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Why: Streamline your members' grocery shopping experience by automatically generating organized shopping lists from meal plans. This feature saves time and ensures that members have everything they need for their meals.
Navigate: App Station > Content Library > Meal Plans
Quick Start
Create a meal plan with recipes.
Ensure all recipes have the correct yield settings.
View the meal plan and access the shopping list.
Use the Add Extra button to include manual items if needed.
Share the shopping list with your members.
Detailed Sections
How Shopping Lists are Generated
Shopping lists are automatically generated from meal plans. When a meal plan is created, the system aggregates ingredients from the recipes included in that plan. The quantities of ingredients are scaled based on the yield specified in the meal plan. For example, if a recipe yields 500g and the meal plan specifies using 250g, the ingredient amounts in the shopping list will be halved.
Ingredient Combination and Aisle Organization
Ingredients are combined and organized by aisle in the shopping list. If the same ingredient appears with different units across recipes (e.g., 200g of chicken in one recipe and 1 whole chicken in another), the system merges them into a single line when possible. This is done using portion data to ensure accurate calculations.
Cross-Type Merging: If an ingredient is listed in different unit types, the system will attempt to merge them based on available portion data. For example, if a recipe specifies "1 clove" of garlic and another specifies "1 head," the system will not merge these unless there is a matching portion entry.
Fallbacks: If merging is not possible due to missing data, the ingredients will be displayed on separate lines. Admins will see a warning badge next to unmerged items, indicating why they could not be combined (e.g., 'Add a clove portion').
Manual Item Addition
Both admins and members can add manual items to their shopping lists. This can include free-text items like "paper towels" or other household necessities. Here’s how it works:
Adding Items: Use the Add Item option in the meal plan shopping list block. You can specify an optional amount and unit. The aisle selector defaults to "Other" for free-text items.
Editor Curation vs. Member Adds: Admins can curate shopping lists by excluding certain ingredients or adding custom ones. These changes will persist for all users generating from that meal plan. In contrast, members can add items that are personal to them, which will not affect the shared list.
Yield-Based Recipe Handling
Shopping lists handle yield-based recipes correctly. When a recipe is set to yield a specific amount, the ingredient quantities in the shopping list will scale according to the yield specified in the meal plan. For example, if a recipe makes 1 liter of sauce and the meal plan uses 500ml, the ingredient amounts will be halved accordingly.
Batch-cooked recipes also scale correctly, ensuring that the total batch yield is reflected in the shopping list.
Pantry Feature
The pantry feature allows members to maintain a list of ingredients they always have on hand. When enabled, items in the pantry can be hidden from shopping lists to avoid clutter.
Adding to Pantry: Members can add ingredients to their pantry via the My Stuff page or directly from the shopping list.
Hiding Pantry Items: When the pantry feature is enabled, members can toggle the visibility of pantry items in their shopping lists.
Item State Management
Members can manage the state of items in their shopping lists. They can mark items as "in pantry," "removed," or "scratched off" when purchased. The shopping list preserves these states across regenerations, ensuring that members do not lose track of what they have already purchased.
Rounding and Units
The way combined amounts are rounded and which units are chosen is covered in the related article How Shopping List Amounts Are Calculated. This ensures that members always have accurate quantities for their shopping needs.