Ethical Apple
A budget-first meal and grocery planning prototype, using transparent sample prices and predictable planning logic.
Start with a real need.
Households shopping on a tight budget need to understand how meals and ingredients might fit the money available.
Who it is for
Chicago households planning meals and grocery spending.
What is implemented.
- Budget, household-size, and planning-duration inputs.
- Rule-based meal selection and aggregated shopping lists.
- Pantry quantity adjustments and sample basket comparisons.
- Download, copy, and share options for the shopping list.
How it comes together.
A client-side JavaScript application built with Vite. A data catalog supplies sample prices and meal templates; a separate planning module calculates meals, quantities, and budget fit.
The important decision
After exploring a local Ollama model and grocery-price integration, the shipped prototype uses deterministic browser-side logic for a more reliable deployed experience.
Clear about what it does.
Prices are illustrative planning estimates, not checkout quotes. Distances are fixed examples. Dietary tags are preferences, not allergy or nutrition guidance. No runtime AI model or live pricing API.