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Shopping Lists

Shopping Lists Why: Simplify your members' grocery shopping experience by automatically generating organized shopping lists from meal plans, ensuri...

Written by Ken Truesdale

Platform 2 Guide — This article applies to the new platform. Looking for classic platform docs? Browse the Platform 1 collection.

Why: Simplify your members' grocery shopping experience by automatically generating organized shopping lists from meal plans, ensuring they have everything they need at their fingertips.

Navigate: App Station > Content Library > Meal Plans

Quick Start

  1. Create a meal plan with recipes.

  2. Ensure your recipes have the correct yield settings if using yield-based recipes.

  3. View the meal plan and access the shopping list.

  4. Add any manual items needed by clicking Add Extra.

  5. Review the shopping list organized by aisle.


Understanding Shopping Lists

Shopping lists are automatically generated from meal plans, making it easy for your members to gather all the ingredients they need. Here's how they work:

Meal Plan Integration

When you create a meal plan, the shopping list pulls in all the ingredients from the recipes included in that plan. If a recipe is yield-based, the ingredient quantities will scale according to the yield specified in the meal plan. For example, if a recipe produces 500g and the meal plan calls for 250g, the shopping list will reflect half the ingredient amounts.

Ingredient Merging and Aisle Organization

Shopping lists intelligently combine ingredients that share the same name and aisle. For instance, if one recipe calls for "200g chicken" and another calls for "1 chicken" (with no unit specified), the shopping list will merge these into a single line, provided the ingredient has portion data that allows for conversion (e.g., "1 piece = 60g").

Items are organized by grocery store aisle, making it easier for members to navigate their shopping.

Manual Item Addition

Both admins and members can add manual items to shopping lists. This is useful for items not included in the recipe library, such as "paper towels." When adding a manual item, you can specify:

  • Name: Free-text input (e.g., "paper towels").

  • Amount: Optional.

  • Unit: Optional.

  • Aisle: Defaults to Other.

Members can add these items directly from the meal plan shopping list block in view mode.

Pantry Feature

Members can maintain a pantry of ingredients they always have on hand. Items in the pantry can be hidden from shopping lists, streamlining the shopping experience.

Yield-Based Recipe Handling

Shopping lists handle yield-based recipes correctly. The quantities of ingredients will scale based on the yield amount specified in the meal plan. For batch-cooked recipes, the total batch yield amount is used to scale the shopping list appropriately.

Cross-Type Ingredient Merging

When the same ingredient appears with different unit types across recipes, the shopping list combines them into a single line when possible. If the ingredient lacks the necessary portion or density data, it will fall back to separate lines. Admins will see a small warning badge on unmerged lines, indicating why they couldn't be combined, along with a quick link to edit the ingredient.

Member Interaction

Members access their shopping lists directly from the meal plan. They can view, edit, and add items as needed. The shopping list will automatically update based on changes to the meal plan or recipes.


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