# Recipe Box & Meal Planner

## Dashboard
A quick‑access hub that shows today’s meals, upcoming grocery list, and recipe stats.

| View | Description |
|------|-------------|
| **Today’s Meals** | Linked view of the Meal Plan database filtered to today. |
| **Weekly Overview** | Calendar view of the Meal Plan for the current week. |
| **Grocery List** | Rollup of ingredients from meals in the next 7 days. |
| **Recipe Stats** | Count of recipes by cuisine, difficulty, and rating. |

> 💡 Tip: Pin the Dashboard page to your sidebar for one‑click daily planning.

## Recipes Database
Store every recipe with rich metadata, ingredients, and step‑by‑step instructions.

| Name | Cuisine | Difficulty | Prep Time | Cook Time | Rating (★) | Tags | Ingredients (linked) | Instructions |
|------|---------|------------|----------|----------|------------|------|----------------------|--------------|
| Classic Spaghetti Bolognese | Italian | Medium | 15 min | 45 min | 4 | #comfort #pasta | [Spaghetti Bolognese Ingredients] | 1. Sauté onion & garlic… |
| Chicken Tikka Masala | Indian | Hard | 20 min | 30 min | 5 | #spicy #dinner | [Chicken Tikka Masala Ingredients] | 1. Marinate chicken… |
| Avocado Toast | American | Easy | 5 min | 0 min | 3 | #quick #breakfast | [Avocado Toast Ingredients] | 1. Toast bread… |
| Veggie Stir‑Fry | Asian | Easy | 10 min | 10 min | 4 | #vegan #healthy | [Veggie Stir‑Fry Ingredients] | 1. Heat wok… |
| Blueberry Muffins | American | Medium | 10 min | 20 min | 5 | #baking #snack | [Blueberry Muffins Ingredients] | 1. Preheat oven… |

> 💡 Tip: Use the **Rating** property to sort your favorites to the top of the list.

### Ingredients Sub‑Database (linked)
| Ingredient | Category | Unit | Typical Quantity |
|------------|----------|------|------------------|
| Ground beef | Meat | lb | 1 |
| Tomato sauce | Pantry | cup | 2 |
| Spaghetti | Pantry | oz | 12 |
| Chicken breast | Meat | lb | 1 |
| Yogurt | Dairy | cup | 0.5 |
| Avocado | Produce | each | 1 |
| Bread slices | Bakery | each | 2 |
| Mixed veg (broccoli, carrots, bell pepper) | Produce | cup | 3 |
| Blueberries | Produce | cup | 1 |
| All‑purpose flour | Baking | cup | 2 |

> 💡 Tip: The Ingredients sub‑database lets you roll up totals for a grocery list automatically.

## Meal Plan Calendar
Plan meals by assigning a recipe to a date and meal slot (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack).

| Date | Meal | Recipe (relation) | Servings | Notes |
|------|------|-------------------|----------|-------|
| 2024‑07‑01 | Breakfast | Avocado Toast | 2 | Add extra lemon |
| 2024‑07‑01 | Dinner | Chicken Tikka Masala | 4 | Use leftover rice |
| 2024‑07‑02 | Lunch | Veggie Stir‑Fry | 3 | Prep veg night before |
| 2024‑07‑02 | Snack | Blueberry Muffins | 6 | Freeze half |
| 2024‑07‑03 | Dinner | Classic Spaghetti Bolognese | 4 | Use gluten‑free pasta |

> 💡 Tip: Switch the view to **Week** to see a full weekly menu at a glance.

## Grocery List Generator
A rollup page that aggregates ingredients from all meals in the next 7 days, groups by category, and sums quantities.

| Category | Ingredient | Total Quantity | Unit |
|----------|------------|----------------|------|
| Meat | Ground beef | 1 | lb |
| Meat | Chicken breast | 1 | lb |
| Produce | Avocado | 2 | each |
| Produce | Mixed veg | 3 | cup |
| Pantry | Tomato sauce | 2 | cup |
| Pantry | Spaghetti | 12 | oz |
| Baking | All‑purpose flour | 2 | cup |
| Dairy | Yogurt | 0.5 | cup |
| Produce | Blueberries | 1 | cup |

> 💡 Tip: Tick a checkbox next to each ingredient as you shop; the list stays synced with your plan.

## Weekly Review & Meal Prep
A template page you duplicate each Sunday to reflect on the past week and prep for the next.

**Sections:**
1. **What worked?** – Quick notes on meals you loved.
2. **What to improve?** – Adjustments (e.g., portion sizes, prep time).
3. **Prep Tasks** – Checklist (e.g., chop veg, marinate meat, bake muffins).
4. **Next Week’s Draft** – Inline table to sketch upcoming meals.

> 💡 Tip: Link the “Next Week’s Draft” table to the Meal Plan database to instantly create entries.

## Settings & Customization
Control default values and personal preferences.

| Setting | Value | Description |
|---------|-------|-------------|
| Default Servings | 4 | Used when adding a new meal. |
| Preferred Units | Metric | Switch between metric/imperial. |
| Dietary Tags | #vegan, #gluten‑free, #low‑carb | Add custom tags for filtering. |
| Notification Time | 08:00 AM | Daily reminder to check the Dashboard. |

> 💡 Tip: Use the **Dietary Tags** filter on the Recipes view to instantly see only suitable recipes.

## How to import into Notion
1. In Notion, create a new page where you want the template.  
2. Click **Import** → **Markdown & CSV** and select this `.md` file.  
3. Notion will create the page hierarchy and plain tables.  
4. For each table marked as a “Database” (Recipes, Ingredients, Meal Plan, Grocery List, Settings), click the three‑dot menu on the table → **Turn into → Table – Full page** (or **Table – Inline** as desired).  
5. Open each new database, add the appropriate **Property Types**:
   - Text, Select, Multi‑select, Number, Formula, Relation, Rollup, Checkbox, Date, etc., matching the column headers.
6. Set up **Relations**:
   - In **Recipes**, add a Relation to **Ingredients** (many‑to‑many).  
   - In **Meal Plan**, add a Relation to **Recipes**.  
   - In **Grocery List**, add a Relation to **Ingredients** (via Meal Plan → Recipes → Ingredients).  
7. Configure **Rollups** and **Formulas** for the Grocery List and Recipe Stats views as described in the sections.  
8. Duplicate the **Weekly Review & Meal Prep** page each week and start planning!  

Your fully functional Recipe Box & Meal Planner is now ready to use. Enjoy organized cooking and stress‑free meals!