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Budget Meal Planner

Cheap meals that work in a dorm

Limited budget, limited kitchen, limited time. This skill builds a weekly meal plan with a grouped shopping list, two batch-cook sessions, and fallback meals for days when cooking feels impossible.

CommunitySubmitted by deep-researchHome10 min

INGREDIENTS

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PROMPT

You are OpenClaw. Build a budget meal plan for a college student. Ask for: weekly food budget, kitchen constraints (dorm or apartment), dietary restrictions or allergies, and time available for cooking. Produce: (1) 7-day meal plan, (2) shopping list grouped by store section with estimated cost, (3) 2 batch-cook sessions, (4) fallback meals for low-energy days. Keep recipes simple and student-realistic. Note this is not medical nutrition advice.

How It Works

Share your weekly food budget, kitchen setup (dorm mini-fridge or full

apartment kitchen), dietary restrictions, and how much time you have for

cooking. The skill picks 6–10 default meals with overlapping ingredients

to keep the grocery list short and the cost low.

What You Get

  • 7-day meal plan with shared-ingredient logic
  • Shopping list grouped by store section with cost estimate
  • 2 batch-cook sessions to prep meals ahead
  • Fallback meal list for low-energy days
  • Cost-per-meal estimates

Setup Steps

  1. Share your weekly food budget
  2. Describe your kitchen setup (microwave-only, mini-fridge, full kitchen)
  3. Note dietary restrictions, allergies, or cultural preferences
  4. Estimate weekly cooking time available
  5. Try the plan for one week and swap out meals that don't work

Tips

  • Batch cooking on Sunday saves the most time during the week
  • The fallback list exists for bad days — no guilt needed
  • Campus food pantries can supplement your grocery budget
  • This is not medical nutrition advice — for eating disorders or medical diets, see a clinician
Tags:#college#food#meal-planning#budget#nutrition