How often do we struggle to decide what to make or what recipe to use? Imagine yourself hungry and opening the fridge, pantry or looking at a take out menu to decide what to have and you can’t decide. What if there was an app that allowed you to take a photo and recognize the food you have and give you a list of potential recipes to prepare?
Introducing: What’s for Dinner? – the ultimate AR food prep experience!
The first page of the infographic is the rationale and background information. Make sure to check out the hyperlinks to the meal planning and AR apps. The second page is an overview of the app and it’s features. (I did attempt a prototype of the app, but after much sweat and tears, I opted for adding a second page instead. Maybe one day I will have patience for app development…).
If you could add any features to the app, what would they be?
(The infographic seems to embed really small … please zoom in to better read the content and access the hyperlinks!)
If you are unable to read the embeded infographic above, I’ve included photos of each page. The hyperlinks do not work on the photos below ….
Hey there Meg,
Fantastic Idea! I could really benefit from having an app like this in my life. Using ab AI to identify what ingredients are in a person’s fridge would be awesome. It would be neet if there was a way the app could take use a photo of an existing meal on the internet or social media to help deconstruct and make a shopping list to make it yourself. The idea you have here most definitely has space to grow in the future. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Meg,
Good for you in attempting to develop an app. The info graphs still look good. Nice work!
You would know more then this then I would, but I think the focus here is “what is in your fridge”, not what you can prepare at any given time to support my daily workouts. If you are taking the time to count calories, or making sure you have enough protein after a workout, your probably going to take the time to buy appropriate groceries. This is for the end of the week when you want something tasty and that will fill you up. It assist you in becoming a little more creative, and develop cooking stills in times of need. I think it is a bit of a stretch to ask a phone to take a picture and come up with a recipe that is optimal for the physical activity you want to do on that given day. Ask anyone in incredible shape, it is a lifestyle. Not a key feature on your smartphone. You proposed app would assist cooking creativity and remove a hungry belly and the end of the long day. I think it is a good idea and doesn’t need to do more then that. There seemed to be a little trend in the other conversations of additional features that could be added, and I don’t know if it is necessary.
One downfall to you proposed app is it would eliminate Michael’s clean out the fridge stir fry. Then again, my girlfriend would not consider this a downfall.
Thanks Mike!
I did want to keep it simple, as there isn’t an app that solves that dilemma when staring into an open fridge! There are lots of apps to help come up with high/low protein/fat/sugar/salt/fibre or show you the latest gluten free/keto/vegan trend! Healthy living is absolutely a lifestyle, so this app may not be a go to for those people.
And your clean out the fridge stir fry sounds a lot like my husbands clean out the fridge fried rice (that occasionally contains pepperoni and potatoes! Don’t knock it till you try it as it’s actually pretty good!).
Hi Meg
What a great idea for an app! And I bet it could be built today too. There are endless possibilities for taking this idea to the next level, smart fridges that know exactly what is in them. The ability to scan and upload a grocery receipt. A learning algorithm that would tell you what you could make if you only purchase things you commonly purchase but are out of to help build a shopping list. A meal planner that tells you what you should purchase weekly so that the meals you want to make in the future have the right ingredients and they are relatively fresh.
I like the infographic but the Canva plugin for WordPress seems to be messing with the links, they are not working for me unless I go to the Canva site. It might have been better to upload it as a pdf. I like how you have tied in values beyond the obvious, reducing grocery trips and COVID exposure.
Have you thought about privacy or security concerns? The application would have to have access to phone storage and camera. It would also upload picture taken from inside your house. Some of the features would also link to personal preferences and purchasing so there could be a lot of information floating around with this application.
Hi Stephen!
Thanks so much for the comment. I agree that there are endless possibilities! There are a few neat looking apps that already exist to tackle the meal planning/grocery shopping list interaction, but I was attempting to look beyond those and incorporate some AR. I agree that the Canva plug in isn’t working very nicely – it definitely looks a lot nicer in the preview mode than it does when it’s published. I will try and embed a PDF and see if that help – thanks for the suggestion!
I didn’t consider a ton of privacy concerns, other than having an email to log in to protect some information. I hadn’t thought of the pictures inside your house and the location tracking potential. Definitely something to consider! I have a hard time with some of these concerns, because there are many benefits to location tracking and algorithms that track your likes/dislikes that make our lives a lot easier! How can we keep our information safe, but reap the convenience benefits?
Hello Meg
I really like your idea. It will certainly be advantageous and practical considering current health issues and pandemics. The app quickly solves a constant worry in your daily routine, what’s for dinner, using food that we already have at home. An interesting refinement estimates calories for each dish. I humbly would like to suggest that what is for dinner indicates which recipe is healthier and foods that do not harm the environment. Congrats on your job!
Thanks Alexei! You bring up a great point about health issues. It would be great to add in a ranking of recipes so users know which recipes are the healthiest or which are the most environmentally friendly. The app could even take it a step further and include filters for specific health considerations (low fat/sugar/salt, high protein/fibre or allergies). This would be essential for those users that have very specific health concerns. Thanks for your input!
Great app design concept Meg! I think this will really help university students as well as they learn to start cooking for themselves…
So anyone who knew me before last January knew immediately that I am a terrible cook. And it’s not that I’m a bad cook, I just NEVER get food cravings… and so I never know what to make for diner. My thoughts are more: What nutrition do I need today? Do I have the materials that I need to get that nutrition? I’ve since had more time and flexibility to experiment with recipes and build meals I enjoy, but I still struggle to come up with ideas!
The other problem is that I only buy groceries for specific meals. When I go to the store to shop, I have a specific list of what I need for meals that week. Will this completely alter how we shop? Would this make it more convenient to have a storeroom or stock pile of food at home and get the app to provide my meal planning for me? By the end of the two weeks before my next grocery shopping trip, my cupboards are empty and I do my best to use up everything I bought before I go get new stuff.
I might also suggest some filters for the meal ideas like how long it takes to make or the number of ingredients required.
Thanks Elixa!
You bring up some great potential additions to the app: length of prep time and number of ingredients would be super helpful. But a nutrition facts counter that helps you plan a balanced meal to ensure you are getting all the necessary nutrients would be a huge asset. I do think an app like this would make it more convient to stock up on things and then give ideas to use it all up. There are other apps that already exist to keep track of what’s in your pantry and remind you when it’s coming close to being out of date (such as Best Before and Fresh Box: https://learn.compactappliance.com/apps-for-your-fridge/).
I admire that you’re able to have a meal plan that you stick to! I am honestly incapable of it. I can have a plan for dinners for the week and then always end up just winging it most nights! That said we are usually busy with hockey, hunting or work so we just make do with whatever we can! I do wish I was a bit more organized in the kitchen (but I do spend all day at work in a kitchen as a Foods teacher, so by the time I get home I’m often just done!).
Hi Meg, this is a good idea. I have given a version of this as an assignment to my students, “how can an AI enabled fridge help you with meal planning?” I also like the various features you have incorporated into your app idea. After reading through your presentation a few times, I have some questions.
How would the app use Augmented Reality to give you a list of recipe ideas to select from based on the foods available?
You seem to focus on how adults would use this at home. How will students benefit from this tool in a learning context? Could they use it at home as well as at school? Would this tool be used by Foods teachers to help students plan meals? Could there be an element where they meal plan with a certain budget as well as the constraints of the foods they have? Could students use the tool to upload pictures of the foods they have created at home and then share to their teacher?
How does this tool incorporate mobility affordances such as portability? Again, can students use it at home, at the grocery store, at school or in a garden?
How else could this tool incorporate the affordances of mobility such as context awareness or individualization? Or what about social interaction? Could students collaborate or compete when choosing a common recipe to make?
I like your reference to short recipe videos. Could you add some examples for how these mobile optimized, micro-learning chunks might help students work through a recipe or plan a grocery trip?
Could there also be a gamification element to encourage students to waste as little food as possible?
These are some of my thoughts to help me paint a fuller picture for myself, of your great idea!
Hi Toby!
Thanks for all your great questions! I’m happy to hear that you’ve done a version of this as an assignment – as a Foods teacher I don’t put enough time into encouraging my students to think about the future (but this class has definitely gotten me thinking about how to incorporate some forcasting into class).
The app would be accessible on a phone or device and operates similar to the plant identification software that a few of our classmates have highlighted. Simply hovering the device camera/sensor over your fridge or pantry would populate recipes posted online to give inspiration for using up what you have on hand. This in itself would help at reducing food waste by using up the food you’ve already purchased before it expires or goes bad. Because it’s accessible on a mobile device, it could also be used at te grocery store – imagine there is a vegetable on sale at the grocery store that you don’t even know what it is, let alone how to use it. You can use the What’s for Dinner app to help you identify the veggie and give you some meal ideas using it!
While I didn’t necessarily envision this app as a learning tool, students in my Foods classes could definitely put it to use! Occasionally I give my students a “Chopped” style cooking challenge, where I feature certain ingredients that they need to use (usually happens when I have a bunch of leftovers, or before a long weekend or school break). The students could use this app to get inspiration for what to make while using up the required ingreident(s). I teach my students to often use recipes as a guide and highlight which parts of the recipe can be easily modified, so even if every student got the same recipe recommendation, they may each put a personal twist on it!
I hadn’t considered collaboration or competition beyond the user videos and ranking scale, but it would be a great added feature. What if it could challenge users to prepare local, in season foods? I am luck enough to live in the Okanagan where we have amazing farmer’s markets almost all yaer long. The app developer could partner with these markets and local producers to sponsor challenges. There could also be a rating/comment feature where short, audio clips can be recorded that highlight their critique of the recipe.
The short videos would be optimized for the web, and could automatically play if you hover over the food item for longer than 10 seconds. These super short videos would quickly pique a users interest, or not, assisting them in their decision on what to make.
Thanks again for the great questions. It makes me realize that I should have added some more detail to my project (but such is the struggle with an infographic). I hope this helps paint a bigger picture!
Meg.
Hi Meg. I love the idea! As a bit of a foodie, and the principal cook in my household, I do tend to purchase things on speculation — they’re on sale, I’m curious, or I just like to have them as staples — but I do sometimes fall short on inspiration. Some chicken thighs, half a handful of cilantro, and some haricot beans from another recipe… what to do? Any and all help appreciated.
The one fly in the ointment? I’d need a very wide-angle lens to take a pic of all the stuff I’ve already got. Four kinds of rice, twelve+ dry beans and legumes, a whole drawer of herbs and spices and a whole cupboard full of mason jars of other stuff — sesame seeds, szechuan peppercorns, fried shallots, oddball pastas and grains, tiny dried shrimp, katsuobushi, and a few dozen other things, and that’s without even getting into my crisper — or my freezer. So I clearly have more ingredients than ideas some days, and I wonder whether an app could keep up.
That said, maybe such a technology wouldn’t even really be for me — if I have smoked bonito flakes I can’t really be starving. But if this would help all those who haven’t yet discovered the joys of foodie-ism, and help them to plan and make fresh and nutritious food instead of falling back on frozen entrees or take-out then I’m totally on board. Food is, after oxygen and water, pretty much the most crucial thing in our life, and if we can reverse the recent tendency toward “convenient but crummy” then an app like this would do us all a favour.
Hey Sean! Thanks so much for your reply! I think that for people like you (and me!) an app like the one I’m forcasting might not be essential, but it sure may take the edge off and allow you to use up some of those ingreidents that may have been taking up space for too long! I too am a sucker for things on sale – my husband and my kids are still not understanding why cereals and beer aren’t always the same brand …
I agree that many aren’t into the foodie culture as you and I are – I watch my students constantly ordering Skip the Dishes to school and I wonder how they do it financially. And I wonder if it’s a habit that they will create that stays with them for a long time (therefore changing the culture of food to one where ordering delivery is the “normal” thing to do).
I just hope that an app like this may help us clean out the backs of our cupboards a bit more! 🙂