A Practical Guide to AI Cooking and Meal Planning: Menu Planning, Recipe Recommendations, and Ingredient Substitutions All in One

Why Use AI to Assist with Cooking and Meal Planning?

One of the most headache-inducing daily questions is "What to eat today?" After scrolling through delivery apps for half an hour, you still don't know what to order, and when you want to cook, you don't know what groceries to buy. AI can solve these problems—based on your tastes, budget, and number of people, it can quickly plan menus, recommend recipes, and even analyze nutritional content.

You don't need to be a chef, nor do you need any cooking experience. Just tell AI your needs as if chatting with a friend, and it will provide a complete plan.

Step 1: Let AI Plan a Weekly Menu for You

Not knowing what to eat is the most common problem. Let AI create a specific weekly menu based on your situation, saving you the daily struggle.

How to Tell AI?

You need to tell AI a few key pieces of information: how many people, budget, taste preferences, any dietary restrictions. The more specific the information, the better AI's plan will match your needs.

Example Query:

"My girlfriend and I live together, weekday dinner budget is 40 yuan per day, we like home-style dishes, no organ meats. Please plan a five-day dinner menu for the week, simple and easy to make."

AI will give you a plan like this:

• Monday: Tomato Scrambled Eggs + Stir-fried Seasonal Vegetables + Rice
• Tuesday: Cola Chicken Wings + Garlic Broccoli + Rice
• Wednesday: Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes + Pan-fried Tofu + Seaweed Egg Drop Soup
• Thursday: Shredded Pork with Green Peppers + Cucumber Salad + Rice
• Friday: Tomato Beef Brisket Soup + Garlic Lettuce

Advanced Tips

If you have specific health goals (like fat loss, muscle gain), just tell AI. For example: "I'm on a fat loss diet, controlling my daily intake to around 1500 calories, please plan a low-calorie but tasty weekly menu."

Step 2: Let AI Generate Detailed Recipes

Having a menu is not enough—how to actually cook it? AI can give you a detailed recipe, precise to grams, time, and heat level, so even kitchen beginners can follow along.

How to Do It

Method 1: Ask for a Recipe Directly

Tell AI what dish you want to make: "Please give me a detailed recipe for Cola Chicken Wings, including specific quantities, steps, and notes."

Method 2: Photo Recognition

If you see an unfamiliar ingredient at the supermarket, take a photo and send it to AI: "What is this ingredient? How can I cook it?" AI will identify it and give suggestions.

Method 3: Generate Based on Available Ingredients

Open your fridge, see what you have, and tell AI: "I have eggs, tomatoes, tofu, and some greens in the fridge. What dishes can I make? Please give me recipes."

Step 3: Let AI Help You Substitute Ingredients

When cooking, you often encounter "the recipe calls for an ingredient I don't have at home." No need to run to the supermarket again—AI can help you find suitable substitutes.

Common Substitution Scenarios

Scenario 1: Missing a Seasoning

"The recipe calls for oyster sauce, but I don't have any at home, what can I use instead?" AI will tell you that you can substitute with light soy sauce plus a little sugar, with a similar taste.

Scenario 2: Missing a Main Ingredient

"I have a recipe for braised pork ribs, but I only have chicken legs at home. Can I use chicken legs? How to adjust?" AI will help you adjust quantities and cooking time.

Scenario 3: Healthier Substitution

"I want to make a low-calorie version of braised pork belly, what's a good substitute for the pork belly?" AI will recommend using pork shoulder or skinless chicken thighs, and give you an adjusted recipe.

Step 4: Let AI Analyze Nutritional Content

Health-conscious people want to know the calories and nutritional breakdown of each meal. AI can quickly estimate for you.

How to Have AI Analyze?

Method 1: Describe What You Ate

"I had a bowl of rice, a serving of tomato scrambled eggs, and a serving of stir-fried broccoli for lunch today. Please help me estimate the total calories and protein content."

Method 2: Photo Analysis

Take a photo of the dish you made and send it to AI: "Please estimate the calories and main nutrients of this dish." AI that supports image recognition (ChatGPT, Kimi) can analyze it directly.

Method 3: Full Week Analysis

Send the weekly menu to AI: "Please analyze the nutritional balance of this week's menu and see if there's anything that needs adjustment." AI will point out which nutrients are insufficient or excessive.

Recommended Tools: Which AI Works Best for Cooking?

ChatGPT

Best overall capabilities, most intelligent menu planning, detailed recipe steps, supports image recognition for ingredients. If you can only choose one, pick this.

DeepSeek

Outstanding Chinese language understanding, especially good at recommending Chinese home-style dishes and regional cuisines. And it's completely free to use, suitable for everyday cooking reference.

Kimi

Supports file uploads and photo recognition, you can send it your collection of recipe documents for analysis and organization. Smooth Chinese experience, suitable for batch processing recipes.

Usage Tips

1. Be as Specific as Possible with Your Questions

"Recommend dishes for me" is not as good as "Recommend 3 home-style dishes that can be done in 20 minutes." Specific constraints allow AI to give more practical solutions.

2. Tell AI About Your Cookware

Have an oven, air fryer, or rice cooker? Tell AI, and it will recommend recipes suitable for your cookware. For example, "I only have a rice cooker and a wok, please recommend suitable recipes."

3. Save Good Recipes

When you find a particularly satisfying recipe, copy and save it. You can create a document to collect AI-recommended recipes, gradually building your personal recipe library.

4. Iterate and Optimize

Made a dish and the taste is off? Tell AI: "The Cola Chicken Wings you recommended last time were too sweet, can you adjust the amount of sugar?" AI will optimize based on your feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are AI-recommended recipes reliable?

Most home-style recipes are reliable. But after all, AI is not a chef; complex dishes may require you to adjust based on actual conditions. It's recommended to start with simple dishes.

Is AI's nutritional analysis accurate?

AI's nutritional estimates are approximate and cannot replace professional nutritionists. But for everyday reference, it's sufficient to help you build a general understanding of nutrition.

Can I cook using only a rice cooker?

Of course! Tell AI "I only have a rice cooker," and it will recommend many rice cooker recipes, such as rice cooker chicken wings, rice cooker steamed rice with toppings, rice cooker cake, etc.

Can AI write a shopping list for me?

Yes. Have AI generate a shopping list based on the weekly menu, organized by ingredient categories, so you can just follow it at the supermarket. "Please generate a categorized shopping list based on the menu above."