> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/SmartEatAI/smart-eat-ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Generating Meal Plans > Learn how to generate personalized weekly meal plans with SmartEat AI SmartEat AI generates complete 7-day meal plans tailored to your profile, dietary restrictions, and calorie targets. The intelligent system ensures variety, nutritional balance, and compliance with your preferences. ## Prerequisites Before generating a meal plan: ### Complete Your Profile You must have an active profile with: * Personal measurements and goals * Calorie and macro targets calculated * Dietary preferences configured ### Understand the Process The AI will: * Filter recipes matching your diet types and restrictions * Calculate calorie ranges for each meal type * Select recipes that fit your daily targets * Ensure variety across the week (no recipe repeats within 6 days) Generating a plan deactivates any existing active plan and replaces it with the new 7-day menu. ## How Meal Plans Are Generated ### Step 1: Recipe Filtering The system identifies compatible recipes based on: **Diet Type Matching** * Recipes tagged with your selected diet types (vegan, vegetarian, high protein, etc.) * For vegan/vegetarian diets, AI verification ensures ingredients comply **Meal Type Classification** * Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack categories * Each recipe is pre-tagged for appropriate meal times **Calorie Range Filtering** * Recipes within acceptable calorie ranges for each meal type * Ranges calculated based on your daily target and number of meals **Restriction Compliance** * AI-powered ingredient analysis checks each recipe against your restrictions * Only recipes that pass validation are included The more recipes available that match your criteria, the more variety your plan will have. Consider being flexible with restrictions if your plans feel repetitive. ### Step 2: Calorie Distribution Your daily calories are distributed across meals based on optimal eating patterns: **3 Meals per Day** * Breakfast: 30% * Lunch: 40% * Dinner: 30% **4 Meals per Day** * Breakfast: 25% * Lunch: 30% * Snack: 15% * Dinner: 30% **5 Meals per Day** * Breakfast: 20% * Morning Snack: 10% * Lunch: 30% * Afternoon Snack: 10% * Dinner: 30% **6 Meals per Day** * Breakfast: 20% * Morning Snack: 10% * Lunch: 25% * Afternoon Snack: 10% * Dinner: 25% * Evening Snack: 10% ### Step 3: Recipe Selection For each meal of each day, the algorithm: 1. **Identifies candidates**: Gets all recipes matching the meal type and diet 2. **Checks recent usage**: Excludes recipes used in the past 6 days 3. **Validates calorie range**: Ensures the recipe fits the meal's target (within 50-130% of target) 4. **Selects optimal match**: Chooses the recipe closest to the target calories 5. **Tracks usage**: Records the recipe to prevent near-term repetition If insufficient recipes meet your criteria, plan generation will fail. You may need to relax some restrictions or add more diet type options. ### Step 4: Plan Creation Once all 7 days are populated: 1. **Current plan deactivated**: Your existing active plan is marked inactive 2. **New plan created**: A new plan record is generated with all daily menus 3. **Meals scheduled**: Each meal is assigned a schedule order (1-6) within its day 4. **Status initialized**: All meals start with "pending" status (0) ## Generating Your Plan ### Via AI Chat Assistant The easiest method is through natural language: ``` "Generate a meal plan for me" "Create my weekly menu" "I need a new plan" "Make me a 7-day plan" ``` The AI assistant will: 1. Retrieve your profile and preferences 2. Filter compatible recipes using AI 3. Generate the 7-day plan 4. Confirm successful creation You can ask the AI to regenerate if you're not satisfied with the initial plan. ### Via API (For Developers) Direct API access for programmatic generation: ```http theme={null} POST /api/plan Content-Type: application/json Authorization: Bearer { "daily_menus": [ { "day_of_week": 1, "meal_details": [ { "recipe_id": 123, "schedule": 1, "status": 0, "meal_type": "breakfast" } ] } ] } ``` ### Using AI Tools The `generate_weekly_plan` tool is automatically called by the chat assistant when you request a new plan. It handles all the complexity of filtering, selection, and creation. ## What Happens During Generation ### AI-Powered Filtering For users with vegan/vegetarian diets or specific restrictions: 1. **Initial database query**: Retrieves up to 100 candidate recipes per meal type 2. **AI validation**: Each recipe's ingredients are analyzed by the LLM 3. **Compliance check**: Only recipes that comply with all restrictions proceed 4. **Limit application**: Up to 50 validated recipes per meal type are used AI filtering ensures accuracy but increases generation time. Plans typically generate in 10-30 seconds. ### Variety Optimization The 6-day repetition prevention ensures: * You won't see the same recipe twice in one week * Diverse nutrient intake across the week * More enjoyable eating experience ### Nutritional Balance Each recipe contributes: * **Calories**: Tracked against daily target * **Protein**: Supports muscle maintenance/growth goals * **Carbohydrates**: Provides energy based on activity level * **Fat**: Supplies essential fatty acids and hormones ## Viewing Your Generated Plan ### Check Plan Status Ask the AI assistant: ``` "Show my plan" "What's my menu this week?" "View my meal plan" ``` ### Review Daily Breakdown Your plan includes: * **7 days**: Monday through Sunday * **All meals**: Complete daily meal schedules * **Recipe details**: Name, calories, protein, carbs, and fat for each recipe * **Links**: Recipe URLs and images where available ### Understand the Schedule Meals are numbered 1-6 based on your configured meals per day: * Meal 1: First meal of the day * Meal 2: Second meal * And so on... ## Troubleshooting Plan Generation ### "No recipes available that meet restrictions" **Cause**: Insufficient recipes match your diet, restrictions, and calorie ranges. **Solutions**: * Remove or reduce dietary restrictions * Add more diet type options * Adjust your calorie targets (may be too narrow) * Contact support if the recipe database needs expansion ### "Could not generate plan (not enough recipes)" **Cause**: Fewer than 7 days could be populated with non-repeating recipes. **Solutions**: * Increase acceptable diet types * Reduce the number of restrictions * Adjust your meals per day setting ### Plan Generated but Lacking Variety **Cause**: Limited recipe pool for your specific criteria. **Solutions**: * Consider being more flexible with food preferences * Accept a broader calorie range * Add more cuisines to your taste preferences Very restrictive profiles (e.g., vegan + gluten-free + nut-free + low-carb) may have difficulty generating plans due to limited compatible recipes. ## Plan Lifecycle 1. **Generation**: New plan created and marked active 2. **Active**: Currently in use, displayed to user 3. **Deactivated**: Replaced when a new plan is generated Only one plan can be active at a time per user. Previous plans are preserved but marked inactive. ## Best Practices * **Review before starting**: Check your plan before beginning the week * **Generate weekly**: Create new plans regularly for continued variety * **Use the chat**: Ask the AI to modify individual meals instead of regenerating entire plans * **Track compliance**: Mark meals as completed as you go * **Adjust as needed**: Use the AI to swap meals that don't fit your schedule ## Next Steps After generating your plan: * [Track your nutrition](/guide/tracking-nutrition) as you complete meals * [Use the AI chat](/guide/using-chat) to make adjustments * Update your profile if your goals or measurements change The AI can modify individual meals within your plan without regenerating everything. Just ask!