One of the easiest traps to fall into is ordering from DoorDash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats — again, and again and again. After a long workday, the idea of turning on the stove can feel like a second job, so takeout starts to look very, very appealing.
I was guilty of this. Completely. Then I checked my spending and realized I’d dropped $176.46 in a single week on delivery food. That number snapped me out of it. I made a deal with myself: no more paying inflated app prices — I was going to start putting that money toward real, home-cooked meals.
This is where ChatGPT came in. I already use it for just about everything: prepping for job interviews, figuring out when to work out, picking what to watch next, even translating tricky phrases. But I’d never really tried using it as a personal chef.
So I decided to test it. I asked ChatGPT to help me plan, pick, and organize meals that actually fit my life — not just pretty recipes I’d abandon by Wednesday. What followed was a surprisingly effective experiment that completely changed how I think about meal planning.
Here’s how I turned ChatGPT into my digital chef — and what happened when I did.
I listed my favorite foods and ChatGPT suggested standout dishes
I got the ball rolling on my newfound culinary crusade by presenting this question to ChatGPT: “I'm looking for great Jamaican, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and American dishes to eat on a weekly basis. What are some great recipes you can recommend me for each one that incorporates chicken, seafood, rice, noodles, and vegetables?”
ChatGPT then responded in kind with what it called “core weekly anchors” that I can switch up over time with different veggies or sauces to compliment them. I was presented with three signature dishes for the five types of international delicacies I love, along with the necessary protiens, carbs, vegetables and reasons why a participant dish works as a weekly dinner option.
For example, the American cuisine set (described by ChatGPT as “familiar, customizable, and cozy” meals) featured Roast Chicken with Veggies, Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry Bowls, and Cajun Shrimp and Rice.
And for the Italian meal suite (which was wonderfully explained as dishes that focus on “comfort without going heavy”), ChatGPT made me aware of Chicken Piccata, Shrimp Scampi, and Pasta Primavera with Chicken. The three options shown to me for each of my favorite food types were great, but I wanted to zero in on a weeknight-friendly meal plan that focused on one dish over the course of a week.
It proceeded to lay out an easy-to-follow 7-day meal plan
After telling ChatGPT to construct a 7-day meal plan, it got to work and came back with something I could easily adapt to as an intermediate chef (I’m not too shabby in the kitchen, so I’m far from a novice!).
Here’s what my digital assistant chef had in mind:
- Sunday - Italian/American Hybrid: Shrimp Scampi with Rice or Pasta + Sautéed Spinach
- Monday - Jamaican: Jerk Chicken with Rice & Peas and Steamed Cabbage
- Tuesday - Japanese: Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl
- Wednesday - Chinese: Shrimp Fried Rice
- Thursday - Italian: Pasta Primavera with Grilled Chicken
- Friday - American: Cajun Shrimp & Rice
- Saturday - Japanese: Chicken Yakisoba
Alongside that 7-day meal plan, I was also treated to a core grocery list of proteins, carbs, vegetables, and flavor staples I should buy before I get started on this new kitchen profess of mines. I also appreciated the three prepping options ChatGPT sent my way to make my daily cooking assignments a bit easier.
Those tips included cook a big pot of rice and chopping a bunch on veggies on Sunday, seasoning my proteins well in advance of cooking them, and creating jars for all my sauces ahead of time (I just ended up buying the ones I needed).
An air fryer–only meal plan (plus rice cooker or microwave)
After all the recipes ChatGPT gave me, I got to thinking — what if I want to put my air fryer or rice cooker to good use during all this daily dinner preparation? I presented that interesting proposition to my AI kitchen associate, who then proceeded to adjust my 7-day meal plan by breaking down how much of the ingredients I needed, how long I needed to cook them within my air fryer and the finishing touches I should implement for each dish.
The air fryer meal prepping hacks I was made aware of helpd out a ton, as I’m sure it will for anyone reading this right now:
- Veggie tray > Protein tray: Cook your veggies first so protein juices don’t make them soggy
- Foil or parchment = faster cleanup
- Batch cook chicken on Sunday → reheat at 350°F for 4–5 min
- Frozen veggies are your friend (an air fryer handles it beautifully)
The takeaway
ChatGPT delivered — it gave me a week’s worth of genuinely appealing recipes, plus multiple ways to make them using just an air fryer and a rice cooker. Suddenly, I had options instead of excuses.
I didn’t rely on ChatGPT alone, though. I used it as a starting point, then turned to written recipes and video tutorials to refine the dishes. (A special shout-out to the Jerk Chicken and Rice tutorial on the official Bob Marley YouTube channel — that one was a keeper.)
In the end, it wasn’t just one thing that worked. It was the combination of ChatGPT’s meal planning, outside cooking resources, and a little kitchen ambition that made the difference.
The result? I cooked more, felt more confident in the kitchen — and, most importantly, spared my checking account from another week of brutal food-delivery charges.
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