You Eat How You Eat counts plant variety
See how You Eat groups repeated plant names, fresh and frozen foods, colour variants and mixed meals into an estimated weekly variety record.
You Eat counts distinct recognised plant names across saved meals in the same week. It groups names that refer to the same food, so eating spinach twice does not add a second spinach to that week’s variety count.
This page explains the app’s counting convention. It is not a definition of botanical species, a dietary target or a health score.
Repeat foods count together
A plant recognised in several meals counts once across that week. The same spinach in lunch and dinner is still spinach. The count describes the different plants recorded, not the number of portions or the number of times you ate them.
A later week is a separate record. Your previous week’s spinach does not automatically become an entry in the new week.
Preparation names do not create extra plants
The app groups common preparation descriptions. “Baby spinach”, “frozen spinach” and “spinach leaves” resolve to spinach. “Canned chickpeas” and “chickpeas” resolve to chickpea.
It also recognises some regional names: zucchini and courgette group together, as do garbanzo beans and chickpeas. A different word should not turn the same ingredient into an extra plant.
| Recorded names | How You Eat groups them |
|---|---|
| Baby spinach; frozen spinach | One spinach entry |
| Red pepper; green pepper | One pepper entry |
| Chickpeas; garbanzo beans | One chickpea entry |
| Black beans; kidney beans | Two separate bean entries |
Colour variants depend on the food
Red and green peppers count together. Red and yellow onions also group together. Different names of beans, such as black beans and kidney beans, are kept separate in the current app convention.
Other trackers may use different groupings. Compare the counting method before assuming two apps’ totals should match.
Mixed meals contribute recorded ingredients
A named dish is not assigned an automatic plant total. A chickpea salad can contribute its recorded chickpeas, tomatoes and other plant ingredients. An ingredient that was not recognised or confirmed may be missing.
Grains, beans and lentils, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices can appear in the record alongside fruit and vegetables. The count depends on the plant names recorded for the meal, not an assumption that every recipe includes particular foods.
A variety count is only one view
Your count can be incomplete when meals are unlogged or ingredients are uncertain. It does not measure your microbiome or establish that a diet meets all your nutritional needs.
You Eat shows plant variety alongside the food-group picture. See the plant-variety feature for the product overview, or start a simple meal record without trying to fill every detail at once.