How do I create a recipe?
Build a reusable recipe with ingredients, cooking time, servings, and instructions, then use it across every client's meal plan.
Nutrition → Recipes has two tabs: the Recipe database — a curated library of verified, ready-to-use recipes — and Custom recipes, your own library. Build a recipe once and reuse it across every client's meal plan; macros recalculate automatically when you change servings.
Browse either tab as a grid of cards or a table of rows, and search by name.
Create a recipe
- On either Recipes tab, click New recipe.
- Optionally add a cover photo (PNG or JPG, up to 5 MB), enter a name (required) and an optional description, then click Create recipe. The full-screen editor opens.
- Add foods — search the verified database or your custom foods. For a database food, choose its serving measure and amount in the picker's selection tray before adding: on desktop that's the right-hand pane, on mobile selecting a food opens the Selected tab.
- Set the cooking time in hours and minutes, and the number of servings.
- Add cooking instructions as a numbered step list. A recipe that already carries freeform text instructions shows them as a single text block instead.
- Optionally add notes and link related recipes.
- Check the live Mobile preview, which shows the recipe as clients see it, then click Save recipe.
Leaving the editor with unsaved changes warns you first.
Recipe settings and limits
| Setting | What it does | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Recipe name | Shown everywhere the recipe appears | 100 characters, required |
| Description | Shown on the recipe | 1,000 characters |
| Cover photo | The recipe's image | PNG or JPG, up to 5 MB |
| Food items | The ingredients | Each needs a name and a serving above 0 |
| Cooking time | Shown to the client | Hours and minutes |
| Servings | How many serves the recipe makes | — |
| Instructions | A numbered step list, or an existing freeform text block | 1,000 characters per step or per text block |
| Notes | Free text on the recipe | 1,000 characters |
Serving measures lock once a database food is added
When you add a food from the verified database, its unit locks to the verified measure. You can still change the amount. To use a different measure, remove the food and add it again. Custom foods stay fully editable.
Copy a database recipe to your library
Database recipes are read-only. To change one, open it and click Copy & Edit — a copy lands in your custom recipes with "(Copy)" added to the name, and every field is editable there.
Edit, duplicate, or delete a custom recipe
Use a custom recipe's row or card menu to Edit recipe, Duplicate, or Delete it. A duplicate gets " - Copy" added to its name.
Deleting permanently removes the recipe from your library, but it doesn't vanish from work you've already done: meal plans that include the recipe carry their own copy of its details, and clients' assigned plans are snapshots.
Things to watch out for
- Every food item needs a name and a serving above zero before the recipe will save.