What Inspired Me
I was inspired by the daily struggles of friends and family—fitness enthusiasts struggling to balance macro control and time, busy families lacking time for daily cooking, and students struggling with budget and cooking skills. Seeing so many people abandon healthy eating due to convenience, I decided to build AI Meal Prep Planner to make healthy, time-saving meal prep accessible to everyone.
What I Learned
Through this project, I learned to prioritize user needs: translating pain points (like macro control, budget limits) into actionable features. I also mastered Markdown formatting for clear documentation and LaTeX for mathematical expressions, such as calculating macro ratios (<inline_LaTeX_Formula>Protein\% + Carbs\% + Fats\% = 100\%<%\inline_LaTeX_Formula>). Additionally, I gained insights into user flow design, ensuring a smooth onboarding and navigation experience.
How I Built the Project
I started by defining the core page structure (Landing Page, Dashboard, Meal Plan Page, etc.) based on user scenarios. I used simulated data to realize features: preset 20+ recipes, built logic for auto-generating grocery lists (merging ingredients across meals), and designed the batch cooking guide. I ensured all content was in English and integrated basic validation (e.g., budget input checks) to handle edge cases.
Challenges I Faced
The biggest challenge was balancing functionality and simplicity—ensuring features like macro tracking and recipe scaling were easy to use. Another challenge was simulating realistic meal plans that met dietary goals (allowing ±10% calorie fluctuation). I overcame this by refining the meal generation logic and testing with different user preference combinations.
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