How I Used ChatGPT to Create My Ultimate Meal Prep Recipe Book

It Started at 1 AM on a Tuesday Night…

It was one o’clock in the morning on a Tuesday night when I found myself wide awake, courtesy of the beloved third-trimester insomnia. I had spent the last few days frustrated—frustrated at how much I had let my nutrition habits slide, frustrated at how even simple meal preparation had become an overwhelming monster of a task.

I constantly used the excuse that my brain was working overtime throughout the day, and by the time I even thought about meals, I was too drained to plan or prep anything.

As I lay there, staring at the ceiling and listening to my husband snore, I decided to download the Audible version of Jamie Pope’s “Nutrition 101” to see if I could learn something useful. But after just a few minutes, I realized that this whole “learning about nutrition” thing was going to take way longer than I had the patience for at 1 AM.

So, I turned to ChatGPT and told it to “act like Jamie Pope.”

🔥 GAME CHANGER. 🔥

Here’s exactly how I used ChatGPT to create a “working” recipe book that completely changed how I approach nutrition as someone who feels overwhelmed and lost when it comes to meal planning.

Step 1: Structuring My Recipe Book

Before diving into recipes, I needed to structure my book properly. I wanted it to be well-organized and easy to reference when meal prepping.

💡 Categories I included:
📂 Breakfast – Smoothies, overnight oats, egg muffins, pancakes, etc.
📂 Lunch – Salads, wraps, soups, grain bowls, etc.
📂 Dinner – Sheet pan meals, stir-fries, slow cooker recipes, etc.
📂 Snacks – Energy bites, roasted chickpeas, yogurt parfaits, etc.
📂 Smoothies – Different variations based on nutrition goals (protein, detox, hormone balancing)
📂 Toddler Meals – Hidden veggie meals, easy finger foods
📂 Holistic Health Recipes – Recipes that support hormone balance, gut health, and energy stability
📂 Meal Prep Staples – Bulk-cooked grains, proteins, sauces
📂 Refrigerator & Freezer Staples – Essentials to always have on hand

💬 My First ChatGPT Prompt:

"I want to create a healthy meal prep recipe book for my family. It should include sections for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, smoothies, toddler meals, meal prep staples, and kitchen essentials. Can you suggest a structured way to organize these recipes?"

✅ What ChatGPT gave me: A structured outline of categories, helping me get organized before diving into recipes.

Step 2: Generating Recipes for Each Section

Once my categories were set, I asked ChatGPT to generate recipes that were:
✔ Meal-prep friendly
✔ Minimal ingredient
✔ Freezer/storable
✔ Balanced and nutritious

📌 Prompt 1: Generating Breakfast Recipes

💬 I asked:
"Give me meal prep-friendly breakfast recipes that are nutritious, can be frozen or stored for later, and don’t require too many ingredients."

📌 Top breakfast recipes ChatGPT gave me:
✅ Smoothie Prep Formula – Base + fruit + greens + protein + boosts
✅ Overnight Oats – Stored in jars for easy grab-and-go mornings
✅ Egg Muffins – Bake, store, and reheat for a quick protein-packed breakfast
✅ Banana Pancakes (3-ingredient) – Toddler-friendly and freezer-friendly
✅ Breakfast Burritos – Wrap, freeze, and reheat when needed

📌 Prompt 2: Generating Lunch Recipes

💬 I asked:
"Give me healthy, easy-to-prep lunches that store well in the fridge for up to 5 days."

📌 Top lunch recipes I kept in my book:
✅ Mason Jar Salads – Dressing on the bottom, greens on top to stay fresh
✅ Turkey & Veggie Wraps – Simple and easy to prep
✅ Mediterranean Grain Bowls – Quinoa + protein + veggies + dressing
✅ Lentil Soup – One-pot and great for bulk cooking

📌 Prompt 3: Generating Dinner Recipes

💬 I asked:
"Give me bulk-friendly, healthy dinner recipes that can be meal prepped ahead of time and frozen if needed."

📌 Top dinner recipes I included:
✅ Sheet Pan Chicken & Veggies – One-pan, easy clean-up
✅ Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken – Multi-use for tacos, bowls, wraps
✅ Turkey Meatballs with Zoodles – Freezer-friendly
✅ Beef & Veggie Stir-Fry – Quick and versatile

Step 3: Asking for Meal Prep & Storage Tips

Since storage was crucial, I needed details on how long meals could last in the fridge or freezer.

💬 Prompt:
"Can you provide meal prep and storage tips for these recipes? Which can be frozen, how long each lasts in the fridge, and the best way to store them?"

📌 Key insights I added to my book:
✅ Overnight oats – Fridge (5 days), add fresh fruit before eating
✅ Egg muffins – Fridge (5 days), freeze (2 months)
✅ Mason jar salads – Keep dressing at the bottom to stay fresh (4-5 days)
✅ Slow cooker chicken – Fridge (5 days), freeze (3 months)
✅ Energy bites – Fridge (2 weeks), freeze (3 months)

Step 4: Making ChatGPT "Act Like" a Nutritionist

I wanted my meals to be hormone-friendly and nutritionally balanced, so I told ChatGPT to act like Jamie Pope, a nutritionist specializing in hormone health, stress reduction, and meal prepping.

💬 Prompt:
"Act like Jamie Pope, a certified nutritionist specializing in hormone health and meal prepping. Can you suggest foods and recipes that help with hormone balance, stress reduction, and energy stability?"

📌 New recipes ChatGPT generated based on this:
✅ Hormone-Balancing Smoothies (Added maca, flaxseeds, chia seeds)
✅ PCOS-Friendly Juices (Low-glycemic fruits, turmeric, ginger)
✅ Postpartum Recovery Meals (Iron-rich foods, omega-3s, healing broths)

💬 Follow-up Prompt:
"Can you break down each meal’s specific benefits, like how it supports hormone balance, gut health, or energy levels?"

📌 Final Additions:
✅ Green Goddess Juice – Liver detox & estrogen balance
✅ Adrenal Support Smoothie – Stabilizes cortisol & blood sugar
✅ Fertility-Boosting Salmon & Greens – Omega-3s & progesterone support

Step 5: Organizing & Finalizing the Recipe Book

Once I had all my recipes, I asked ChatGPT to help format everything into a structured, easy-to-follow document.

💬 Final Prompt:
"Help me organize these recipes into a clear, structured meal prep book with easy-to-read sections, meal prep tips, and a pantry essentials list."

📌 Final Layout of My Recipe Book:
✅ Breakfast – Easy grab-and-go mornings
✅ Lunch – Fresh, nutrient-packed midday meals
✅ Dinner – Bulk-friendly, freezer meals
✅ Snacks – Quick energy boosters
✅ Smoothies – Tailored to different health goals
✅ Toddler Zone – Kid-friendly, hidden-veggie meals
✅ Holistic Health Meals – Recipes for hormone balance & gut health
✅ Meal Prep Staples – Grains, proteins, sauces, and essentials

For making the download below, I utilized Canva. What you can’t see in the downloadable file, is the adorable cover page I put together to make our recipe binder look pretty on the counter. The Canva work was definitely a lot up front, but worth it in the end to just flip through the most concise recipe binder I have ever seen.

If you don’t already have a one-inch binder laying around, I ordered a set of four off of Amazon. I purchased some binder dividers from Walmart and finally, a three-hole punch from Amazon.

Final Thoughts & My Full Recipe Book

📌 Want my full recipe book? Download it here: https://kaleighconners.com/s/Recipes-2.pdf

📌 Want my weekly meal planning template? Download it here: https://kaleighconners.com/s/Weekly-Meal-Plan-Template.pdf

💡 Try this method yourself! Use my exact prompts, refine them, and build your own custom meal prep guide.

Let me know how it goes!