipe
  2. Select Move
  3. Choose the new day and meal
  4. Tap Move here

Removing from Meal Plan

To remove a recipe from a planned meal:

  1. Tap the planned recipe
  2. Select Remove from meal plan
  3. The slot is now empty

This doesn’t delete the recipe - it just unschedules it from that meal.

Planning Strategies {#strategies}

Strategy 1: Theme Nights

Assign themes to different days to simplify decision-making:

  • Monday: Meatless Monday (vegetarian recipes)
  • Tuesday: Taco Tuesday (Mexican cuisine)
  • Wednesday: One-Pot Wednesday (easy cleanup)
  • Thursday: Throwback Thursday (comfort food classics)
  • Friday: Pizza Friday (homemade or takeout)
  • Saturday: Slow-Cooker Saturday (set it and forget it)
  • Sunday: Meal Prep Sunday (batch cooking for the week)

Strategy 2: Batch Cooking

Plan recipes that make great leftovers:

  1. Sunday: Make a big batch of chili (8 servings)
  2. Monday dinner: Chili
  3. Wednesday lunch: Leftover chili
  4. Thursday: Freeze remaining portions for later

Best recipes for batch cooking:

  • Soups and stews
  • Casseroles
  • Pasta bakes
  • Curries
  • Grain bowls

Strategy 3: Ingredient Overlap

Plan meals that share ingredients to reduce waste:

Example week:

  • Monday: Chicken stir-fry (bell peppers, broccoli)
  • Tuesday: Chicken fajitas (bell peppers, onions)
  • Wednesday: Veggie fried rice (broccoli, carrots)
  • Thursday: Chicken soup (leftover chicken, carrots, celery)

You buy bell peppers, broccoli, and chicken once and use them across multiple meals.

Strategy 4: Progressive Meals

Use components from one meal in the next:

  1. Sunday: Roast a whole chicken
  2. Monday: Chicken sandwiches (breast meat)
  3. Tuesday: Chicken fried rice (thigh meat)
  4. Wednesday: Chicken soup (carcass for broth, leftover meat)

Strategy 5: Flexible Planning

Leave some meals unplanned for flexibility:

  • Plan dinners only (most important meal)
  • Leave 1-2 nights open for leftovers or eating out
  • Plan breakfasts and lunches loosely
  • Have “backup” recipes for when plans change

Working with Shopping Lists {#shopping-lists}

One of the best features of meal planning is automatic shopping list generation.

Generating a Shopping List

  1. Plan your meals for the week
  2. Go to Meal Plan view
  3. Tap Generate shopping list
  4. Sharp Cooking combines ingredients from all planned recipes
  5. Duplicate ingredients are consolidated (e.g., “2 cups flour” + “1 cup flour” = “3 cups flour”)
  6. Review and edit the list
  7. Take it to the store or send to your phone

Learn more: See the Shopping Lists guide for details.

Practical Meal Planning Scenarios {#scenarios}

Scenario 1: Busy Working Parent

Your situation: Full-time job, two kids, need quick weeknight meals but want healthy home-cooked food.

Your plan:

  • Sunday: Batch cook 2-3 recipes for the week
  • Monday-Thursday: Quick 30-minute meals or reheated batch-cooked food
  • Friday: Pizza night (kids’ favorite)
  • Saturday: Family cooking together (more complex recipe)

Sample week:

  • Sunday: Prep chicken stir-fry (4 servings), lasagna (8 servings)
  • Monday: Chicken stir-fry (fresh)
  • Tuesday: Lasagna (reheat)
  • Wednesday: Grilled cheese + tomato soup (15 min)
  • Thursday: Leftover lasagna
  • Friday: Homemade pizza
  • Saturday: Slow-cooker pot roast (family cooks together)

Scenario 2: Meal Prep Enthusiast

Your situation: You like to cook once and eat all week. Efficiency is key.

Your plan:

  • Sunday: Cook everything for the week in one 3-hour session
  • Monday-Friday: Reheat pre-portioned meals
  • Weekend: Eat out or cook fresh

Sample prep:

  1. Make 10 breakfast burritos (freeze individually)
  2. Cook 5 portions of teriyaki chicken + rice
  3. Prep 5 mason jar salads
  4. Bake 12 protein muffins for snacks

Weekly calendar:

  • Every weekday lunch: Mason jar salad + protein muffin
  • Every weekday dinner: Teriyaki chicken + rice (rotate with other batch meals)
  • Every weekday breakfast: Breakfast burrito

Scenario 3: Couple with Different Schedules

Your situation: You eat dinner together, but different lunch schedules. Want variety but minimal waste.

Your plan:

  • Plan dinners only (meals together)
  • Lunches are leftovers from previous dinners
  • Weekend breakfasts are special (pancakes, omelets)
  • Weekday breakfasts are grab-and-go

Sample week:

  • Monday dinner: Pasta primavera (makes 4 servings)
  • Tuesday lunch: Leftover pasta (Person A)
  • Tuesday dinner: Sheet pan chicken (makes 4 servings)
  • Wednesday lunch: Leftover pasta (Person B)
  • Wednesday dinner: Stir-fry (makes 3 servings)
  • Thursday lunch: Leftover chicken (Person A)
  • Thursday dinner: Tacos (fresh, quick)
  • Friday lunch: Leftover stir-fry (Person B)

Scenario 4: Dietary Restrictions

Your situation: One family member is gluten-free, another is vegetarian. Need to accommodate both.

Your plan:

  • Choose recipes that can be easily modified
  • Plan base meals that can be customized
  • Keep gluten-free staples on hand

Sample meals:

  • Taco night: Corn tortillas (GF), seasoned beans (vegetarian), grilled chicken (meat-eaters)
  • Stir-fry: Rice noodles (GF), tofu (vegetarian), shrimp (pescatarian option)
  • Buddha bowls: Rice (GF), variety of proteins and toppings for each person
  • Pizza night: GF crust for one, regular for others; veggie and meat topping options

Advanced Tips {#tips}

Planning for Special Events

Hosting a dinner party:

  1. Add the event to your meal plan
  2. Mark the recipe as “Serves 8” (adjust for guest count)
  3. Generate shopping list a few days ahead
  4. Plan a simple meal for yourself the night before (save energy for party day)

Holiday meals:

  1. Plan your holiday menu weeks in advance
  2. Add all dishes to one day’s meal slots
  3. Generate shopping list
  4. Note which items can be bought ahead vs. day-of
  5. Schedule prep tasks (defrost turkey 3 days before, make pie crust 1 day before, etc.)

Rotating Meal Plans

Create a few “template weeks” you can rotate:

Week A: Comfort food week Week B: Healthy/light week Week C: International flavors week Week D: One-pot meals week

Rotate through these templates, swapping out specific recipes to keep variety.

Seasonal Meal Planning

Plan meals around seasonal produce:

  • Spring: Light salads, grilled vegetables, asparagus dishes
  • Summer: BBQ, cold salads, fresh fruit desserts
  • Fall: Soups, stews, pumpkin recipes, comfort food
  • Winter: Hearty casseroles, slow-cooker meals, warm desserts

Dealing with Plan Changes

Life happens. Meal plans change. Here’s how to adapt:

Last-minute invite out:

  • Move planned recipe to tomorrow or next week
  • Or: Cook it anyway and have leftovers for lunch

Too tired to cook:

  • Swap in a simpler recipe from your “quick meals” collection
  • Or: Order takeout guilt-free (you planned for flexibility)

Unexpected guests:

  • Double the recipe or add a side
  • Use Sharp Cooking’s notes to remember how you adapted it

Ingredient unavailable at store:

  • Substitute within the recipe
  • Swap entire recipe for one with available ingredients
  • Check your pantry for alternatives

Frequently Asked Questions {#faq}

Do I need to plan every single meal? No! Many people only plan dinners. Breakfast and lunch can be simple repeats or flexible.

Can I copy last week’s meal plan? Not yet, but it’s coming! For now, you can recreate favorite weeks manually.

What if I want to plan further than one week ahead? You can! Use the navigation arrows to go to future weeks and add recipes.

Can I share my meal plan with my family? Yes, anyone in your household with app access can see and edit the meal plan (if they have account access).

Does meal planning work for one person? Absolutely! It’s great for reducing food waste and staying organized even cooking for one.

Can I plan just dinners and leave other meals blank? Yes, you don’t have to fill every slot. Plan as much or as little as you want.

What if a recipe doesn’t specify servings? You can edit the recipe to add serving information, or just note it in your shopping list.

Can I add non-recipe items to a meal slot? Not directly, but you can create a simple “recipe” for things like “Takeout pizza” or “Leftovers” as reminders.

How far in advance should I meal plan? Most people plan weekly (Sunday for the week ahead). Some plan bi-weekly. Find what works for you.

Can I plan meals for multiple people with different diets? Yes, you can add multiple recipes to one meal slot (e.g., GF version + regular version).

What happens if I delete a recipe that’s in my meal plan? It’s removed from your meal plan automatically. You’ll see an empty slot.

Can I mark a meal as “cooked” or “completed”? Not currently, but you can remove it from the plan once you’ve made it.

Does the meal plan repeat every week? No, each week is separate. You manually plan each week.

Can I export my meal plan? Yes, you can export as PDF or send to yourself via email from the meal plan view.

Can I use meal planning without creating shopping lists? Yes, they’re separate features. You can plan meals and shop manually if you prefer.

What if I meal plan but then don’t feel like cooking that recipe? Swap it for something else or move it to another day. Meal plans are flexible!

Can I meal plan for breakfast only? Yes, use just the breakfast slot and ignore the others.

How do I plan for leftovers? Add the same recipe to multiple days, or create a “Leftover” placeholder recipe.

Can multiple people edit the meal plan at the same time? Yes, changes sync in real-time across devices.

Do I have to follow my meal plan exactly? No, it’s a guide. Flexibility is built in. Change it as needed.

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