# Log a meal

> Add what you ate from your recent foods, a search, a barcode or one of your own foods and recipes.

![Log a meal: Today and Now at the top, a search field with barcode and new food buttons, and the Recent list with meals and foods you have eaten.](https://splot.health/docs/screens/log-a-meal.webp)

1. Find what you ate in Recent, My foods or a search.

![Two foods ticked in Log a meal, with Log 2 items and their calories at the bottom.](https://splot.health/docs/screens/log-selected.webp)

2. Tap the circles beside the foods you had.

![The journal with the new meal in the day's timeline and the totals updated.](https://splot.health/docs/screens/today.webp)

3. Tap Log. The meal joins the day.

## Add what you ate

1. Tap **Log a meal** at the bottom of the journal.
2. Find each food: in **Recent**, in **My foods**, by searching, or by scanning its barcode.
3. Tap the circle beside a food to add it at its usual portion, or tap the food itself to choose the portion first.
4. Check **Today** and **Now** at the top, and tap either to change the day or the time.
5. Tap **Log**, which shows how many items you chose and their calories, such as **Log 2 items · 109 kcal**.

## Recent and My foods

**Recent** lists what you eat most, weighted towards this time of day, so the foods you're likely to want come first. A meal you have eaten the same way more than once appears as one choice, such as **Lunch**, so you can log it again in one tap. When a meal is planned for around now, it is offered first.

**My foods** lists the foods and recipes you made or changed. See [Your foods and recipes](https://splot.health/docs/app/foods).

## Search

Type a name, a brand or a whole barcode in **Search foods**. Results come from:

| Source | What's in it |
| --- | --- |
| My foods | Your own foods and recipes. |
| Common foods | Generic ingredients such as eggs, rice or broccoli. |
| Splot database | Packaged products added to Splot. |
| Open Food Facts | Packaged products from the open product database, by name, brand or barcode. |

If nothing fits, tap **+** to make a [new food](https://splot.health/docs/app/foods#make-a-food).

## Choose the portion

![A food's page: photos of the pack, then portions to choose from: 1 serving, 1 pack, 2 servings, or 150 grams typed in.](https://splot.health/docs/screens/food-portion.webp)

Tap a food to open it. Under **Portion**, choose one of its servings, such as **1 × serving** or **1 × pack**, or type an amount and pick its unit: grams, millilitres, servings, or the food's own measures, such as a slice. The calories update as you go.

Tap **Add to meal** to add it, or **Update portion** if it was already chosen.

## Scan a barcode

1. Tap the barcode button beside **Search foods**.
2. Hold the barcode inside the frame.
3. When Splot finds the product, choose the portion and add it.

If Splot hasn't met the product yet, it says so. Tap **Add it yourself** to make it as a new food with its barcode, or **Scan again**. The first time, allow Splot to use the camera; if you didn't, turn it on in your phone's settings.

## Good to know

- Splot works out a meal's nutrition from its foods and portions. You never type totals.
- The title at the top is a menu: switch it to **Plan a meal** to plan instead. See [Plan meals ahead](https://splot.health/docs/app/plan-meals).
- A connected assistant can log meals for you, including from a photo of your plate. The estimate is the assistant's; Splot saves it, marked as an estimate. See [Things to ask](https://splot.health/docs/mcp/things-to-ask).