Family Menu Generator

This skill creates beautiful, research-backed weekly dinner menus designed for families, with a focus on high-protein meals, seasonal ingredients, and practical leftover planning.

Key Features

Protein-focused meals: Every meal emphasizes protein sources
Leftover detection: Automatically identifies opportunities to use leftovers
Local restaurant suggestions: Searches for restaurants within 25 miles of user's location
Homemade Pizza Fridays: Periodically includes fun pizza nights
Seasonal ingredients: Researches and incorporates seasonal produce
Random beautiful designs: 5 different design styles (fun & colorful, clean & modern, rustic, elegant, bold & playful)
Print-ready PDFs: Optimized for 8.5x11 paper to post on refrigerator

Workflow

1. Gather Information

When a user requests a menu, first determine what ingredients or preferences they have:

Ask the user:

"Do you have any ingredients on hand that you'd like me to incorporate into this week's menu?"
"Any dietary restrictions or preferences I should know about?"
"Any meals you're craving this week?"

If the user doesn't provide specific ingredients: Assume all ingredients will be purchased from the grocery store and proceed with planning.

2. Research Phase

Use web search to gather information:

Seasonal Ingredients:

Search for current seasonal produce and proteins (consider the current month)
Example: "seasonal vegetables October" or "fall produce in season"

Recipe Ideas:

Search for high-protein recipes incorporating seasonal ingredients
Example: "high protein chicken recipes with butternut squash"
Look for recipes with prep times and protein content

Restaurant Options:

Search for restaurants near the user's zip code (20136 for this user)
Use local search: "restaurants near 20136" or "best dinner restaurants Centreville VA"
Select one interesting option within 25 miles for restaurant night

Leftover Assessment:

When planning, identify meals that will likely produce leftovers based on:
- Large batch recipes (roasts, casseroles, soups)
- Recipes that serve 4-6+ people
- Meals that reheat well
Schedule a "leftovers" meal 1-2 days after these large meals

3. Menu Planning

Create a 7-day dinner menu following these guidelines:

Monday-Thursday:

Focus on variety of proteins (chicken, beef, fish, pork, turkey)
Include prep times
Note the primary protein source
Consider cooking methods variety

Friday:

Every 2-3 weeks: "Homemade Pizza Friday 🍕"
Other Fridays: Regular protein-focused meals

Saturday:

Restaurant night approximately once per week
Include the restaurant name and a brief note
Example: "Restaurant Night - Try the new Thai place on Main Street"

Sunday:

Often a good day for slow-cooker meals or batch cooking
Meals that can provide leftovers for the week ahead

Leftover Days:

Explicitly mark 1-2 days as using leftovers from specific previous meals
Example: "Monday Leftovers - Use remaining pot roast and vegetables"

4. Generate the PDF

Use the scripts/generate_menu.py script to create the PDF:

from scripts.generate_menu import create_menu_pdf
import datetime

menu_data = {
    'title': 'Family Dinner Menu',
    'subtitle': f'Week of {datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%B %d, %Y")}',
    'meals': [
        {
            'day': 'Monday',
            'name': 'Grilled Salmon with Roasted Brussels Sprouts',
            'protein': 'Salmon fillet (6oz)',
            'prep_time': '30 min',
            'notes': 'Seasonal fall vegetables'
        },
        {
            'day': 'Tuesday',
            'name': 'Monday Leftovers',
            'notes': 'Use remaining salmon and veggies'
        },
        # ... continue for all 7 days
    ]
}

# The function will randomly select a design style
design_used = create_menu_pdf(menu_data, output_path)

Menu Data Structure:

title: Menu title (usually "Family Dinner Menu" or similar)
subtitle: Date range for the week
meals: List of meal objects with:
- day: Day of the week (required)
- name: Meal name (required)
- protein: Primary protein source (optional but recommended)
- prep_time: Estimated cooking time (optional)
- notes: Special notes like "leftover", "seasonal", "restaurant info" (optional)

5. Present to User

After generating the menu:

Show the user a text summary of the week's meals
Provide the PDF link for download
Mention which design style was randomly selected
Offer to regenerate if they want a different design style

Tips for Great Menus

Balance cooking complexity: Mix quick meals with more involved ones
Protein variety: Try to avoid repeating the same protein more than twice
Leftover strategic placement: Place leftover days 1-2 days after big meals
Seasonal excitement: Highlight when you're using seasonal ingredients
Restaurant selection: Choose restaurants with good reviews and variety
Pizza frequency: Aim for 1-2 pizza nights per month
Batch cooking: Sunday is often ideal for slow cooker or big batch meals

Available Design Styles

The script randomly selects from these designs:

Fun and Colorful: Bright, playful colors perfect for families with kids
Clean and Modern: Minimalist with bold typography
Rustic: Warm earth tones with serif fonts
Elegant: Sophisticated with gold accents
Bold and Playful: Vibrant colors with fun fonts

All designs are optimized for 8.5x11 inch paper and include the meal details in an easy-to-read format.

Resources

scripts/generate_menu.py

The main PDF generation script that creates beautiful menus with random design styles. Uses ReportLab library and the bundled fonts.

assets/fonts/

Collection of 36+ fonts used for different design styles, including Poppins, Montserrat, PlayfairDisplay, FredokaOne, Satisfy, Lora, and DejaVu font families.

User Location

Default zip code: 20136 (Centreville, Virginia)

Use this for restaurant searches
25-mile radius for restaurant recommendations

family-menu