Build Log · June 19, 2026

ForgeHome Meal Engine — Session 1

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.

  • forgehome
  • meal-engine
  • ai-patterns
New DB tables pushed to Neon
3

New DB tables pushed to Neon

Input modes: voice + text
2

Input modes: voice + text

Claude parse API call per log session
1

Claude parse API call per log session

Family members with preference tracking
3

Family members with preference tracking

Timeline

  1. Start

    Exploring Aldi cart integration

    Instacart URL confirmed: instacart.com/store/s?k=item

  2. 30 min

    Pivoted off cart automation

    No useful URL pre-fill API; browser automation violates ToS; real value is the list, not the cart

  3. 1h

    Designed the meal engine

    Meal history → AI meal plan → grocery list. Landon preference engine. Season + weather weighting.

  4. 1.5h

    Schema designed + pushed to Neon

    meals, meal_feedback, grocery_items tables live

  5. 2h

    /meals page built

    Voice capture, text capture, Claude parse, review step, save

  6. 2.5h

    Meal history + feedback built

    Per-person emoji ratings, notes, grouped by date

  7. 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.”
— ForgeHome Meal Engine