Meal DNA: Pantry Meal Planner is listed as Free on the App Store, and the Canadian store page shows the same. The tip site New Mobile Life (流動日報) reported it as a limited time free offer and said the usual price is US $0.99.
The app comes from the developer Sunny Tare and is filed under Food & Drink. The listing says it runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, needs iOS 15.5 or later, weighs 89.9 MB and carries an age rating of 9+.
What can it cook from what you already have?
You tick the staples in your kitchen, and the app ranks recipes by what you own and what is closest to expiring. Features listed on the App Store page:
- Quick start: tick your staples and add them all in one tap
- A “What can I cook tonight?” view that ranks ideas by pantry contents and expiring items
- Over 1,000 world recipes, from Indian and Mediterranean to East Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern, with steps and servings
- A pantry that stores amounts and expiry dates, with a reminder before food goes off
- Adding items several at a time, by barcode scan or by photo
- A daily dinner idea at 5:30 pm, which can be switched off in Settings
According to the developer, ingredients you are missing for a recipe go straight onto a shopping list. When you come back from the shop, a “Bought everything” button moves the list into your pantry.
What about meal plans, calories and sharing?
The listing describes meal plans for weight loss, muscle gain, maintenance or more energy, built from your ingredients. It also shows calories and macros per serving, worked out from a food database, plus a food log and water tracking.
Recipes and shopping lists can be shared as text, ready for WhatsApp, or as a PDF. A backup feature saves everything to one file that you can restore on a new phone.
The newest version, 1.6.0, adds a planner that the developer says works fully offline for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. It also adds filters for preparation time (up to 15, 30 or 45 minutes) and for nutritional priority (High Protein, Low Carb or Balanced). The developer states that allergen and dietary screening keeps flagged foods from being recommended. We have not tested that claim.
Does it use cloud AI, and what happens to your data?
The app offers three modes. Local Only is the default: recipes and ideas come from the library on the phone, and no AI requests leave it. Smart AI uses that library first and asks cloud AI only when needed. Cloud AI enables full AI meal plans and chat. The listing says there is no account, no ads and no tracking.
The developer’s privacy policy adds that in Smart AI or Cloud AI mode some requests go to its server and are passed to Google’s Gemini API. The App Store privacy section, which Apple says it has not verified, lists health, photos or videos and other user content as data that may be collected but not linked to your identity.
How much does Meal DNA cost, and where can you get it?
The current store price shown on the official App Store page is Free, and the Canadian page lists it at no cost. New Mobile Life reported a usual price of US $0.99. The pages do not give a Canadian specific price for the paid version.
None of the sources gives an end date, so the offer can end at any time. To get it, open the App Store on an iPhone or iPad, search for Meal DNA: Pantry Meal Planner and tap Get.
Who does it suit?
Families planning dinner. Ranking recipes by what is already in the fridge and pantry fits households that want a quick answer to what to cook tonight, with the shopping list covering the gaps.
People trying to waste less food. Expiry countdowns and a ranking that favours items about to expire are the main reason to try it.
Cooks who like world cuisines. The recipe library spans several regions, and the interface supports 12 languages, including English, French and Spanish.
Who should skip it. The developer says the app is for general wellness and meal planning and gives no medical advice, so anyone with a health condition, who is pregnant or under 18 should speak to a doctor or dietitian first. Readers who do not want any cloud processing should stay in Local Only mode or look elsewhere.
What is still unknown?
No end date for the free offer has been given, and the app has too few ratings for Apple to show a summary. The developer has not indicated which accessibility features it supports, and the accuracy of its calorie figures has not been independently checked.
