How Can We Help?
Everything you need to know about using Rock The New Food Pyramid — from analyzing foods to meal planning and shopping.
Getting Started
Dashboard
Your home base. See your dietary preferences, quick actions, and an overview of the New Food Pyramid guide. Access all features from here.
Analyze Food
Search any food to instantly calculate its Gator Grade (0-100) and view detailed breakdowns of its processing level, ingredient quality, and nutrition.
Meal Suggestions
Enter ingredients you have on hand and discover matching recipes from our database of over 50,000 recipes, easily adapted to 16 dietary preferences.
Nutrition Guide
Browse detailed guides on vitamins & minerals, daily serving recommendations, and how nutritional needs change across life stages.
Food Groups
Learn about the NOVA classification system — from unprocessed whole foods (Group 1) to ultra-processed products (Group 4) — and see the processing spectrum.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the New Food Pyramid?
What are NOVA food groups?
What are the risk tiers for additives in ultra-processed foods?
How does the food analyzer work?
What is the Gator Grade and how is it calculated?
The Gator Grade is a research-backed food quality score from 0 (Poor) to 100 (Excellent). It's calculated dynamically from four science-based pillars:
- Processing Level — based on the NOVA classification, a widely used system developed by Dr. Carlos Monteiro and his team of nutrition researchers at the University of São Paulo to rate how heavily a food is industrially processed.
- Processing & Additive Risk — flags additives, emulsifiers, artificial sweeteners, and hyperpalatable fat/sugar/sodium combinations of concern.
- Ingredient Quality — rewards whole, recognizable ingredients and penalizes refined or synthetic ones.
- Nutritional Density — weighs beneficial nutrients (protein, fiber, vitamins, fruit/vegetable content) against ones to limit (added sugar, saturated fat, sodium).
Processing and additive risk carry the greatest weight, reflecting what current nutrition science indicates is most critical to overall health.
Our exact scoring model is proprietary, but every component is grounded in established research and dietary guidance.
What is the difference between NOVA food groups and Ingredient Quality tiers?
The NOVA classification applies to the overall product, grouping it into 4 categories based on how much processing it underwent (Unprocessed/Whole, Culinary, Processed, or Ultra-Processed).
In contrast, the Ingredient Quality system scores individual ingredients within the product's list into three color-coded tiers:
- 🟢Green: Safe, whole, or positive ingredients (e.g., oats, real milk, olive oil, fruit).
- 🟡Yellow: Cautionary or refined ingredients that are neutral but should be limited (e.g., canola oil, refined sugar, maltodextrin).
- 🔴Red: High-concern chemicals, synthetic dyes, preservatives, or emulsifiers (e.g., carrageenan, mono/diglycerides, aspartame, Red Dye 40).
How are meal suggestions generated?
🐊 What is Gator Vision and how does it work?
Gator Vision is our state-of-the-art multi-product scanner available exclusively in our mobile app. Instead of scanning items one by one, you can scan entire shelves at once.
Point your camera at a grocery shelf, and Gator Vision instantly detects every barcode in view, runs our Gator Grade algorithm, and displays color-coded quality ratings (from Green to Red) directly overlaid on your screen in real-time.
Download the Rock The New Food Pyramid app on iOS or Android to try Gator Vision today!
🦐 What is Tetra Chat and how does it work?
Tetra Chat is our built-in communication system — your aquatic crew for all things nutrition! Accessible via the chat icon (💬) in the bottom-right corner of any page, Tetra connects you to three unique resources:
Manny
FREEYour friendly AI seal assistant. Ask Manny anything about using the site, the NOVA system, or how features work. Available to everyone.
The Chum
PREMIUMThe community hub. Join group chat rooms organized by diet (Vegetarian, Vegan, Keto, etc.) to share recipes, tips, and support other members.
Gator
PREMIUMYour private AI nutrition coach, found inside The Chum. Gator gives you personalized, completely private nutrition and meal planning advice.
💡 Tips & Troubleshooting
- Don't see The Chum? It's available to premium subscribers only. Upgrade from your Profile → Subscription tab.
- Chat not loading? Try refreshing the page or checking your internet connection.
- Gator isn't responding? Make sure you're inside The Chum first — Gator lives inside the community hub.
- Want to switch rooms? Use the room list inside The Chum to jump between dietary chat rooms anytime.
- Your messages are yours. Gator conversations are completely private. Group chat rooms are shared with other community members.
👵 What is Grandma Rose's Kitchen?
Grandma Rose's Kitchen is our curated collection of traditional, scratch-made recipes sourced from vintage community cookbooks. Every recipe in the collection uses real, whole-food ingredients — no Velveeta, no Cool Whip, no cream-of-soup shortcuts.
Heritage
Pure scratch. Real fats, whole grains, fresh proteins — no processed ingredients anywhere.
Homestyle
Mostly scratch, with minor convenience items (e.g. canned broth or store-bought mayo).
Comfort
One processed element (e.g. cream of mushroom soup) alongside otherwise whole foods.
Shortcut
Relies on convenience staples but qualifies on strong vintage signals (e.g. buttermilk, lard).
🚫 Recipe validation & filter rules:
- Exclusions: Recipes containing Velveeta, Cool Whip, Bisquick, Jell-O, ranch mix, etc., are disqualified entirely.
- Cream-of-soup rule: A maximum of one cream-of soup is permitted. More than one soup in a single recipe disqualifies it.
- Vintage signal: Must use a vintage ingredient (e.g., lard, molasses, rhubarb), a vintage technique (e.g., scalding milk, double boiler), or have a vintage community-cookbook title attribution.
- Minimum requirements: At least 5 ingredients and 3 direction steps. No missing instructions.
How much does a subscription cost and how does billing work?
Rock The New Food Pyramid offers two subscription plans: $3.99/month or $39.99/year (2 months free!). Your subscription gives you full access to all premium features including community chat rooms and Gator, your private AI coach.
- Monthly plan: $3.99/month, billed monthly on the anniversary of your signup date.
- Annual plan: $39.99/year, billed once per year.
- Cancel anytime — access continues through the end of your billing period.
- Payments are processed securely through Stripe. We do not store your credit card details.
You can cancel anytime from your account settings. For billing support, email support@rockthenewfoodpyramid.com.
Can I cancel my subscription?
Is my data private?
What is the Dirty 25 and the Ick Factor?
The Dirty 25 is our curated list of the top 25 most concerning food additives, artificial dyes, preservatives, and emulsifiers that you should avoid. These include ingredients like Carrageenan, Red Dye 40, Aspartame, and High Fructose Corn Syrup.
We have also introduced the Ick Factor — a special list of 8 animal-derived or generally unpleasant ingredients commonly hidden in everyday foods. This includes:
- Carmine/Cochineal: Red food coloring made from crushed beetles.
- Castoreum: Vanilla/raspberry flavoring derived from beaver anal glands.
- Shellac/Confectioner's Glaze: Shiny coating made from lac bug secretions.
- Gelatin: Thickener made from boiled animal skin, tendons, and bones.
- L-Cysteine: Dough conditioner often sourced from duck feathers or human hair.
- Isinglass: Clarifying agent for beer/wine made from fish bladders.
- Rennet: Enzyme used in cheese-making extracted from calf stomachs.
- Lanolin: Vitamin D3 source derived from sheep's wool grease.
Our food analyzer automatically flags both Dirty 25 and Ick Factor ingredients in Red whenever they are detected in a product's ingredient list.
Still Need Help?
Contact Support
Can't find what you need? Our team is happy to help with any questions about the platform, your account, or nutrition topics.