Pantro

For people who like cooking, but not everything else that comes with it. Plan the week, shop once with what you have pre-ticked, cook step by step. No calorie counting, ever.

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Inspiration

I cooked the same 5-7 recipes on repeat. Same dishes, same shopping list, same route through the shop. I wanted to try new stuff, but the effort was too big, so I barely did. I also wanted to waste less food without becoming a part-time pantry manager. I've got ADHD, so that part was never going to happen through willpower ;)

I needed something that doesn't force me into a calendar and is very forgiving when I ignore it for a couple of weeks and don't update anything. It wasn't there, so I built it.

What it does

Pantro is for people who cook at home and do their own shopping, and want a bit more structure and help with deciding what to cook. The loop:

  • Plan the week. Browse recipes and add the ones you like to this week's pool. No calendar, no empty slots judging you.
  • Shop once. One list for the whole week, sorted by aisle, with the things you already have pre-ticked.
  • Cook. Cook mode goes step by step, shows the ingredients for each step, and has timers that ring even with the phone locked.
  • "I cooked this." Takes the used ingredients out of your pantry. No counting.

You can also import your own recipes from links, add things by voice or from a receipt photo, and share one kitchen with your household. English and Polish.

Satisfying mode

This is not a diet app. I didn't want to build one; there are plenty of apps and people who will build you a perfect meal plan. Pantro doesn't count your calories, and that's it. But you might still want your meals balanced, and to feel good for a long time after eating.

Satisfying mode is one tap. It adds a couple of things to a recipe (protein, fibre, healthy fats) so the meal keeps you going for longer. Switch it on before generating a recipe, or tap it on any recipe you already have.

I didn't want to trust the AI on this, as it will happily tell you that cucumber is full of fibre. So products in the catalogue are classified separately, based on rules I set, and the AI's claims are checked against that.

How I built it

Solo, since December 2025, not full-time. React + TypeScript + Capacitor for the app, Supabase (Postgres, edge functions, row-level security) for the backend, Google Gemini for recipe generation, link import and voice, RevenueCat for subscriptions on Google Play, i18next for English and Polish. First public release on Google Play on 8 September 2026.

The first months were mostly me playing with the technology. Then I expected to be done by month 5 or 6. It's month 9.

Challenges

Unit conversion, by far. A recipe wants 2 tablespoons of milk, the shop sells it by the carton, the pantry keeps it in millilitres, and when you cook, those 2 tablespoons have to come back out. In Polish the unit also has to decline correctly with the number. For the loop to feel smooth, every ingredient travels from recipe units to purchasable ones and back again without turning into "0.8 of a carton". That took a lot of time and a lot of testing. It's definitely not ideal still, but it's good enough that you can use it and trust it.

The recipe library is the other one. It's AI-generated for now, and I'd rather say that than pretend otherwise. I had a much bigger base that was lower quality, didn't like it, and cut it down to 405 recipes per language. Most are curated, some I cook myself, and the vegetarian ones are the best curated as I'm vegetarian. I'm adding my own recipes as I go. It's a starting point. It's not bad, but it will be better, especially as the user base grows.

What I'm proud of

That it's done, it works, and it actually helps people. Around 20 people use it for real. That's tiny, but it's better than zero. With the number of apps being made right now, getting past people's resistance to one more new app is really hard, and breaking through it, even with 10 users, makes me super happy.

What's next

Growing the user base, getting more feedback, understanding how people actually use it, and improving it based on that. No big new features planned. One day I'd love a kitchen assistant that talks you through the recipe, tells you what's next and sets the timers, so you never touch the phone with floury hands. That's a dream of the future, though.

Try it

Android, on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.pantro.mobile 14-day free trial with everything in Plus, then Basic $2.49/month or Plus $5.99/month.

Judges: code SHIPATON gives you 3 months of Plus. Tap the round profile icon in the top-right corner, then Redeem Code.

Music in the demo: "Old Man" by oom_yox (Pixabay).

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