Gentle Plate

Welcome

Gentle Plate is a private food notebook for your phone or browser. You write what you ate in plain words, it gives you calories and protein as an honest range, and it never scores you for it.

I'm an engineer, and I built this for my partner, who wanted to track food without being judged by an app. The longer story is on the about page.

There's a version you can try further down, and the sign-up is at the bottom of the page.

No streaks. No red numbers. No guilt. No blame.

How it works

• Write food the way you'd say it. "toast with peanut butter" is enough. A photo, a barcode or a recipe link works too. Nothing to weigh, nothing to look up.
• Get an honest range. You'll see something like 280–380 kcal, because that is what anyone actually knows about a piece of toast. Apps that show one exact number are guessing too - they just hide it.
• Meal ideas that fit. They lean with the seasons and, if you set it, your cycle phase. Suggestions, never instructions.
• One log across your devices. Your diary syncs to the app's own gated database. It is never sold or shared.
• The estimator is optional. The app runs fine with it off. The full notice is at /privacy.

a range, never a verdict

This app won't…

• Count your days. Nothing counts them, so there is nothing to break. No streaks, no scores.
• Pretend to be sure. Estimates are ranges. When the app isn't sure, the range gets wider instead of pretending.
• Mention a missed day. Miss one and the app says nothing. No shame mechanics.

nothing to keep up, every day is a fresh day

Try it

Coming next

• Period notes. Somewhere to jot down energy, mood and how you're doing on cycle days, so the tracking and meal suggestions get more accurate to you.
• Privacy stays the rule. Same as everything else here.

Questions I'd ask too

Is it free?

Yes, while it's small, and it stays that way for the people who are here early - the first twenty or so keep everything for good. Further down the line the AI estimates will probably sit behind a small yearly pass, paid once, nothing that renews itself. The rest of the app stays free. If you'd like to chip in before then, there's a tip jar; it goes on hosting and building, not a wage.

Who is it for?

People who want to keep an eye on food without being judged by an app. I built it because the usual trackers made someone I love feel worse, not better.

Why ranges instead of exact numbers?

Portion size, cooking and labelling all wobble, so one exact figure overstates what anyone measured. A range is what the evidence supports, and it is kinder to live with. I test the ranges against real meals and publish what I find - the numbers are in how we test the estimates.

What happens to my email?

It sits on the waitlist and nothing else. One invite email when a spot opens. Want it gone before then? Email me and I'll remove it by hand.

What leaves my device?

The diary sync, and the estimator calls if you use them. That's the list. The app runs fine with the estimator off, and the estimator providers are set to neither keep nor train on what they see.