Mango Labs

30 Sep 2026

An app that suggests dinner from what is already in the kitchen

This is a weeknight dinner app. Someone types the food already in the kitchen, and the app suggests one meal they can cook tonight, with the steps.

What you would build

The screen is simple. Three boxes for ingredients they already have, then one dinner: the name and the cooking steps. If they already know the dish, they can type the name instead and get that recipe. When a step says “1 cup”, the app also shows the amount in grams.

Who it is for

A household cooking on a weeknight and stuck choosing at six. They want one dinner from what is already in the kitchen.

Which APIs

Three APIs, all in Food & Drink. The source list does not list a price for any of them.

Spoonacular is “Recipes, Food Products, and Meal Planning.” It needs an API key. This is the planning call: a short list of meals from the foods they typed, then one dinner kept on screen.

TheMealDB is “Meal Recipes.” It needs an API key. Use it when they already know the dish and want that recipe, not a plan built from scraps.

ExactCup is “Cooking ingredient densities: grams per US cup, tablespoon, teaspoon and mL.” No key. It is not a recipe API. Call it only to convert a cup, tablespoon, or teaspoon the recipe already gave them. If it has no density, leave the original measure alone.

How to build the first version

  1. Put three plain fields on the screen for what is on the counter. No account yet.
  2. Ask Spoonacular for a short list, then show one dinner: the name, and the instructions that came back. If the response is empty, say so. Do not invent a recipe.
  3. Add a second box labeled “I already know the dish,” and look that name up on TheMealDB.
  4. Where a step uses a US cup, tablespoon, or teaspoon, ask ExactCup for grams and show both numbers.
  5. Remember the last few dinners on the device so the next night can skip a repeat.

How it could make money

Charge the household a small monthly price, once, not per person. The question comes up most nights, so a pass fits better than an app they install and forget. That price has to cover the Spoonacular and TheMealDB keys.

What to leave out

A calorie count on every step, a social feed of finished plates, and a plan for the whole week. The first version is one dinner tonight.