Bonstructer Open app

Guide · Meal planning

What are we cooking this week, and what has to go in the basket?

Updated · 5 min read

The question "What are we cooking this week, and what has to go in the basket?" can be answered in one go: with a meal plan that fits your household, takes offers from the shops you choose into account and hands the ingredients on as a shopping list. In Bonstructer Notes this is the week plan ("Wochenplan").

Why is a meal plan worth it?

Without a plan you decide tired in the evening what goes on the table, and you tend to buy twice or too much. A plan turns the order around: dishes first, then the list, then the shop. You know what you need before you go and improvise less on the way. How to build a list from your past shopping is covered in the guide Shopping list from receipts.

How does the week plan work in Bonstructer?

  1. Set your household. You say who eats and which meals to plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner. The number of people can be prefilled from your receipts; you can change it.
  2. Add diet and wishes. Options include vegetarian, vegan, no pork, gluten-free, lactose-free or pescetarian. You can also type free wishes, such as "quick, under 30 minutes" or "lunchbox ideas".
  3. Choose the period and shopping day. You are not limited to a fixed week: you pick the start and end yourself (one to 14 days). The shopping day decides which flyer offers apply.
  4. Choose your shops. You decide which shops you buy from. Only those shops go into the price comparison.
  5. Check and adjust the plan. You get recipes for the period with an estimated shopping total. You can swap individual dishes.

Where do the recipes come from?

An AI writes the suggestions based on your inputs. There is also a recipe library that is partly seeded from the German Wikibooks cookbook; those recipes are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, and the source is credited in the app under More. Dishes you like can be marked as favourites; they then show up as swap options in later plans.

What about what is already at home?

The "Pantry" ("Vorrat") area in Bonstructer shows what is probably still at home. It is an estimate from your scanned receipts, not a stock count: how long something lasts is estimated, and you can mark products as empty or still in stock yourself. If you mark a planned dish as cooked, the pantry is adjusted accordingly. When in doubt, look in the cupboard before you buy.

How do offers come into play?

The app compares your list with flyer offers from the shops you selected, and for basic items such as flour, pasta or milk it names discounters first when a price is known there. Shops you did not select do not appear in the list. How flyers work in general and what to watch for is explained in the guide Supermarket flyers and price check.

What happens to the ingredients after the plan?

You send the ingredients to your shopping list with one tap ("Ingredients to the list"). If the plan already has a shopping day, the export goes straight through; otherwise the app asks for the date. The planner works in steps (list, offers, shopping); the week plan is an optional helper, not a requirement. You can also fill the list without a plan. Later you find earlier weeks under "Past weeks" ("Vergangene Wochen"), read-only, and you can add their ingredients to the list again if needed.

What should I check before shopping?

What to cook the same day from what you just bought is covered in the guide Recipe ideas from your groceries. You can try the week plan directly in the app.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Can I plan for fewer or more than a week?

Yes, you pick the start and end yourself and plan a period of one to 14 days. You set the shopping day for it.

Do I need a week plan to fill the shopping list?

No. The week plan is an optional helper. You can also fill the list directly, by chat or by hand, and then compare offers.

Does the plan consider my diet and household size?

Yes, the number of people and diet wishes go into the plan. Because an AI writes the suggestions, check ingredients and allergens yourself anyway.

Is the pantry always right?

No. The pantry shows what is probably still at home and is based on estimates from your receipts. You can mark products as empty or still in stock yourself.

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