Mealow notes
Guides on deciding what to eat
Short guides on deciding what to eat, by the maker of Today’s Mealow: fried chicken salad, maryland crab soup, spicy shrimp rolls, fall flavoring. When you want the answer instead of the reading, let the cat pick.
Fried Chicken Salad: Keep the Crust Crisp, or Go Grilled
I asked for a light lunch and got a grilled chicken salad. Here’s when fried is the right call, and how to build it so the crust stays crisp under the dressing.
Maryland Crab Soup: Red, Cream of Crab or Half and Half?
A Maryland menu can offer crab soup three ways: red, cream or half and half. A short bowl checklist tells you which one to order and what to put beside it.
Spicy Shrimp Rolls: Cooked Shrimp, Spicy Mayo, Rice
A spicy shrimp roll is cooked shrimp in spicy mayo, rolled in rice and seaweed. Here’s what’s inside, how the crunchy version differs, and what to order beside it.
Fall Flavoring: 5 Flavor Families Beyond Pumpkin Spice
Pumpkin spice is one fall flavor out of many. Sort the season into five flavor families and every dinner can taste like October.
Food Tinder: Swipe on Dinner Until You Both Match
Food Tinder turns “I don’t mind, you pick” into a game. You both swipe on the same dishes in private, and only a match counts.
Sides for Fish Meals: Match the Side to the Cooking
The right side for fish depends less on the fish and more on the pan. Fried, grilled, steamed and saucy fish each want something different next to them.
Cheap Easy Meals for 2: Buy One Pack, Cook Two Dinners
Shops sell food in family sizes, so two people end up throwing half away. Pair your dinners by the pack instead: one pack, two different meals.
Rotini vs Fusilli: Tighter Turns, or Nearly the Same
Rotini and fusilli are both spiral pasta, and in many stores the two boxes hold almost the same shape. Three looks at one piece tell you which spiral you have and whether it matters tonight.
What to Order at a Restaurant: A Menu-in-Hand Checklist
A menu tells you what the kitchen does best if you know where to look. Seven checks, run with the menu in your hand, get you down to one order.
How Do You Dice Tomatoes Without Squashing Them?
A tomato squashes when the knife pushes instead of slicing. Halve it so it sits flat, saw gently through the skin, and the dice keep their shape.
How to Make Eggs: Choose the Yolk, Then the Method
Every way to cook an egg starts with one question: how do you want the yolk? Runny, jammy, set or mixed in. Pick that, and the method and the dish follow.
1752vc Founder Spotlight Vol. 12 and My Solo Build Checklist
1752vc featured Today’s Mealow in its Founder Spotlight, Vol. 12. What it said, and the checklist behind a food picker built on nights and weekends.
Today’s Mealow on Present of AI: The Maker Profile
Present of AI wrote up Today’s Mealow as a maker profile and made a showcase video. What it covers, from the problem behind the app to how I built it with AI tools.
Today’s Mealow on Product Hunt: How to Try It
Today’s Mealow is on Product Hunt with the tagline “Can’t decide what to eat? A cat picks 3 dishes nearby.” Here is how to go from the listing to your first picks.
Red Apple Varieties: Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp & More
Red apples look alike in the bin but eat very differently. Two questions sort them: raw or cooked, then sweet or tart, or firm or soft.
How Do You Dice a Potato? Planks, Sticks, Then Cubes
Dicing a potato is three cuts in three directions: planks, sticks, cubes. A flat side keeps it from rolling, and one size per pan keeps it cooking evenly.
Picking a Restaurant: Let One Person Pick, Then Rotate
A group that votes on where to eat ends up at the place nobody minds. Give one person the pick, let the others raise facts only, and pass the turn next time.
Ziti Pasta vs Penne: Check the Ends, Then the Ridges
Ziti and penne are close cousins. Look at the ends of the tube, then at the outside, and you know which one you’re holding and whether a swap will show.
Can You Microwave Corn on the Cob? Yes, in the Husk
Corn on the cob cooks well in the microwave, husk and all. The husk holds the steam, and the silk comes away when you slide the ear out.
Top 10 Restaurant Dishes and the One Choice Each Needs
Ten dishes that turn up on menus across the country, each with the one question it always comes with. Answer it before you sit down and ordering takes no time.
What to Order for Dinner Delivery: A Checkout Checklist
Most delivery regrets show up after you’ve paid. A six-point checkout checklist catches them while the basket is still open.
Garlic Sauce Beef: Mongolian Beef and Its Sauce Cousins
Beef with garlic sauce is sweet, sour, garlicky and a little hot. Learn what’s in it, how it differs from Mongolian beef, and how to order by sauce first.
Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup: Which Bowl to Order Tonight
Chinese chicken noodle soup rarely goes by that name on a menu. Learn the menu words that point to it, the bowls worth knowing, and how to order one to take home.
What Do I Want for Dinner? Run the Tomorrow Test
Wanting dinner and wanting a dish are different problems. Pair your options, ask which one could wait until tomorrow, and the one that can’t is what you want tonight.
Different Pasta Shapes: Names, Sauces and What to Order
Pasta names look like a vocabulary test, but most shapes fall into five families. Learn the families, then pick a shape by how it eats: twirl, spear, spoon or cut.
I Am Hungry, What Should I Eat? Try the First-Bite Test
Hunger tells you to eat, not what to eat. Picture eight first bites, tick the ones you’d take right now, and the dish with two ticks is your answer.
What to Eat App? Five Kinds, and Which to Open
Five kinds of apps get opened when you can’t decide what to eat, and each is built for a different moment. Match the app to the moment, and let one app decide while another fetches.
Lazy Dinner Ideas for Family: Everyone Builds Their Own
The lazy part of a family dinner isn’t only the cooking. It’s plating for everyone and taking special orders. Build-your-own dinners hand that part to the table.
What Should I Eat at Home? Dish First, Then Cook or Order
Eating at home can mean your own stove or a delivery to your door. Name the dish first, then a three-check kitchen test tells you which route it takes.
Where Should I Eat Near Me? Try a Three-Pin Shortlist
When every street around you has a dozen places to eat, shrink the map first. A circle, one deal-breaker and three pins leave a choice you can make on the spot.
Help Me Decide What to Eat: Brief Your Helper First
Handing the choice to a friend, a wheel or an app only works if they know what you won’t accept. A five-line brief makes their pick one you’ll actually eat.
Easy Late Night Snacks, Sorted by Noise and Washing Up
Late at night the best snack is the one that costs you least: no clatter, no pan to scrub, no long wait. These ideas are grouped by exactly that.
What to Eat When Nothing Sounds Good? Use a Veto
When no food sounds good, stop waiting for a yes. Say no to a few foods out loud, keep the reasons, and the reasons describe the meal you want.
What Should I Eat for Lunch? Let the Afternoon Pick
Lunch sits in the middle of your day, so let the rest of the day choose it. Two questions, then easy lunches for home, work and eating on the move.
What Should I Eat for Dinner Tonight? Easy Ideas
Ordinary dinner ideas grouped by how much effort they take, from no cooking to going out, plus one question that tells you which group to pick from tonight.
What Should I Eat Today? A Table That Names the Dish
The problem is rarely a lack of options. It’s too many. Three questions shrink the list, and a table turns your answers into real dishes to choose from.