Trolley · methodology
How the numbers are built
Nutrition on Trolley is computed from a structured food table, not written by a language model. Energy and protein targets follow published international references. This page is general guidance, not medical advice.
Food composition — USDA FoodData Central
Each recipe is stored as an ingredient list: food, quantity and unit. Per-100 g values for energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre and sodium are taken from a table aligned to USDA FoodData Central generic foods — the global backbone for a product used in more than one country. Recipe totals are the sum of those ingredients, then scaled to the serving on the plan. The model never invents a calorie or macro number.
USDA FoodData Central is published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This planner is not an official USDA product and is not a substitute for the full FDC files.
Cross-check — AUSNUT 2023 (FSANZ) and Open Food Facts
Where an ingredient is commonly sold in Australia, values are cross-checked against AUSNUT 2023 from Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Branded supermarket items, where we show them, are intended to map to Open Food Facts (community product data from 180+ countries) rather than to invented SKUs. Grocery prices are estimates in your local currency, not live checkout.
Targets — WHO/FAO protein range, national guidelines where you shop
Daily energy starts from Mifflin–St Jeor, then an activity factor and a goal adjustment (a modest deficit for fat loss, a modest surplus for muscle). Protein is set at 1.7–2.0 g per kilogram of body weight — inside the range used for active adults and older adults in WHO/FAO guidance, and consistent with national tools (USDA Dietary Guidelines, UK Eatwell, Australian Dietary Guidelines, Canada’s Food Guide) depending on the market you pick.
The solver then scales portions so a day’s totals land inside ±5% of energy and ±10% of protein. Carbohydrate and fat are shown as achieved versus target. Swap one meal and only that slot is re-solved against the remaining daily budget.
The shop, pantry and variety
The trolley is aisle-sorted, tappable and merged so duplicate ingredients become one line. Tick what you already have; those items drop off the shop. A “don’t repeat last week” switch stores recent meals in this browser so the next plan prefers variety — no account required. Copy the list into Instacart, Tesco, Woolworths, BigBasket or whichever supermarket you picked.
General guidance, not medical advice
Plans are for healthy adults planning ordinary weeks of food. They cannot diagnose, treat or monitor a condition. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, under 18, managing a diagnosed condition, recovering from illness or taking medication, take the plan to a doctor or a registered dietitian before you follow it. Always check labels for allergens.