What should we eat? Spin the food wheel
The eternal "What's for dinner?" settled in five seconds: spin the food wheel and let chance pick the meal.
Source: W3C Recommendation, W3C Web Cryptography API – getRandomValues(). Updated: .
How it is calculated
The wheel comes preloaded with 16 dishes – pasta, comfort food and takeout favorites. Every slice is the same size, so each dish has a 1 in 16 chance, i.e. 6.25%. The list is only a starting point: delete what you don't like and add your own go-to meals.
Tips for a better food wheel
- Use categories: keep separate lists such as "Quick (under 20 minutes)" with pasta, omelette or wraps and "Healthy" with salad, veggie stir-fry or lentil soup. Spin the quick wheel on weeknights and the ambitious one at the weekend.
- Weight your favorites: type
Pizza *3instead ofPizzaand that slice counts three times. With 15 other single entries, pizza then gets 3 of 18 shares – 16.67%. - Plan the week: switch on "Remove the winning entry from the wheel" and each dish disappears once drawn. Seven spins give you a meal plan without repeats – handy for the weekly shop.
- Use up leftovers: list what's in the fridge ("rice from yesterday", "peppers", "eggs") and let the wheel choose the ingredient you cook around.
Build a wheel for any situation
The list is fully swappable, so the same wheel works as a picker for almost any food decision:
- Vegetarian/vegan: use only plant-based dishes, e.g. veggie curry, lentil soup, baked potatoes or pancakes – the wheel then only ever lands on those.
- Fast food: burgers, pizza, tacos, fried chicken, fries – handy once you've decided on "order in" and just need the type.
- Cuisine wheel: enter cuisines instead of single dishes (Italian, Mexican, Thai, Indian) and pick the exact dish afterward.
- Cook or order in: two entries, "Cook" and "Order in" – or use a straight coin flip for that yes/no call.
Why a wheel works
Choosing dinner rarely fails for lack of ideas – it fails because nobody wants to commit. The wheel makes the call for everyone, and if your first reaction to the result is "oh no", at least you now know what you actually wanted. For families, let everyone add one line: the result is fair and nobody gets to complain.
If it's just "cook or order in?", a coin flip is all you need.
Frequently asked questions
How likely is each dish?
With 16 equal slices, each dish has a 6.25% chance. If you edit the list or add a weight such as "Pizza *2", the wheel recalculates the shares automatically.
Can I plan a week without repeats?
Yes. Turn on "Remove the winning entry from the wheel" – each drawn dish is taken off, and after seven spins your weekly plan is done.
Can I save my own list?
Your entries are saved in this browser automatically, so your personal food wheel is there on your next visit. They are not in the page address; for another device, “Share this wheel” copies a link that contains the list.
We argue about who gets to choose – any ideas?
Everyone adds one dish to the wheel, then spin. Or let the random name picker decide who chooses tonight.
Can I make a wheel with only vegetarian or vegan meals?
Yes – clear the list and add only plant-based dishes, e.g. veggie curry, lentil soup, baked potatoes or pancakes. The wheel then only lands on those, and your browser keeps the list.
Can I use it to pick a cuisine instead of a dish?
Yes, replace the entries with cuisines (Italian, Mexican, Thai, Indian) and spin to pick the cuisine first, then decide on the exact dish.
Should I cook or order in?
Add "Cook" and "Order in" as the only two entries and spin, or use a simple coin flip for that yes/no decision.
Can I make a fast food wheel?
Yes – swap the list for fast food options like burgers, pizza, tacos or fried chicken. The new list is saved in this browser automatically.
Sources and legal basis
- W3C Recommendation: W3C Web Cryptography API – getRandomValues()
- MDN Web Docs – Crypto.getRandomValues()
As of: · Editorial policy
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