Meal Planner Dinner Ideas

Consumer and social

meal decision app

SHOW HN2024

266points
222comments
#271of 3,515 in 2024
Top 8%of 2024 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

13 positive, 43 neutral or asking, 5 mixed, 31 critical, out of 92 comments about the project. Thread score -0.18.

Idea: 7 for, 17 againstPricing: 0 for, 8 againstExecution: 1 for, 4 againstDesign: 1 for, 2 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Nice idea and good execution

    From 3 comments
    • Neat idea and good execution. However, I would not personally use this, because I plan meals for a full week in advance, trying to arrange for both a style of cuisine and for…
      bovermyer on HN
    • Actually a great idea
      KaoruAoiShiho on HN
    • Nice! Solving this problem with technology. Looks amazing. Well done!
      bmalum on HN

Objections

  • Subscription pricing is too high for a simple problem

    From 4 comments
    • This is a cool idea. Unfortunately I’m not going to pay $20/year to make deciding on dinner slightly easier. Sorry. I understand why people want subscriptions for recurring…
      CrazyStat on HN
    • Putting this behind a subscription is crazy.
      dankwizard on HN
    • Neat idea, but I have to echo the negative sentiment on the subscription. I get there are costs associated to running an app, but this is not a problem-solution I would pay for.…
      passwordoops on HN
    • There is absolutely ZERO case for a dedicated app for this thing - a web app is 'more than' more than enough. Glad to see a subscription fee. Totally makes sense. Without that I…
      crossroadsguy on HN
  • Only three initial recipes shown, feels basic

    From 2 comments
    • I like the idea and face the same challenge. I’ve just installed it and, from my first impressions, it seemed a bit basic. Here’s what I expected: Hundreds of recipes that I…
      woodylondon on HN
    • The app is unusable to me because you have to pick three out of only four initial options, none of which appeal to me actually. Another problem is that the initial options don’t…
      raylad on HN
  • Crashes after setting up family code

    From 2 comments
    • It crashes on my first three attempts after setting up the family code so I will probably not give another try :(
      xttjsn on HN
    • It crashes on my first 3 attempts after setting up the family code, so I’ll probably not try it again.
      xttjsn on HN
  • Couples can just talk to decide

    From 2 comments
    • I'm not sure if I'm getting this: people need an app to decide something that can easily be decided by... talking to each other?!
      seu on HN
    • Weird, unlike everyone else on this thread I just don't see this as a problem to be solved. My wife and I talk to each other (I know, crazy, right?) and one of us suggests…
      dmje on HN

Requests

  • Android version

    From 1 comment
    • Any plans to extend it to the other 60% of smartphone users?
      yaomtc on HN
  • Larger recipe library or ingredient-based suggestions

    From 2 comments
    • Is there a way with which you could expand the number of recipes available? You have a set of ingredients at home (or easily purchaseable)—an evolution of this app could have you…
      lucasllinasm on HN
    • I like the idea and face the same challenge. I’ve just installed it and, from my first impressions, it seemed a bit basic. Here’s what I expected: Hundreds of recipes that I…
      woodylondon on HN
  • Shopping list feature

    From 1 comment
    • If it's a recipe focused app, then maybe it should not be a "swipe daily" thing, as what's in the fridge right not maybe not matching what's on the phone, and it takes time and…
      nirui on HN

Questions

  • Does it work for more than two people?

    From 1 comment
    • Does this only work for two people? Some of us have significantly larger households. Not that we're on iOS anyway.
      excalibur on HN

Alternatives named

  • Mealie

    From 1 comment
    • This would make sense as a Mealie extension. You have a content (recipe) bootstrapping issue.
      wildekek on HN
  • WhatToCook open-source project

    From 1 comment
    • I solved this problem with a different approach: computer tells you what to cook, period. It allows some variation given you might not have all the ingredients at home, but…
      kassner on HN
  • Shared spreadsheet of recipes

    From 1 comment
    • I don't mean to belittle your app, I can't try it 'cause I don't have iOS. We did solve the problem in a much easier way though. We do have 40 recipes we usually cycle through. I…
      casta on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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