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Meal Planning Algorithm

The document outlines a systematic approach to creating a weekly meal plan that balances dietary preferences, minimizes food waste, and optimizes ingredient usage. It breaks down the process into sub-problems such as meal categorization, ingredient inventory management, and dietary compliance, while also utilizing pattern recognition to streamline recipe selection. An algorithm is proposed to categorize meals, check ingredient availability, and generate a shopping list, ensuring a balanced diet and efficient meal planning.

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Alamsyahriyo
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2 views

Meal Planning Algorithm

The document outlines a systematic approach to creating a weekly meal plan that balances dietary preferences, minimizes food waste, and optimizes ingredient usage. It breaks down the process into sub-problems such as meal categorization, ingredient inventory management, and dietary compliance, while also utilizing pattern recognition to streamline recipe selection. An algorithm is proposed to categorize meals, check ingredient availability, and generate a shopping list, ensuring a balanced diet and efficient meal planning.

Uploaded by

Alamsyahriyo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Problem Description:

Planning meals for a week can be overwhelming, especially when balancing dietary
preferences, variety, and minimizing food waste. Using computational thinking, we can
create an efficient system to generate a weekly meal plan, optimize ingredient usage, and
create a corresponding shopping list. This solution simplifies the process, reduces food
waste, saves time, and ensures a balanced diet.

Applying Decomposition:

The problem of weekly meal planning can be broken into the following sub-problems:

1. Meal Categorization: Divide meals into categories such as breakfast, lunch, and
dinner, and list recipes for each category.

2. Ingredient Inventory Management: Identify which ingredients are available at home


and which ones are needed for the recipes.

3. Dietary Compliance: Ensure the meals align with specific dietary preferences or
restrictions (e.g., vegetarian, low-carb).

4. Shopping List Creation: Generate a shopping list for the ingredients needed to
complete the meal plan.

Applying Pattern Recognition:

Pattern recognition allows us to streamline the meal planning process by identifying


recurring structures in recipes and ingredient use. Examples include:

1. Breakfast Pattern: Combine a carbohydrate (e.g., bread, oats), a protein (e.g., eggs,
yogurt), and a fruit (e.g., banana, berries).

2. Lunch/Dinner Pattern: Select a base (e.g., rice, pasta), add a protein (e.g., chicken,
tofu), include vegetables (e.g., spinach, carrots), and top with a sauce or seasoning.

3. Ingredient Usage: Recognize ingredients that are common across multiple recipes
(e.g., rice can be used for stir-fry, burritos, and soups). This minimizes waste and
optimizes ingredient purchases.

Applying Data Representation and Abstraction:

To solve the problem, we need to determine which data to include and exclude:

Data to Include:
• Meal Information: Recipe name, required ingredients, preparation time, and
nutritional value.

• Ingredient Inventory: Ingredient names, quantities available, and quantities required


for recipes.

• Dietary Restrictions: Tags like "vegetarian," "gluten-free," or "low-carb" for recipes.

• Shopping List: Names and quantities of ingredients not available at home.

Data to Exclude:

• Unnecessary Details: Specific cooking techniques or recipe origins, as these do not


affect meal planning.

• Seasonal Availability of Ingredients: This may not apply universally to all users and is
not essential for the immediate planning process.

Algorithm for Solving the Problem:

1. Step 1: Categorize meals into breakfast, lunch, and dinner and compile a recipe list
for each category.

2. Step 2: Check the ingredient inventory and mark the quantities available for each
recipe.

3. Step 3 (Choice Operator):

o If a recipe fits dietary preferences and has all required ingredients, add it to
the meal plan.

o Else, add the missing ingredients to the shopping list and reevaluate recipe
suitability.

4. Step 4: Generate a shopping list for all missing ingredients.

5. Step 5: Organize the meal plan by day and meal type (e.g., Monday: Breakfast –
Oatmeal, Lunch – Salad).

6. Step 6: Review the meal plan and adjust for variety, special occasions, or user
preferences.

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