Plan five high-protein dinners under £50 at Lidl with ChatGPT

PartialEvidence: Described by posterPosted May 10, 2023Last checked Nov 4, 2026

ChatGPT planned Lucy Smith's five high-protein dinners at £47.96 from Lidl, but the recipes were missing measurements.

Source checked Nov 4, 2026
Results shared
Limitations noted

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Prompt

Improved prompt

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Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Plan five filling dinners with leftovers for lunches, within a grocery budget at one store.

Questions to ask me first:
- How many people are eating, and do you want leftovers for lunches?
- Any foods you dislike, or goals such as high-protein or vegetarian nights?
- Which store do you shop at, and what's your budget?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Dinners and lunches: [NUMBER OF DINNERS / PEOPLE / LEFTOVER LUNCHES]
- Goals: [HIGH-PROTEIN / VEGETARIAN NIGHTS / OTHER]
- Foods to avoid: [FOODS]
- Store and budget: [STORE / AMOUNT]

Rules:
- Use only the final version of each dish when writing recipes, not earlier drafts.
- Give exact measurements for every ingredient, including small ones like lemon juice.
- Mark prices as estimates unless you can confirm them, and show the total.
- Combine quantities on the shopping list and group it by aisle.

Checkpoint: Show me the five dinners with estimated costs and wait for my OK before writing recipes and the list.

If you get stuck: If the budget can't cover the plan, say which dish to swap instead of quietly cutting portions.

Verify before you finish: Check that the recipes match the final dish list and that every ingredient has an amount.

Output: Five recipes with measurements, a priced shopping list by aisle and a total.

Done when: I can shop once and cook all five dinners from the recipes.

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Dinners and lunches

Goals

Foods to avoid

Store and budget

Your prompt

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Plan five filling dinners with leftovers for lunches, within a grocery budget at one store.

Checkpoint: Show me the five dinners with estimated costs and wait for my OK before writing recipes and the list.

If you get stuck: If the budget can't cover the plan, say which dish to swap instead of quietly cutting portions.

Verify before you finish: Check that the recipes match the final dish list and that every ingredient has an amount.

Output: Five recipes with measurements, a priced shopping list by aisle and a total.

Done when: I can shop once and cook all five dinners from the recipes.

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4 blanks are still empty: Dinners and lunches; Goals; Foods to avoid; Store and budget. They'll stay in brackets in your prompt, so the chat tool may ask you about them.

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ChatGPT Used in source Gemini Grok Claude

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The prompt they actually used

The exact prompt from the source.

Please can you make me a meal plan for five dinners for four people?

AI tool

ChatGPT

Outcome

Lucy Smith, a Glamour UK writer, asked ChatGPT for five dinners for four so the leftovers would cover two people's lunches, then refined it: add vegetarian meals, make them high-protein and more filling, and swap out lentils. Spaghetti and meatballs became an aubergine and tomato bake, and the protein portions went up. Smith then asked ChatGPT to keep everything under £50 at Lidl, and it costed the meals at £47.96. It produced an itemized shopping list grouped by aisle, combined quantities and swapped yellow squash for butternut squash, all in about 10 minutes. The recipes were the weak spot: ChatGPT mixed up earlier versions of the dishes and left out measurements, such as how much lemon juice, so Smith had to rely on cooking experience.

Evidence: Described by posterThe person describes what happened in words, without screenshots or video.

Known limitations

PartialThe source says it only partly worked, or had a significant problem a person had to deal with.

What went wrong: The plan, budget and shopping list worked, but the recipes mixed up earlier versions and were missing measurements.

Source

Posted: May 10, 2023 by Lucy Smith (Glamour UK)
Last checked: Nov 4, 2026
Method:: How we verify

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/chatgpt-meal-plan

Context: Improved prompt: our fuller version. The original opening prompt is quoted in the article; Smith added follow-ups for vegetarian, high-protein, no lentils and a £50 Lidl budget. Prices are UK prices from 2023. The article has affiliate links.