More often than not, I found myself thinking about what exactly to cook for more time than I should, so I came up with this “Culinary Roulette.” The tool serves up a week’s worth of meal themes. From “Meatless Mondays” to “Fish Fridays”, each theme sparks inspiration for dishes that might have been off my radar. Not feeling a particular theme? A swift click on the refresh icon (↻) next to each theme shuffles it for an alternative.
- Masala-Monday
Dive into the aromatic world of Indian spices and dishes.
- Tempeh-Tuesday
Explore dishes made from this fermented soy product, rich in protein and flavor.
- Wasabi-Wednesday
Infuse your dishes with the spicy and tangy flavor of wasabi.
- Tandoori-Thursday
Savor the smoky flavors of tandoor-cooked meats, breads, and vegetarian options.
- Foraged-Friday
Use wild and foraged ingredients, like mushrooms or berries, for a touch of nature in your meal.
- Shepherd’s-Pie-Saturday
Dive into the comfort of a classic shepherd’s pie filled with meat or lentils and topped with mashed potatoes.
- Sliders-Sunday
Create mini versions of your favorite sandwiches and burgers for a fun meal.
I developed the Culinary Roulette to speed up my meal-planning and let spontaneity lead my kitchen endeavors. The themes were generated using ChatGPT4, using the following prompt:
I am trying to make meal planning easier by making “Theme-days” such as Meatless-Monday, Tofu-Thursday or Fish-Friday. Please give me 30 different suggestions with the word [day of the week]. Please make several of these themes healthy and vegan. Please add a one sentence description to each them.
I further intend to use ChatGPT to narrow down the actual recipe even more using for example the following prompt:
Give me three recipe ideas for the following prompt. Briefly describe the recipes in one sentence each. Please focus on healthy meals that can be made at home in a reasonable timeframe. Consider that I am allergic to dairy and eggs: [Theme]
I don’t trust ChatGPT with actual recipes, so from that point on I’ll then either improvise or look up an actual recipe. Here’s a quick example of what I’ve now planned for the rest of the week.