I Asked ChatGPT To Make My Meal Plan For The Week: Here's What Happened

ChatGPT, the chatbot developed by OpenAI celebrated its first anniversary on November 30, 2023. As a certified holistic nutritionist, I've been hearing rumblings from peers that this one-year-old is eventually going to make us obsolete. 

Curiosity got the better of me, and I wanted to see just how well ChatGPT could put together a dietitian-approved meal plan that meets my family's dietary needs, restrictions, and taste preferences.

Can you please help me create a meal plan for this upcoming week? The meal plan needs to feed 2 active adults and a toddler. We don't need any special toddler food. The toddler will eat the same food as us. The adults eat bigger portions than average. 

Please give me 3 meals and 2 snacks per day. Meals should include at least 25 grams of protein, a good serving of carbohydrates, 1-2 cups of veggies and some healthy fats. 

Snacks should combine at least 20 grams of protein with a carbohydrate.

I'd like you to use ingredients we already have in our fridge/freezer/pantry to build this meal plan, but we can also shop for a few new things. 

What else do you need to know?

The first iteration of meals and snacks ChatGPT suggested were too low in protein and carbohydrates. Even though I told ChatGPT that my husband and I are active and eat larger portions than average, it kept suggesting rice cakes for snacks and smoothie bowls for breakfast that contained very little protein. 

"From a performance nutrition standpoint, I think ChatGPT lacks an understanding of protein requirements outside of meals for those with high levels of physical activity. The "protein-packed" energy bites contain filling ingredients but ones that likely do not offer enough protein for athletes and those with high activity levels," explains performance dietitian and consultant Kelly Jones, M.S., R.D., CSSD. "While nuts, nut butters, and seeds may be adequate for the average, more sedentary person, those with very active jobs and who engage in rigorous physical activity multiple days a week may benefit from not only more total protein but more quality protein in terms of essential amino acid content." 

I was able to prompt ChatGPT to make adjustments because of my background as a certified holistic nutritionist. The average person might not be able to recognize these red flags. 

As someone who loves to eat flavorful food and even gave ChatGPT a few cuisines I enjoy, I was disappointed by how boring and Americanized the suggested meals and snacks were. For example, I told ChatGPT that I like Greek and Mexican cuisines, and it suggested making a Greek chicken salad and Mexican stuffed peppers with black beans and salsa. 

"Undoubtedly, more cultural diversity is needed regarding the recommended options AI provides," says Briana Butler, MCN, RDN, L.D., co-owner of Stef and Bri Wellness. "While the meal plan developed may be based on the foods you have available, it is clear that the technology, without more intricate direction, will assume that the person asking for the plan prefers a Westernized or Eurocentric diet."

ChatGPT might be useful for generating a meal plan template, but every time I asked it to hit a specific macro target, it told me that calorie counts are approximate and I would need to adjust portion sizes based on my specific dietary needs. Again, not something the average person will know how to do without a background in nutrition. 

In the past, I've given ChatGPT a list of three to five ingredients in my pantry and asked it to generate a few recipe ideas using those ingredients. I found that worked better than trying to get a five-day meal plan created with a long list of ingredients available. 

I asked ChatGPT to come up with a well-rounded, high-protein meal plan for my family to put the AI platform's nutrition knowledge to the test. Turns out, it doesn't hold a candle to IRL nutritionists.