Dinner, Planned - How It Works

How It Works

Dinner, Planned helps your household plan weekly dinners together. Everyone in the family can mark what they do and don't eat, favorite the meals they love, and see what's for dinner each night.

📖 1. Add Your Recipes Snap a photo, paste a URL, or type them in. Set preferences like favorites and who won't eat what.

🪄 2. Plan the Week Set who's home each night, then let the system suggest a varied menu.

🛒 3. Shop & Cook! Get an organized grocery list, see what's for dinner, and give feedback after meals.

Getting Started

Create Your Account

Go to the app and click Create Account.
Enter your email, a password, and your beta access code.
You'll be prompted to create a household — give it a name (e.g., "The Johnsons") and list your family members by first name.

Invite Your Partner

Your household has an invite code — you'll see it in the top-right corner of the app. Click it to copy, then share it with your partner. They create their own account and enter the invite code on the household setup screen to join.

      Each person logs in with their own email, but everyone in the household shares the same recipes and meal plans.
    

The App

The app has four tabs: This Week, Manage Recipes, Plan Week, and Grocery List.

📅 This Week

Your home screen. Shows the committed meal plan for the current week. Click any meal to see the full recipe. Use the Feedback button on each meal to mark favorites, flag who won't eat it, or set it as make-ahead — this helps the planner make better suggestions over time.

✎ Manage Recipes

Add recipes to your household and manage your collection. You can:

Scan a photo — Take a picture of a cookbook page or screenshot and the app reads the recipe automatically.
Paste a URL — Link to a recipe blog or site, and it pulls in the recipe.
Type it in — Fill in the name, ingredients, and directions manually.
Import a file — Upload a JSON, CSV, or Paprika export to bulk-import recipes.
Try sample recipes — Load curated recipe packs to try the app before adding your own.

Each recipe card shows preferences at a glance. You can mark favorites, flag who won't eat a dish, set recipes as make-ahead, or edit and delete recipes.

🪄 Plan the Week

The weekly planner lets you set up each day:

Set who's home — Check the family members who'll be eating that night.
Mark special days — Set days as "skip" (eating out) or "leftovers" (no new cooking needed). Flag "make ahead" days for recipes that can be prepped in advance.
Suggest Meals — Hit the button and the system picks a balanced menu. It avoids repeating proteins, skips meals that someone at the table doesn't eat, and favors your favorites.
Add sides — Optionally note side dishes for each meal (these get added to your grocery list too).
Commit — When you're happy, hit "Commit This Plan" to publish it for the household.

🛒 Grocery List

Automatically generated from your committed meal plan. Ingredients are organized by store section (Produce, Meat, Dairy, Pantry, Spices), combined across recipes, and cleaned up so you see what to buy — not recipe measurements. You can edit or remove any item, and add extra items like staples.

How the Meal Suggester Works

When you hit "Suggest Meals," the system scores every eligible recipe for each day:

Who's home — Recipes are excluded if anyone at the table has it marked as "won't eat."
Make-ahead days — Only make-ahead-flagged recipes are suggested for these days.
Protein variety — The system tracks proteins (chicken, beef, pork, seafood, tofu, pasta, etc.) and penalizes repeats within the week.
Recent history — Meals served in the last few weeks get a penalty to keep things fresh.
Favorites — Favorited recipes get a score boost.

The result is a varied, balanced menu that respects your family's preferences without you having to think about it.

FAQ

Can multiple people plan the week?: Yes! Anyone in the household can edit the plan. The last person to "Commit" publishes the plan for everyone.
What if I want to change a meal after committing?: Just go back to "Plan Week," make your changes, and commit again. The new plan replaces the old one.
Can I see past weeks?: Yes — This Week, Plan Week, and Grocery List all have previous/next week navigation.
How do I remove a recipe?: Go to Manage Recipes, find the recipe, and click Delete. Deleted recipes won't appear in future suggestions.
Is my data shared with other households?: No. Each household's recipes, preferences, and meal plans are completely private.
How do I invite more family members?: Click the invite code in the top-right corner of the app to copy it. Share it with anyone you'd like to join your household.