Meal Planner

Meal planner storage (markdown, for plans and preferences)

~/.config/spratt/meal-planner/
├── memory.md              # Preferences + dietary info + household
├── weeks/                 # Weekly meal plans
│   └── YYYY-WXX.md
├── inventory/             # What's in pantry/fridge
│   ├── pantry.md
│   └── fridge.md
├── templates/             # Reusable meal templates
│   └── {template-name}.md
└── archive/               # Past weeks for reference

No recipes/ or shopping/ subdirectories. Recipes live in SQLite. Shopping lists are generated inline and fed to the Instacart skill.

Quick Reference

Core Rules

1. Check Memory First

Before any meal planning, read ~/.config/spratt/meal-planner/memory.md for:

• Dietary restrictions and allergies (critical for safety)
• Household composition (adults, kids, guests)
• Cooking skill level and time constraints
• Budget targets and preferences
• Cuisine preferences and dislikes

2. Use Saved Recipes

Before suggesting meals, check recipes.sqlite:

sqlite3 ~/.config/spratt/recipes/recipes.sqlite "
  SELECT id, name, tags, servings, prep_time, cook_time
  FROM recipes ORDER BY last_made ASC NULLS FIRST
"

Prefer saved recipes over inventing new ones — these are recipes the household has already vetted. Reference by DB id in weekly plans.

To find recipes by tag or ingredient:

sqlite3 ~/.config/spratt/recipes/recipes.sqlite "SELECT id, name FROM recipes WHERE tags LIKE '%dinner%'"
sqlite3 ~/.config/spratt/recipes/recipes.sqlite "SELECT id, name FROM recipes WHERE ingredients LIKE '%chicken%'"

3. Weekly Planning Rhythm

When user asks to plan meals:

• Check inventory first (avoid buying duplicates)
• Check what recipes exist in the DB
• Balance nutrition across the week
• Cluster similar ingredients (reduce waste)
• Plan leftovers strategically (cook once, eat twice)
• Leave 1-2 flex slots for spontaneity or eating out

4. Shopping List → Instacart Pipeline

For each shopping trip, generate the ingredient list:

• Aggregate ingredients across all meals for the week
• Subtract items already in pantry/fridge inventory
• Group by store section (produce, proteins, dairy, pantry)
• Include "linked to meals" annotations (so user knows why each item)

Then offer two paths:

• Instacart: "Want me to build this cart on Instacart?" → hand off to the instacart skill
• Manual: Print the list for in-store shopping

Do NOT save shopping lists as files — they're ephemeral, generated from the weekly plan.

5. Dietary Safety

For any dietary restrictions or allergies:

• Flag incompatible recipes BEFORE suggesting
• Check ingredient lists thoroughly
• Suggest substitutions when possible
• Never assume "a little bit is fine"
• Mark severity: preference vs. intolerance vs. allergy (life-threatening)

6. Household Coordination

When cooking for multiple people:

• Track individual restrictions per person
• Note kid-friendly vs. adult portions
• Plan meals everyone can eat (or easy modifications)
• Track who likes what (reduce "I don't want that" moments)

7. Budget Optimization

Weekly Plan Format

# Week YYYY-WXX

## Overview
- Budget target: $XXX
- Dietary focus: [any theme]
- Special events: [guests, holidays]

## Monday
**Breakfast:** [meal] | Prep: X min
**Lunch:** [meal] | Prep: X min
**Dinner:** [meal] | Prep: X min | Recipe: #ID (Name)

## Tuesday
...

## Batch Prep (Sunday)
- [ ] Cook rice for Mon/Tue/Wed
- [ ] Chop vegetables for week
- [ ] Marinate Thu chicken

## Ingredients Needed
[Generated from meals above, minus inventory on hand]

Reference recipes by SQLite ID: Recipe: #3 (Garlic Lemon Chilli Pasta)

Saving New Recipes

When a meal plan includes a new recipe (not in the DB), save it using the recipe-instacart skill's flow:

sqlite3 ~/.config/spratt/recipes/recipes.sqlite "
  INSERT INTO recipes (name, ingredients, instructions, tags, servings, prep_time, cook_time, saved_by)
  VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, 'meal-planner')
"

Ingredients must be JSON: [{"name": "chicken breast", "qty": "2 lbs"}, ...] Tags must be JSON: ["dinner", "quick", "indian"]

Inventory Management

Proactively ask about inventory updates:

• After a grocery delivery: "Your Instacart order just arrived — want to update the pantry?"
• When planning: "Checking pantry — last update was X days ago"
• For staples: track approximate quantities (full, half, low, out)

Check recent purchases to inform inventory:

sqlite3 ~/.config/spratt/orders/orders.sqlite "
  SELECT items FROM orders WHERE source = 'instacart'
  ORDER BY order_date DESC LIMIT 1
"

Common Traps

• Planning without checking inventory → duplicate purchases, waste
• Overambitious meal plans → exhaustion, ordering takeout
• Ignoring prep time → not just cook time, total time matters
• Same proteins all week → meal fatigue, nutrition gaps
• No flex meals → rigid plans break under real life
• Forgetting leftovers → food waste
• Not tracking what worked → repeating failures

Scope

This skill ONLY:

• Manages meal planning in ~/.config/spratt/meal-planner/
• Reads recipes from recipes.sqlite
• Reads purchase history from orders.sqlite
• Generates shopping lists for the Instacart pipeline

This skill NEVER:

• Places orders (that's the instacart skill's job)
• Provides medical nutrition advice