Build Log
ForgeHome Meal Engine — Session 1
June 19, 2026
Built the meal logging and feedback engine for ForgeHome. Voice + text capture, Claude parsing, per-person preference tracking. The grocery list AI now has data to learn from.
forgehomemeal-engineai-patterns
3
New DB tables pushed to Neon
2
Input modes: voice + text
1
Claude parse API call per log session
3
Family members with preference tracking
Timeline
Start
Exploring Aldi cart integration
Instacart URL confirmed: instacart.com/store/s?k=item
30 min
Pivoted off cart automation
No useful URL pre-fill API; browser automation violates ToS; real value is the list, not the cart
1h
Designed the meal engine
Meal history → AI meal plan → grocery list. Landon preference engine. Season + weather weighting.
1.5h
Schema designed + pushed to Neon
meals, meal_feedback, grocery_items tables live
2h
/meals page built
Voice capture, text capture, Claude parse, review step, save
2.5h
Meal history + feedback built
Per-person emoji ratings, notes, grouped by date
End
Committed, deployed, retro
home.forgekits.build updated. Meal engine seeding from day one.
“The cart isn't the problem. The list is. And the list gets smarter every week.”