Log food with a photo, voice note, or text

Start with a photo when the plate is in front of you

In Meali, you can attach up to three selected photos to a meal. Photos stay with the entry and can help the AI estimate the visible foods and portions. You can use the camera or choose an existing meal photo.

Try to include the whole plate in clear light. If there are several dishes, add a short description of what you actually ate. A shared serving dish is different from an individual portion, even if the photo looks the same.

Add the details a picture does not explain: what is inside a sandwich, whether a sauce contains cream, or whether you had a second helping. “Half this bowl, with tahini dressing” is more informative than a photo alone. The resulting nutrition is still an estimate, not a measurement.

Say what you ate, then review the words

Use a voice note when speaking is convenient. Meali supports recordings of up to 60 seconds. Describe the foods, approximate quantities, and any extras, just as you would in a written entry.

“For lunch I had a bowl of chickpeas, rice, roasted vegetables, and a spoon of tahini. I ate about three quarters of the bowl.”

The recording is transcribed into editable text. Before saving, check names and amounts: “two” and “a few” describe different portions. You can fix the transcript rather than recording the whole meal again. Your original saved words stay with the entry.

Use text for a quick, quiet note

Typing is always an option; you do not have to allow the camera or microphone. A sentence such as “Yogurt with a peach and a handful of granola” gives you a record to return to.

Text also works well for details you remember later. Open the meal and correct the description or portion. If you want ideas for what to include, use the food journal examples and template.

Permissions and internet access

Camera and microphone access are optional, and you can change permissions in iPhone Settings. When you select photos, the app uses the ones you choose rather than requesting access to your whole photo library.

Meal entries save on your iPhone first, so you can keep written notes offline. AI nutrition estimates, voice transcription, and syncing need a connection. If you are offline, write the meal down and let syncing catch up later. A pending estimate is not zero calories.

Meal text and selected photos are processed by an AI service for estimation; voice recordings are processed for transcription. Read the privacy policy for the data flow, and the nutrition estimate guide for what to check when the numbers arrive.