# Use an AI meal planner, then keep the week and shopping list together > Tell your AI app how many people you are feeding, which meals you need, your food restrictions and what is already in the kitchen. Ask for a weekly menu and a shopping list with quantities. Save both in 1folder and ask a connected app to update them together when plans change. 1folder keeps the files; it does not plan meals. *Picture: Dinners — 16–22 Nov, a page saved by ChatGPT: Mon: chickpea and spinach curry with rice; Tue: tomato pasta · Wed: leftover curry; Thu: bean tacos · Fri: vegetable stir-fry; Sat: baked potatoes with beans; Sun: vegetable soup and toast · two adults. Shopping — 16–22 Nov, a table saved by Claude (Item, Buy, Used for): Chickpeas, 2 × 400 g tins, Monday curry; Spinach, 200 g, Monday curry; Pasta, 250 g, Tuesday dinner; Chopped tomatoes, 2 × 400 g tins, Curry and pasta.* A week of vegetarian dinners for two, planned in ChatGPT, beside the start of its shopping list, checked by Claude. Both files stay current as the week changes. ## What you end up with - **Dinners — 16–22 Nov** (a page, saved by ChatGPT): Seven dinners for two adults, 30 minutes on weeknights. Wednesday is Monday’s leftover curry, on purpose. - **Shopping — 16–22 Nov** (a table, saved by Claude): The first rows of the shopping list. The full list covers all seven dinners, minus what’s already in the cupboard. ## Give the meal planner AI a week it can actually fit A useful menu starts with your household, not seven interesting recipes. Say who’s eating, which meals, which dates, how long you have to cook, what you can’t eat and what’s already in the kitchen. Say which evenings are busy and whether you like leftovers. Ask the app to check those with you before it starts. ChatGPT works as a meal planner in an ordinary chat, and ChatGPT Projects keeps a project’s chats, files and instructions together if you plan every week. 1folder helps when you want the menu and the list as files another AI app can read, with a link you can open in the shop. The example is dinners only. If you want breakfasts, lunches and snacks too, say so, or the shopping list will look complete and cover half the week. Ask for quantities by servings, and for prices to be marked as estimates unless you gave them. ## Keep the shopping list consistent with the menu Ask the app to add up repeated ingredients and take off what’s in the cupboard. Two tins needed this week is not two tins to buy when you already have one. If Thursday becomes a dinner out, update both files. Remove only what that meal used; the tomatoes are still needed on Tuesday. Ask for a list of what changed. 1folder doesn’t check recipes, add up lists or order groceries. An AI diet planner is fine for ideas. If you have a medical condition, an allergy or a diet from your doctor, start from their instructions, check labels yourself, and don’t treat an AI menu as proof that a food is safe for you. ## Plan, check and keep the week current 1. **Connect an app to the meal folder.** Add https://1folderapp.com/mcp as a custom connector in [Claude](https://1folderapp.com/integrations/claude-connectors.md), or in [ChatGPT](https://1folderapp.com/integrations/chatgpt-connectors.md) on Business, Enterprise or Edu. Sign in to 1folder, pick a Meals folder and press Allow. *Picture: 1folder’s Allow page: “Claude wants to use your 1folder”, with Only the folders I pick in Meals and View and edit chosen, then Allow.* 2. **Save a week and its full shopping list.** Ask for a dated menu and a separate table: ingredient, amount needed, amount you have, amount to buy. Open both and look for anything missing. *Picture: In ChatGPT, you type: “Save our seven dinners and the complete shopping list for two adults to 1folder.” ChatGPT saves Dinners — 16–22 Nov (a page saved by ChatGPT) to 1folder.* 3. **Revise both files when the week changes.** Tell any connected app what changed. Ask it to update the same two files and say which quantities moved. *Picture: In Claude, you type: “Thursday is dinner out. Update the same menu and shopping list, preserving ingredients used elsewhere.” Claude saves Shopping — 16–22 Nov (a table saved by Claude, version 2) to 1folder.* 4. **Take the current list shopping.** Open the list’s link in your phone’s browser in the shop. Download the menu as a [PDF file](https://1folderapp.com/how-to/chatgpt-to-pdf.md), or the list as an [Excel file](https://1folderapp.com/how-to/chatgpt-table-to-excel.md) or CSV, if you want a copy. ## A ChatGPT meal plan prompt with the missing details filled in - In ChatGPT: “Plan dinners for two adults, 16–22 November. We eat vegetarian meals, have 30 minutes on weekdays and want one leftover dinner. We already have rice, oil and spices. Ask about allergies and dislikes first. Save the agreed week and a full shopping list with quantities to 1folder.” - In Claude: “Read my dinner plan and shopping list in 1folder. Check that every ingredient for all seven dinners appears either in the pantry list or shopping list. Flag uncertain quantities and prices; do not guess what I own.” - In ChatGPT: “Read Dinners — 16–22 Nov in 1folder. We are eating out on Thursday. Update the same plan and remove ingredients used only for that dinner from the shopping list. Keep ingredients needed on other days.” - In Claude: “Read the current shopping list in 1folder. I found one tin of chickpeas and bought the spinach. Update the quantities still to buy, keeping the menu unchanged.” ## Questions ### Does 1folder make the meal plan? No. There is no AI inside 1folder. ChatGPT, Claude or another AI app plans the meals; 1folder keeps the menu, the list and every change. ### Can the shopping list update automatically? No. When the menu changes, ask your AI app to update the list too, then check the quantities. ### Is this a calorie or nutrition tracker? No. 1folder keeps files; it doesn’t count calories or track what you eat. If you ask your AI app for estimates, treat them as rough. ### Can someone else open the menu? Yes. Invite them to the space, or turn on the menu’s public link so anyone with it can read it without signing in. ### Can I get last week’s menu back? Name each week’s menu by its dates and they build up into a collection. Within a week, compare the file’s versions to see or undo a change. ## Sources - [OpenAI Help Center: Projects in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10169521-projects-in-chatgpt) - [OpenAI Help Center: Connecting custom servers in ChatGPT](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12584461-connecting-custom-mcp-servers-in-chatgpt) - [Claude Help Center: Get started with custom connectors](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/11175166-get-started-with-custom-connectors-using-remote-mcp) Checked on November 11, 2026. ## Read next - [ChatGPT workout plan: the prompt, a real week and a log](https://1folderapp.com/use-cases/chatgpt-workout-plan.md): Write a ChatGPT workout plan prompt with your days, kit and level, get a week you can follow, and keep the plan and your training log in 1folder. - [Use an AI schedule maker and keep one schedule every app can update](https://1folderapp.com/use-cases/ai-schedule-maker.md): Make a schedule with your AI app and keep one current file in 1folder. Ask another app to revise the same plan, preserve fixed times and compare changes. - [AI budget planner: start with your figures, keep one current table](https://1folderapp.com/use-cases/ai-budget-planner.md): Ask ChatGPT to make a monthly budget from your figures. Keep the table, receipts and assumptions in 1folder, with versions and Excel or CSV downloads. - [Write an AI business plan you can check and keep updating](https://1folderapp.com/use-cases/ai-business-plan.md): Draft a business plan with your AI app, separate evidence from assumptions, and keep the plan, figures and reviewed copies together in 1folder. [Add 1folder to your AI app, free](https://1folderapp.com/signin) · [All resources](https://1folderapp.com/resources.md) Website: https://1folderapp.com/ · Contact: hello@1folderapp.com