If the food or supplement you are consuming is not in Cronometer's public database, you can create a custom food instead. If you wish to enter a food that you made at home with multiple ingredients, please consider creating a Custom Recipe instead.
If your food does not have any nutrition information listed on the package, it might be more useful to find a generic version of it from the NCCDB or USDA databases instead. For instance, if you cannot find your brand of bananas in our database, instead try adding the NCCDB listing, 'Bananas, Fresh'. Check out this Blog Post for more tips and tricks on choosing the best data for your purposes!
You can create a custom food via two separate paths:
- Selecting Create Food from the Foods tab
- Scanning a barcode of a food we do not currently have in our database.
This article will focus on creating a custom food via the foods tab on the Mobile Cronometer app.
Steps to Create a New Custom Food
Go to the Foods Tab
Select the foods tab from the options found at the bottom of the mobile app version of Cronometer.
Select Create New Food
The foods tab has options to Create Recipe, Create Food and Ask the Oracle. As well it contains a library of your custom foods and recipes to easily browse and edit once you have created them.
Once you have created custom foods and recipes, to add them to your daily diary, please go to the diary tab.
Enter a Food Name
We recommend using the naming convention Brand, Product, Flavour to ensure consistent search terms. For example, Honey Almond Granola from the Nature’s Path brand, would be named Nature’s Path, Granola, Honey Almond.
Enter a Serving Size
Ensure you enter the same serving size as that listed on the packaging at the top of the Nutrition label.
If the serving size is 100 g enter the serving: [Serving Name: 1 Serving Serving Weight: 100]
If the serving size is 2 cookies 28 g enter the serving: [Serving Name: 2 cookies Serving Weight: 28]
If the serving size is 4 tablets, enter the serving : [Serving Name: 4 tablets Serving Weight: n/a]
Enter an alternative serving size if applicable
If your product has a second serving size listed, you can enter this as well, as long as both serving sizes are defined by weight. Tap +Add Serving Size after you have entered your first weight-based serving size. You can delete a serving size by swiping it to the left.
Nutrition Displayed Per
Be sure to select the appropriate serving size as displayed on your product's nutrition label.
Select a Nutrition Label Format
Different countries use different label formats to display the nutrition data on foods. Please note the type of nutrition label your product is using and select the appropriate option. If you aren't sure, you can learn more about the different label types we support in our User manual article, Reading Nutrition Labels
Enter the Nutrition Data
Enter the Nutrient values in the appropriate fields. Make sure that the data you are entering is for the serving size that you have indicated in the serving size field.
Advanced Nutrition
Your food's nutrition label may also contain information above and beyond that listed in the main nutrition label. Expand the section labeled Advanced Nutrition Facts to enter up to 82 nutrients
Choose a Category
Choose the category that best describes your product. For instance, categorize Kraft Mayonnaise in Fats & Oils.
This step is optional.
Add Notes
You can add a note if there is anything important that you would like to remember about this food. For instance, you could mention that it is gluten-free, or if you didn’t like this food. These notes are for your purposes only. If you publish your food, the note will not be added to the database.
Save Your Custom Food
Once you are finished entering your details, tap the chevron in the top right corner to move on to the next step and review your nutrients to make sure the data is correct. Here, save it to your library of custom foods. You can also quickly add it to your diary at the same time if you like!
Delete/Retire a Custom Food
Delete your custom food by opening the existing custom food from the custom foods list in the foods tab. Then, tap the action menu in the top right corner and choose Delete from the menu that appears.
If the food has been logged to your Diary, you will be given the choice between 'Delete' and 'Retire'
Deleting a food will also remove it from your past diary entries. Retiring a food will remove the item from your custom foods, but it will remain in your past food diary entries.
Here, you can also swipe the food to the right to quickly add it to your diary straight from the list or left to delete the food.