Meal Planning & Grocery Lists with OpenClaw

TL;DR: Set dietary preferences, create meal planning prompts, enable grocery list extraction, and schedule weekly planning.

Applies to: Windows, macOS, Linux
Audience: Power users, developers, security-conscious, enterprise
Last updated: 2026-02-23

power-user productivity automation meal-planning

Table of contents

  1. Set Dietary Preferences
  2. Create Meal Planning Prompt
  3. Enable Grocery Lists
  4. Schedule Weekly Planning
  5. Example Meal Plans
  6. Next Steps
  7. FAQ

Set Dietary Preferences

Create ~/.openclaw/workspace/prompts/dietary-preferences.md:

# Dietary Preferences
Dietary restrictions:
- Vegetarian
- No nuts
- Low sodium

Preferences:
- Prefer 30-minute meals
- Batch cooking friendly
- Budget: $150/week

Favorite cuisines:
- Italian
- Thai
- Mexican
- Indian

Create Meal Planning Prompt

Create ~/.openclaw/workspace/prompts/meal-plan.md:

# Weekly Meal Plan Generator
Generate 7-day meal plan considering:
- Dietary restrictions from preferences
- Budget constraints
- Cooking time available
- Ingredient overlap for meal prep

Include recipes and grocery list.
Format as table with days of week.

Enable Grocery Lists

Configure OpenClaw to extract grocery items:

{
  "automation": {
    "grocery-extract": {
      "schedule": "*/10 * * * *",
      "prompt": "Look for grocery items in messages",
      "target": "telegram"
    }
  }
}

Schedule Weekly Planning

Add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "automation": {
    "meal-plan": {
      "schedule": "0 9 * * 0",
      "prompt": "file:prompts/meal-plan.md",
      "target": "telegram"
    }
  }
}

Generates meal plan every Sunday at 9 AM.

Example Meal Plans

Weekly Plan Output

| Day    | Meal          | Ingredients         |
|--------|---------------|-------------------|
| Monday  | Pasta Primavera| Pasta, tomatoes, basil|
| Tuesday | Thai Curry    | Chicken, coconut milk|
| Wednesday| Veggie Stir-fry| Mixed vegetables, rice|
| Thursday| Mexican Bowl   | Rice, beans, corn|
| Friday   | Homemade Pizza  | Dough, cheese, sauce|
| Saturday| Indian Lentils  | Lentils, spices, naan|
| Sunday   | Meal Prep      | Batch cook items   |

Next Steps

FAQ

Q: Can OpenClaw generate recipes?
A: Yes. Use web search to find recipes and adapt them to your preferences.

Q: How does it handle grocery stores?
A: It can generate lists organized by store aisle or category.

Q: Can it plan for special diets?
A: Yes. Configure dietary restrictions and it will filter recipes accordingly.

Q: What about meal prep?
A: Yes. It can suggest batch cooking recipes and weekend prep plans.

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