The Fridge Photo Dinner Plan
It's 5pm. You're staring at the fridge. You're tired. You don't want to go to the store. You need three ideas from what's already there.
Before you start
- Open your fridge and take one clear photo of each shelf. Two or three is plenty.
- Open Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini.
- Fill in the blanks below, copy the prompt, and attach your photos.
About food allergies: AI makes mistakes. It's told to leave your allergens out, but it can't promise a recipe, product or label is safe. Always read labels and ingredients yourself before anyone eats.
What to expect
Three genuine meal ideas using what's actually in your fridge, with honest time estimates. The “Use Soon” section alone saves most people from throwing away food they forgot about.
Make it better next time
After you cook one of the meals, tell it: “We made the chicken thing and the kids wouldn't touch it. Remember that for next time.” Even in a regular chat, giving feedback in the same conversation makes the next suggestion better.
If it’s not working
- It suggested something you don't have. The photo was probably too dark or too far back. Take one photo per shelf, close enough to read labels.
- The meals feel too fancy. Reply with “simpler, weeknight energy” and it will recalibrate. Then lower your energy level next time you use this.
- It keeps telling you to go to the store. Reply “I'm not going to the store, work with what you see.” The rule is in the prompt but it sometimes needs saying twice.
Why it’s written this way
The role comes first. “You are my household meal planner” sets the frame before any request, which keeps the answers practical instead of encyclopedic.
The pantry list is pre-filled. Without it, every suggestion hedges with “if you have oil.” Naming the staples once removes an entire category of useless caveats.
The rules are negative. Most prompts only say what they want. Telling it what not to do, like sending you to the store, is what makes the answer usable at 5pm on a Tuesday.