Meal Planning for Families
Cook one menu for the whole household: add everyone, get a portion in grams for each person, and keep allergies and diets on one shopping list.
Households that want one menu, a portion for each person and simpler shopping.
Updated October 2026 · How Mealyno builds its plans
What this workflow improves
How it works for a household
In Profile, then Household, you add the people you cook for. Adults get their own calorie and protein targets from age, sex, height, weight, activity and goal. Children are added by age band and get reference values from a fixed table, with no calorie restriction. Mealyno builds one shared menu and sizes each person's portion to their own target for that meal.
The shopping list scales too. It counts only the people who eat each meal, so skipping lunch for one person changes the list.
Household size depends on the plan: one person on Free, up to 2 on Pro and up to 6 on Pro Family, counting you. The free family preset, which makes identical portions, stays available.
Plans are general information, not medical advice. For children, pregnancy or any health condition, ask a pediatrician, a doctor or a registered dietitian.
A setup that keeps dinners simple
Repeatability is the point. Plan a week, save the plan, and reuse the meals that landed well. A week that repeats once a month is a fast shop.
- Choose three or four family dinners and let breakfast and lunch stay personal.
- Use fridge mode midweek when leftovers need a plan.
- Keep one night free for a shop-bought meal.
Where to start
Add everyone in Household, switch off the meals a person does not eat from the plan, and generate a week. Cook the proteins and grains in bulk, weigh each person's portion from the same pan, and keep the plan for the second week.
What it does not do
A household plan is not a family nutrition programme and not a treatment. Child values are population reference figures and are not a growth assessment. The diary logs only the account owner's portion, and household plans are private and cannot be shared by link. Everyone you add is someone whose data you enter, so add only people you may enter, and a child only as a parent or guardian. Mealyno plans are general information and are not reviewed by a doctor or dietitian.
Worked example: scaling the shopping list
Five lines from the shopping list of our free 1,500 kcal high-protein plan, scaled for more adults. It is multiplication, so check the total against what you already own.
| Item | 1 adult | 2 adults | 3 adults |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 1.5 kg | 3 kg | 4.5 kg |
| Eggs | 2 dozen | 4 dozen | 6 dozen |
| Greek yogurt | 1.2 kg | 2.4 kg | 3.6 kg |
| Quinoa | 400 g | 800 g | 1.2 kg |
| Brown rice | 400 g | 800 g | 1.2 kg |
Produce scales less than proportionally. A family of three does not need three times the broccoli if the meals share sides.
Plans, calculators and articles
- 2000 kcal high-protein meal planA week for a larger appetite
- 1800 kcal vegetarian meal planA vegetarian household option
- Calorie calculatorOne adult's target at a time
- Shopping list featureHow lists are built and grouped
- Family meal planner guideOne dinner, four portions, worked through
- Kids calorie needs by ageReference values by age band
- AI Meal Planning for Weight Loss
- AI Meal Planning for Muscle Gain
- Meal Planning for Busy Professionals
Questions
- Can I use one plan for the whole family?
- Yes. Add each person in Household and Mealyno builds one shared menu with a portion in grams for each of them. Adults get their own targets, children get reference values by age band, and allergies apply to the whole menu. Ask a professional about children's individual needs.
- How do I scale the shopping list?
- In a household plan the list is built for you and counts only the people who eat each meal. If you scale a single-person plan by hand, multiply proteins and grains by the number of adults and keep produce and pantry items closer to the original amounts.
- What is fridge mode?
- A tool that suggests meals from the foods you have left, useful for midweek leftovers.
General information for healthy adults, not medical advice. Ask your doctor or a registered dietitian what is right for you.