I can't find an item, what should I do?

Our food database is still new and it may happen that the item you look for is not there. Not to worry, we will present you the options of how to approach this situation. With a bit of practice this process becomes second nature and logging new items won't feel like such work.

Search by text

Try searching for the item using our application search.

If you are looking for a branded item you can try searching for it with or without the brand name. If we don't have that specific brand it is very likely we will have a very similar item you can use in it's place. In most cases it does not matter what brand of pasta you are using, their nutrition is very similar.

However if you are working with a more complex item, something that is not similar across brands then accuracy might be more important. In that case keep reading.

Search by barcode

If you are working with a packaged food and you have the package with you, then the first option would be to search for it by barcode. If the item is in our database you will be able to log it immediately.

If the item is not yet in our database you will be presented with the option to create it.

There is something similar

If you found something similar but see some differences you can open the item, click on the three dots on right top corner and Create a custom copy of that food. Make the modifications to ingredients and/or nutrition and save it as your own.

If there is still nothing, Create the item

If none of the above worked for you, there is always the options of creating a new item. There are multiple ways on how to create an item and the choise depends on how much information you have about it.

Packaged food

If you have the package available then you should use our image analysis tools in the Create Food section to snap a photo of the ingredients, nutrition and fill in the data. Taking the picture is the simplest way of entering the information. It works in almost any language, and the image does not need to be perfect, however it does help if quality is at least as good so you can read it.

In case you don't have the package available, you can try searching for the item online. If you do manage to find the nutrition and ingredients you can take a screenshot on your phone and upload that screenshot in the Create Food section in tools. Once again our image analysis tool will read the information and you can save a lot of typing.

In case you don't know the items brand or can't find it online there is 1 more option you can try. Read on to Magic Recipe for more information.

Restaurant food or some baked goods with no packaging

Firstly, try to find similar recipes or items in search.

Create the recipe yourself

If you are good at making recipes, you can easily engineer the recipe yourself. Choose the Create Recipe and fill in the ingredients in the best of your knowledge. You do need a good eye for details and some knowledge of common ingredient amounts. For most people this is too much to ask.

Magic recipe

If you are like most people and don't really know what is inside that pie or cake, you can try our Magic assistant. In plain text describe what it is you are eating, if you know some of the ingredients - awesome. If you don't know any, the assistant will give you the most common recipe. It is not exact, but at least you will learn what it is you are likely eating, and approximate the nutrition for it.