What is AI Food Scanning?
Kaloria's AI camera uses advanced computer vision to automatically identify foods in your photos. Instead of searching databases and typing, just snap a picture—our AI instantly recognizes foods, estimates portions, and calculates complete nutrition data.
The scanner can identify:
- Individual foods- Apple, chicken breast, bowl of rice
- Complete meals- Complex dishes with multiple ingredients
- Restaurant meals- Popular menu items and dishes
- Home-cooked dishes- Recipes and homemade meals
- Multiple items- Several different foods on one plate
Free users:10 AI scans per day (resets every 24 hours)Premium users:Unlimited scanning with no restrictions
How to Scan Your Meal
Open the Camera
Tap thecamera iconin the bottom center of the navigation bar on your home screen.
Camera Icon Location
camera-home-icon.png Maestro: help-screenshots/01-camera-home-icon.yamlCheck the Meal Type
Kaloria automatically selects the meal type based on the time of day. You'll see chips at the top showing Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, or Snack.
Automatic selection:
- Breakfast: 4:30 AM - 10:00 AM
- Lunch: 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
- Dinner: 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
- Snack: All other times
Tap any chip to change the meal type manually.
Meal Type Selector
camera-meal-types.png Maestro: help-screenshots/02-camera-meal-types.yamlPosition Your Food
Center your meal within the scanning frame. For best results:
- Show the entire dish in the frame
- Use good lighting - natural light works best
- Hold camera at 30-45° angle, not directly above
- Avoid shadows covering the food
- Get close enough to see details
Food Positioned in Frame
camera-viewfinder.png Maestro: help-screenshots/03-camera-viewfinder.yaml- Lighting:Natural daylight or bright indoor lights - avoid dim lighting
- Angle:45-degree angle shows depth and portions better than overhead
- Background:Plain backgrounds help AI focus on the food
- Focus:Make sure the image isn't blurry
Capture the Photo
Tap the largewhite circular buttonat the bottom center. You'll feel a haptic click and see the camera shutter animation. The AI analysis starts automatically!
AI Analyzing Your Meal
camera-analyzing.png Maestro: help-screenshots/04-camera-analyzing.yamlReview the Results
After 3-5 seconds, the results panel appears showing:
- Food name- What the AI identified
- Total calories- Large number prominently displayed
- Macros- Protein, carbs, and fat breakdown
- Ingredients- Individual items detected with weights
- Nutrition tip- AI-generated health insight
AI Analysis Results
camera-results.png Maestro: help-screenshots/05-camera-results.yamlAdjust Serving Size (Optional)
If the portion estimate is off, use theserving size dialat the bottom of the results. Drag left to decrease (0.25x minimum) or right to increase (up to 5x). All nutrition values update instantly.
Serving Size Adjustment
camera-serving-dial.png Maestro: help-screenshots/06-camera-serving-dial.yamlRefine the Analysis (Optional)
Not quite right? Tap therefine/edit iconto give the AI more context. Tell it things like:
- "Actually 2 chicken breasts, not 1"
- "With extra cheese"
- "No dressing"
- "Large restaurant portion"
The AI will re-analyze with your instructions and update the nutrition data.
Refine Analysis
camera-refine.png Maestro: help-screenshots/07-camera-refine.yamlAdd to Your Journal
Happy with the results? Tap"Add to [Meal Type]"at the bottom (e.g., "Add to Lunch"). Your meal is instantly saved to today's journal with all nutrition data, and counts toward your daily goals!
Success Confirmation
camera-success.png Maestro: help-screenshots/08-camera-success.yamlScanning Barcodes on Packaged Foods
For packaged foods with barcodes, Kaloria can instantly pull exact nutrition data from global food databases. This is even more accurate than AI photo recognition for labeled products!
How to Scan a Barcode:
- Open the camera (same as above)
- Point the camera at the product's barcode (UPC or EAN)
- The barcode is detected automatically - no button to press!
- An overlay appears showing the product name and nutrition per 100g
- Tap anywhere outside the overlay to dismiss it and proceed to take a photo
- The AI will use the barcode data to enhance its analysis
Barcode Scanning
camera-barcode.png Maestro: help-screenshots/09-camera-barcode.yamlKaloria uses OpenFoodFacts, a global database with millions of products. If a barcode isn't found, the AI will still analyze your photo—just without the barcode data boost.
Other Camera Options
The camera screen has several handy shortcuts:
Gallery Picker
Select an existing photo from your device to analyze. Great for photos you took earlier or received from others.
Manual Text Entry
Describe your food in text instead of taking a photo. Just type "grilled salmon with asparagus" and get nutrition data.
Recent Meals
Quickly re-add meals you've logged before. Perfect for recurring meals or favorite dishes.
Camera Flash
Toggle flash on/off for low-light situations. Better lighting improves AI accuracy!
Tips for Maximum AI Accuracy
- Natural Light:Daylight or bright indoor lighting gives best results
- 45° Angle:Not directly overhead - angle helps AI see depth
- Show Everything:Capture the full portion, don't cut off parts
- Plain Background:Reduces distractions for AI
- One Plate at a Time:Better results than multiple plates
- Stay Focused:Avoid blurry photos
Common Issues & Solutions
What's Next?
Now that you know how to scan food, learn how to: