Thank you for trying Dinnerbell, the hottest new mealtime social media app!
To begin using Dinnerbell immediately, visit dinnerbell.herokuapp.com. You can log in with your Facebook or Google account by clicking their buttons at the bottom of the landing page, or create a local account. Just click the 'register' button to enter your email and password, and you're ready to begin.
PROFILE
Whichever registration method you prefer, your account will be given a randomly generated username. Click the 'profile' link at the top of the page to see it and your other details. You can change your username as well as your email and password by clicking the 'Update Account Settings' button.
Upload an avatar image from the profile page by clicking inside the grey circle. This is the image other users will see when they visit your profile.
Change your dietary preferences by selecting any of the available checkboxes. These choices will be remembered and used as defaults in future recipe searches. Change them as your interests and tastes evolve - unlike Grandma, Dinnerbell won't forget if you've gone from vegetarian to vegan.
In the bottom left of the profile page we'll keep a list of all the most exciting recipes you find on Dinnerbell. You'll be able to click any of their names to view their individual details, or click and hold to drag and rearrange them so the most interesting are at the top.
In the navigation bar at the top of the page, the 'users' link will display a list of other users who have registered. Click to see their profiles, including their favorite recipes and dietary restrictions. This is a great way to find new recipes your friends and family want to try, or ones they've already taste-tested and approved!
RECIPE SEARCH
Look for recipes by name or ingredient from any page in the app by entering the search term into the search bar in the top right of the screen. The ten most relevant results will be displayed, filtered by your default dietary preferences, which are displayed in blue. You can disable them temporarily by clicking the 'x' to the left of each, or add additional filters by clicking 'health options' or 'diet options' and selecting from the dropdown options.
Each of the recipe results displays its current rating among Dinnerbell users, along with a colored button in the bottom right corner. If the button is a blue plus sign, you can click it to save the recipe to your favorites. If it's a pink minus sign, you have already bookmarked this recipe; click to remove it from your favorites. Favorite as many recipes as you want, whenever you see one that's interesting. If you change your mind later, you can always delete it.
Click the image to see the recipe's details. Each recipe's individual page includes a recommended serving size, required ingredients, the dietary preferences it satisfies, and detailed nutritional information. A link above the image takes the user to the site that originally posted the recipe, where you can read more specific preparation instructions.
MEALS
We believe mealtimes are about more than food; they're about coming together to share some of life's little pleasures. So Dinnerbell is as much a social app as a recipe finder. One of its key features, the culmination of the items above, is the ability to plan meals that you will invite your friends and family to. Click 'create meal' in the top navigation bar to begin the process.
Here you can give your meal a descriptive name, like 'Sunday Picnic at the Park'. We recommend something less generic than just 'lunch' - this is going to be an event to remember! Click the camera icon to add an image of a favorite dish, seasonal decoration, funny cartoon, or anything else to distinguish your meal and get everyone looking forward to it.
Next, select which dishes from among your saved recipes you want to serve. Just click the 'pick recipes' button and scroll through the list, selecting each dish you'd like to have at the meal.
Click the 'choose guests' button to invite other users. Below this list, you can create a collaborative meal by writing out the shopping or chores that need to be done and assigning them to different guests. Or just leave a note for everyone to see before the meal. Finally, click create to make this meal happen!