A calorie tracker you can write in Hinglish

Most of us don't describe our food in database terms. We say "2 roti aur ek katori dal", "chai, kam cheeni" or "aadha plate poha". A calorie tracker that understands how you'd say it is quicker to use, and you're more likely to keep using it.

Why typing it the way you'd say it helps

Searching a database for every item, choosing from ten kinds of dal and guessing a weight in grams takes time, and that's where most people stop logging. Writing one line, the way you'd tell a friend what you ate, takes seconds.

It also keeps the things that change the number: "kam tel", "extra ghee", "half plate" and "bina cheeni" are exactly the details a database search leaves out.

The same dish also has different names in different homes: rotli, phulka and chapati; shaak and sabzi; dahi and curd. A tracker that knows only one spelling makes you search for the others.

What a line can look like

Examples of lines and what they mean. Numbers are this site's home values, before your own kitchen settings.
You write	It means	About
2 roti aur ek katori dal	2 rotis, and 1 katori of dal	190 for the rotis
chai, kam cheeni	1 cup of chai with less sugar	45
aadha plate poha	Half a plate of poha	155
2 rotli ane shaak	2 rotlis and a katori of sabzi (Gujarati)	155 for the rotlis
1 thepla	1 methi thepla	120

Where Slate helps

Slate understands English, Hinglish and Gujarati-English spellings, quantities in words such as ek, do, aadha and half, and preparation words such as "less oil", "kam tel", "no sugar", "bina cheeni", "extra ghee", "half plate" and "full plate". One line can become several: "2 roti aur ek katori dal" becomes "2 roti" and "1 katori dal", each with its own number.

Slate's own matcher on your iPhone reads most lines. Only when it doesn't recognise one does AI help read it, and even then it can only point to dishes in Slate's own catalogue. The AI never produces a calorie number: the number is always worked out from food composition data and recipes in grams.

With Slate Plus you can also say the line instead of typing it, in English or Hinglish. Speech is turned into text on your iPhone, or by Apple's speech service where needed, and Slate never receives or stores audio.

When a line isn't understood

If Slate can't recognise a line, it shows a grey ↻ and counts it as zero. It never guesses a number. You can rewrite the line, or tap it to choose the dish.

The app itself is in English for now. Writing in Hinglish and Gujarati spellings works; the menus and settings are in English.

Questions people ask

Can I write my food in Hinglish?

Yes. Lines such as "2 roti aur ek katori dal", "kam tel" and "bina cheeni" work in Slate, along with Gujarati spellings.

Does Slate understand Gujarati?

Gujarati-English spellings such as "rotli", "shaak" and "dal bhaat" work. The app itself is in English for now.

What happens if Slate doesn't understand a line?

It shows a grey ↻ and counts the line as zero. It never guesses a number.

Does AI decide the calories?

No. AI is used only to read lines Slate doesn't recognise, and it can only point to dishes in Slate's catalogue. The number is worked out from food composition data and recipes in grams.