Frequently asked questions

You photograph the recipe itself — a cookbook page, a handwritten card, a magazine clipping or a PDF. MineralPlate reads the ingredient list straight from the photo, matches every ingredient to USDA FoodData Central and the Canadian Nutrient File, and calculates the vitamin and mineral profile per serving. No typing, no copy-pasting.

Any written recipe: printed cookbook pages, handwritten family cards, magazine clippings, screenshots or PDFs. One photo is usually enough for a short recipe; longer lists can be scanned in several photos.

Ingredient amounts are read from your photo by AI, then matched to government-maintained nutrition databases — never crowd-sourced entries. Figures are estimates and will vary with the exact brands and preparation you use, but the reference data itself is professionally maintained. Nutrient figures are not medical or dietary advice.

Percent daily values (%DV) are calculated against Health Canada daily values and tuned to the age and sex in your profile — a 70-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man see different targets for the same bowl of lentils.

Free accounts get 10 scans a month. The counter resets at the start of each month, and your saved recipes stay yours — nothing is deleted when you're on the free plan.

Scanning pauses until your next monthly reset or until you upgrade to Pro. Your saved recipes and intake log remain readable at all times.

No. Only new scans count. Re-reading a recipe you've already scanned, viewing your library or logging servings to your intake log is always free.

Pro gives you 100 scans a month, unlimited saved recipes, your full intake history, and recipe cover photos. It's built for people who cook often and want their whole nutrition picture in one place.

Pro is $4.99 CAD per month, or $39.99 CAD per year — about $3.33 a month, two months free versus paying monthly. Prices include everything; there is no separate scan charge.

Payments are processed by Paddle, our merchant of record. Your card statement will show a charge from Paddle, not MineralPlate. We never see or store your card details.

Yes. Cancel from the billing portal in your account settings. Your Pro access stays active until the end of the period you've already paid for, then your account returns to the free plan — your recipes and history are kept.

Yes — a 30-day money-back guarantee on Pro purchases. Request a refund through paddle.net and Paddle (as merchant of record) processes it. Details are in our refund policy.

Pro is per account. Each account gets its own scan allowance, library and intake log, tailored to that person's age and sex.