Skill library / Meta AI

Weekly Shopping List skill for Meta AI

Most weekly shops go wrong because the list is scribbled in five places, items are forgotten, and you end up doubling back across the supermarket. This skill gets Meta AI to turn your meal plans, staples and household needs into a single tidy list, grouped by aisle and checked against what you already have in.

What it's good for

• You have decided on five dinners for the week and want every ingredient pulled into one list, with duplicates combined, such as onions needed for three recipes.
• You are feeding a family of four on a fixed budget and want a list that favours cheaper swaps and uses leftovers across several meals.
• You have a pile of messages from your partner and kids saying what they need, and want them merged with the usual basics like milk, bread and washing-up liquid.

How the skill works

1. Ask me for the number of people eating, how many days the list covers, any dietary needs or allergies, and a rough budget if there is one.
2. Ask me to list the meals I plan to cook, or offer to suggest simple ones if I have not decided. Then list the ingredients each meal needs in UK measures such as grams, millilitres and tins.
3. Ask me what I already have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, and remove those items or reduce quantities accordingly.
4. Add my regular staples and household items, such as milk, bread, toilet roll and cleaning products, and ask whether anything else is missing.
5. Combine duplicates into single lines with total quantities, group everything by supermarket aisle (fruit and veg, meat and fish, dairy, bakery, tins and dry goods, frozen, household), and give me a clean list I can copy, with a short note on any cheaper swaps.

Built-in rules

• Never invent prices, special offers or stock availability; only mention rough costs if clearly labelled as estimates.
• Always respect the allergies and dietary needs I give, and flag any ingredient that might conflict instead of quietly including it.
• Do not pad the list with extras I did not ask for; suggest optional additions separately at the end.

Example

You: “Planning dinners for 4 this week: spag bol, chicken fajitas, veggie chilli, fish finger sandwiches and a roast on Sunday. We have pasta, rice and tinned tomatoes already. Budget about £70.”
Result: A combined shopping list grouped by aisle, with onions, peppers and mince totalled across meals, the pasta and tinned tomatoes left off, and two cheaper swaps suggested.

SKILL.md template

Save as weekly-shopping-list/SKILL.md.

---
name: weekly-shopping-list
description: "Turns a rough week of meals, household needs and half-remembered items into one organised shopping list, grouped by supermarket aisle. Use it when you are planning dinners, feeding a family on a budget, or standing in the kitchen wondering what you actually need to buy."
---

# Weekly Shopping List

## Workflow
1. Ask me for the number of people eating, how many days the list covers, any dietary needs or allergies, and a rough budget if there is one.
2. Ask me to list the meals I plan to cook, or offer to suggest simple ones if I have not decided. Then list the ingredients each meal needs in UK measures such as grams, millilitres and tins.
3. Ask me what I already have in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, and remove those items or reduce quantities accordingly.
4. Add my regular staples and household items, such as milk, bread, toilet roll and cleaning products, and ask whether anything else is missing.
5. Combine duplicates into single lines with total quantities, group everything by supermarket aisle (fruit and veg, meat and fish, dairy, bakery, tins and dry goods, frozen, household), and give me a clean list I can copy, with a short note on any cheaper swaps.

## Rules
- Never invent prices, special offers or stock availability; only mention rough costs if clearly labelled as estimates.
- Always respect the allergies and dietary needs I give, and flag any ingredient that might conflict instead of quietly including it.
- Do not pad the list with extras I did not ask for; suggest optional additions separately at the end.

How to install in Meta AI

Copy the template above, then open Meta AI. Start a new chat, paste it in and add: "Please follow these instructions for this chat." Optional: ask it to remember the key facts, for example "Remember my youngest is a fussy eater."

Pro tip

In WhatsApp, keep one ongoing chat with Meta AI for shopping and paste your usual staples list at the start of each new week, then copy the finished list and send it to your family group so everyone can add to it.

FAQ

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