Ask It SimplyHi friend,
By the end of this email, you'll know how to get a full week of dinners and a ready-to-shop grocery list in about five minutes.
You know the moment. It's 5:30, everyone's hungry, and the question lands again: "What's for dinner?" Then comes the store trip where you forget the one thing you went in for. Planning ahead fixes both, but sitting down to plan is its own chore.
This is a job AI is genuinely good at. Tell it who you're feeding, what you like, and what's already in the fridge, and it lays out the week for you, then turns it into one shopping list. Here are three free tools to try, from easiest to most powerful.
1. Microsoft Copilot: easiest to start
copilot.microsoft.com
It's built into Windows and the Edge browser, and there's a phone app too. Since August, you need to sign in with a free Microsoft account to use it. Copilot can pull in answers from the web, so it's handy for quick ideas like "five easy chicken dinners kids will actually eat." The free version has usage limits, but one meal plan is a small ask.
Best for: quick dinner ideas when you're already on your Windows PC.
2. Google Gemini: great if you already use Google
gemini.google.com
Free with any Google account, so if you have Gmail, you're already set. Most free questions go to Google's fast, lighter model, and usage limits refresh every few hours (with a weekly cap). That's plenty for planning dinners. On your phone, try Gemini Live and just talk it through while you stand in front of the fridge.
Best for: planning out loud, hands-free, from the kitchen.
3. ChatGPT: most powerful free option
chatgpt.com
The free plan includes unlimited everyday text chats (within fair-use rules), so you can keep tweaking: "swap Thursday for something meatless," "make it cheaper," "use up the spinach." You can also upload a photo of your fridge or pantry and ask what to make with what you've got. Uploads are limited on the free plan, but a couple a week is usually fine.
Best for: fine-tuning the plan until it fits your family and your budget.
Try this prompt (copy and paste)
Plan [5] dinners for this week for [number] people, including [kids / picky eaters / anyone with allergies or a special diet]. We like [foods you love] and don't eat [foods to skip]. Each dinner should take under [30] minutes. I already have [what's in your fridge or pantry]. Reuse ingredients across meals so nothing goes to waste. Then give me one grocery list grouped by store section (produce, meat, dairy, pantry), leaving off what I already have.
Fill in the brackets and paste it into any of the three tools. Want changes? Reply with "make it cheaper," "swap Wednesday," or "make Sunday a double batch for Monday's leftovers."
One mistake to avoid
Don't trust it blindly on allergies or prices. AI can slip an ingredient you said to avoid into a recipe, and it doesn't know what your store charges this week. If anyone at your table has a food allergy, read every ingredient yourself and check labels at the store. Treat any cost estimate as a rough guess, not a quote.
That's it for this week
Try it before your next grocery trip. Then hit reply and tell me: what's the one dinner your family never gets tired of? I'd love to hear it.
Next week: fixing up your resume and cover letter for free, with AI doing the heavy lifting.
Talk soon, Dontè, Ask It Simply
P.S. Know someone who dreads "what's for dinner?" Forward this to them. They can join free at askitsimply.com.
Sources: ChatGPT plans and pricing · Google Gemini plans · Gemini Apps limits · Microsoft Copilot terms of use (sign-in required, Aug 18, 2026) · Microsoft Copilot free vs. Microsoft 365