How it works

Your plan, your rules

Every screen in the app exists so you can tune diet, calories, schedule, and shopping to how you actually eat — here is what you can customise end to end.

Planning options

How long to plan for

Plan a single day or a full week. Most people start with seven days to feel the rhythm; you can always shorten the window if you prefer a lighter commitment.

Longer plans usually mean more variety without extra effort.

Choosing plan length in Meal Matcher
Diets

Diets we support

Pick a template that matches how you eat; the generator keeps your choices consistent across every meal.

Standard

A conventional diet including all food groups with an emphasis on balanced nutrition and portion control.

BalancedTraditionalAll food groups

Atkins

A low-carbohydrate diet focusing on protein and healthy fats, progressing through different phases.

Low-carbHigh-proteinWeight loss

Keto

A very low-carb, high-fat diet that puts your body into ketosis, burning fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

Very low-carbHigh-fatKetogenic

Vegan

A plant-based diet excluding all animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.

Plant-basedAnimal-freeEco-friendly

Vegetarian

A meat-free diet that may include dairy and eggs, focusing on plant-based proteins and whole foods.

Meat-freePlant-forwardFlexible

Pescatarian

A vegetarian-style diet that includes fish and seafood while excluding meat and poultry.

SeafoodMeat-freeBalanced protein

Paleo

Based on foods presumed eaten during the Paleolithic era, excluding processed foods, grains, and dairy.

Whole foodsGrain-freeHunter-gatherer

Gluten free

Eliminates all sources of gluten, including wheat, rye, and barley, while focusing on naturally gluten-free foods.

Celiac-friendlyWheat-freeSpecialised

Dairy free

Excludes all dairy products while maintaining balanced nutrition through alternative calcium sources.

Lactose-freeNon-dairyAllergy-friendly
Calorie control

Daily energy target

Maintenance, surplus, or deficit — set a fixed goal or let the app suggest numbers from your stats. The plan then stays near that target across the week.

Example day2,100 kcal
Maintenance ~2,300Small deficit −200
Calorie target settings
Nutritional balance

Fine-tune macros

Lock protein, loosen carbs, or run high-fat — macro rails stop the plan from drifting away from what you are trying to hit.

Protein160g

Often the first lever people set explicitly.

CarbsFlexible

Tied to diet template and calorie room.

FatsFlexible

Balances once protein and carbs are in range.

Food preferences

Allergens and dislikes

Exclusions flow straight into generation — so you are not manually vetting every suggestion for nuts, dairy, or ingredients you simply do not want to see again.

Typical allergens to exclude

PeanutsTree nutsDairyEggsSoyWheat

Disliked ingredients

Add anything you want kept out — not just allergies — and new plans respect that list automatically.

Allergen and dislike settings
Meal planning

Shape the week

Different days get different structures — extra snacks, skipped breakfast, or an evening out — without breaking weekly calories and macros.

Flexible daily structure

Add or drop meal slots per day so the grid matches real life, not a generic template.

Choosing meals per day

How each meal is filled

Per slot you choose whether the app suggests recipes, you pick manually, or the meal is marked as eating out.

  • Auto-generate

    Recipes chosen from your rules and history.

  • Manual selection

    You browse and lock in each dish.

  • Eating out or skip

    The rest of the week adjusts around blank slots.

Tip: Drop breakfast on a busy Friday and mark Saturday dinner as out — targets still reconcile across the week.
Recipe control

Your recipe library

Bring your own dishes in, favourite what works, and blacklist what does not — the planner stops resurfacing recipes you have ruled out.

Create a recipe

Structured fields so nutrition and shopping stay accurate.

Create recipe form

Blacklist

Search and exclude recipes you never want suggested again.

Quinoa bowl with roasted vegetables
Spicy tofu stir fry
Green smoothie bowl
Chickpea curry
Kitchen setup

Equipment-aware recipes

Tick what you own and we avoid suggesting things that need gear you do not have.

Air fryer

Healthier crisping without a deep fryer

Slow cooker

Hands-off long cooks and stews

Food processor

Chop, grate, and mix in one bowl

Blender

Smoothies, soups, and sauces

Pressure cooker

Fast grains, beans, and tough cuts

Protein supplements

Optional boost when whole-food protein runs short

Meal prep

Batch cooking

When you are cooking ahead, prep mode groups work sensibly so you are not juggling five unrelated techniques at once.

  • Clearer cooking order for multi-recipe sessions
  • Recipes grouped where it saves time
  • Portion cues so batches match your plan
Meal prep mode
Getting started

From plan to plate

After the plan exists, shopping and cooking stay linked — so you are not retyping ingredients or guessing what is for dinner.

Smart shopping

Lists aggregate across the plan; choose UK supermarkets you actually use.

Tesco · Sainsbury's · M&S · Aldi · Asda · Morrisons

Cooking

Step-by-step instructions per recipe, with quantities aligned to your portions.

GuidesListsTracking

Progress

See how adherence and targets trend over time instead of relying on memory.

Example weekOn track