Sizzlen' Spoons

Inspiration

Have you ever sat down to create a meal plan and suddenly your mind goes blank? Searching “recipes” online does nothing to help as you are bombarded by thousands of choices, causing decision paralysis. Sizzlin' Spoons is here to fix that. As students, we know how difficult it is to plan healthy meals for the week. We have built a quick and easy way to source recipes and create a weekly meal plan.

What it does

Sizzlin' Spoons takes recipe discovery to the next level by curating personalized recipes based on broad user preferences such as ingredients, categories, and cuisines. With a robust database of hundreds of recipes, the platform ensures a wide variety of options, offering users endless possibilities with every search. Sizzlin' Spoons brings diverse dishes from around the world together in one convenient space. The platform introduces users to new and exciting recipes they might have never heard of, making cooking an adventurous and enjoyable experience. To help users make informed choices, each recipe comes with nutritional information, allowing users to track the macros in their meal plan.. This is further enhanced by the built-in macro calculator, which lets users easily match recipes to their recommended daily macros, ensuring that every meal is tailored not only to their taste but also to their nutritional needs. With Sizzlin' Spoons, users can explore global flavors while making educated, health-conscious decisions in the kitchen.

How we built it

HTML and CSS frontend, Python-Flask web framework, TheMealDB API, CalorieNinjas API

Challenges we ran into

Most of our group members either did not know Python or were not proficient in it, so most of us were learning Python as we went. Furthermore, we did not have much front-end development experience, so we had to spend time learning the basics of HTML and CSS. Additionally, we struggled to render dynamic information and reroute pages with correct information using Python-Flask, as it was a web framework we did not have any or much experience with.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We came into cmd-f wanting to finish with a functional webpage. We were able to accomplish that by bringing together our prior skills and building upon that foundation. We are also proud of all the new skills we acquired on the way, such as Python development and frontend web development.

What we learned

As we are all new hackers, this was a huge learning experience. First and foremost, we learnt how to take a project from an idea to a fully formed product. This process included planning, prototyping, testing, and refining our work. This taught us how important it is to have a fully formed idea, break down the project into manageable tasks, and iterate on our work to make continuous improvements. Additionally, we learned how to divide the workload and collaborate on code. By assigning specific tasks based on each person's strengths, we were able to optimize our workflow and make the process more efficient. Finally, one of the most notable aspects of this project was that we built a significant portion of the product in Python, which we were not all experienced in. Under the pressure of the hackathon, we got to learn new skills quickly and gain valuable Python experience. Overall, cmd_f has given us a space to learn, grow, and collaborate, pushing our skills as a team!