Guiding Stars Recipe Style Guide

General Notes

Style Notes

• Do use Oxford/serial comma. (Example: Add salt, pepper, and herbs.)
• Single spaces after a period.
• Use ºF to reference degrees Fahrenheit. (Example: Preheat oven to 250ºF.)
• Don’t use spaces in mixed numbers: 1½ not 1 ½
• Ellipses: Do not use spaces before and after. (Example: text…text.)
• When ingredient is split between measurements, use a +. (Example: 1 cup + 1 Tbsp. rice)
• Use appropriate fraction characters. (½, not 1/2.)

Recipe Structure

Recipe Title

• Use &, not “and”
• Do not use Oxford comma

Headnote

• 2-3 sentences describing recipe or offering ideas for playing around with the recipe
• Note potential tips in the headnote. Add a paragraph and precede tip with Tip:

Ingredients

• List in order used in recipe.
• When titling recipe components, do not use the word “ingredients” unless necessary. (Examples: “Dressing” “Roast” “Fish” )

Relevant only for Entering on Guidingstars.com:

• Use Additional Ingredients Components to separate out parts of recipes that are put together separately, like dressing vs. salad. If using this feature, all ingredients should be part of a labeled Additional Ingredients Components list and the main Ingredients box should be left blank.
• Optional garnishes should be labeled “Optional Garnishes*”added under their own Additional Ingredients Components. At the end of the directions, include the following: *Optional garnishes have not been included in the rating of this recipe. Example: https://guidingstars.com/recipes/tandoori-shrimp-skewers/ 
• If an ingredient is important to the edibility of the dish and would impact the rating (e.g., salt), a specific amount must be identified and it must be included in the rating.
• All ingredients, except for the last in each ingredient component, should be followed by a |
• Delete any extra returns after the final ingredient in each component

Directions

• Use a numbered list to format

Measurements

Category	Description	Correct Style	Other Notes
Ingredient	Produce size	small, medium, or large	Use size clarifiers only for produce items where variability in available sizes might create confusion.
Ingredient	Inches	“
Ingredient	By	x	(No spaces) Example: 8”x4″ baking pan
Ingredient	Tablespoon	Tbsp.
Ingredient	Teaspoon	tsp.
Ingredient	Small qty.	⅛ tsp.	Must be listed as such for anything that might impact rating. Pinch/dash are okay only for herbs and spices.
Ingredient	Ounce	oz.
Ingredient	Pound	lb.
Ingredient	Cups	1 cup / 1.5 cups	Use plural for anything over 1 cup
Ingredient	Pints	pints
Ingredient	Quarts	quarts
Ingredient	Pinch/Dash	Pinch of paprika	n.b. we do not allow pinch/dash for salt (or other items impacting rating), see ‘Small qty.’
Ingredient	Order by Weight	1 lb. red potatoes, chopped	When the preparation method would not change the measurement, place it after the ingredient, after a comma.
Ingredient	Order by Volume	1 cup chopped red potatoes	When the preparation method would change the measurement, place it after the quantity and before the ingredient.
Ingredient	Juice/Zest	½ juice of 1 lemon; 1 orange, zested and juice; or Zest of 1 lime
Ingredient	Herbs	1 bunch fresh dill or 1 tsp. dill	When using herbs, note if they’re fresh, but not if they’re dried.
Ingredient	Powerful flavors to taste	½ tsp. garlic powder, or more to taste
Ingredient	Star Rating	½ c. Guiding Star-worthy marinara sauce	When noting rating in an ingredient, add Guiding Star-worthy before the ingredient.
Ingredient	Equivalencies	1 Tbsp. grated ginger (¼ tsp. ground)	If offering a substitute that won’t change the rating, place it in parentheses after the rated ingredient.
Ingredient	Concrete qty. prepared produce	4 tomato slices	For use anywhere a specific quantity of a prepared ingredient is needed. Incorrect: 4 slices of tomato
Ingredient	Prep method for size-specified instruction	Qty. produce, cut into 1” pieces/strips	For use anywhere a specific, non-standard size of ingredient is needed.
Ingredient	Divided	1 lb. strawberries, chopped, divided	If an ingredient is being split out in specified quantities at more than one spot in the directions, added divided to end.
Ingredient	Package size	2 (15 oz.) cans whole tomatoes in puree	To indicate size of an item with a measurement, no “of”
Time	Format	X hours X min.
Time	Breakout	Active Time: X Total Time: X	Note: We’re slowly switching this out and will make the front end reflect the switch from Active/Inactive to Active/Total when we’ve done enough recipes.
Time	Calculation	All steps, both specified and implied	Time should include accounting for ingredient prep and things like waiting for water to boil.
Time	Total Calculation	Shortest possible time in range	Total Time should reflect the shortest possible time to completion. (e.g., if a marinade time is 1-24 hours, use 1 hour in the Total Time calculation.)
Prep. Terms	⅛” or smaller	minced
Prep. Terms	dice-sized pieces	diced
Prep. Terms	bite-sized pieces	cubed
Prep. Terms	⅛ – ¼” pieces	finely chopped
Prep. Terms	¼ – ½” pieces	chopped
Prep. Terms	½ – ¾” pieces	coarsely chopped
Prep. Terms	Sliced	Thinly sliced or thickly sliced	Never use “julienned”
Prep. Terms	Specific shape	Cut into matchsticks	Treat as specific size
Prep. Terms	Obvious Steps	Leave out	Don’t specify obvious food prep directions. Ex.: we assume people wash produce and peel oranges and bananas and pit dates and olives.
Prep. Terms	Ingredient Description	plain, fat-free yogurt	Descriptors of ingredients as purchased should be comma-separated and precede the ingredient.
Prep. Terms	Prepared Quantity	1 Tbsp. chopped parsley	Note: for older recipes, minced can go with the ingredient it the quantity is of the prepped amount (e.g. 1 tablespoon minced parsley is a different quantity than 1 tablespoon parsley, minced)
Directions Numbers	Degrees	º	alt+0 or copy the character from this table
Directions Numbers	Minutes	minutes	In overall time reference shorten to mins., but never in directions.
Directions Numbers	Range of time	3-4 minutes	Hyphen with no space between numbers.
Directions Numbers	Numbers	Numerals for measurements and times	Use numerals (0-9) for measurements and times, but spell out 0-9 for non-measurement numbers

Specific Cases

• For slow cookers only, use LOW or HIGH, all caps.
• Yeast: 2¼ tsp. (1 packet) yeast
• Don’t specify “for garnish” in the ingredients list
• Always use “chili” – never chile or chilli.
• Don’t use brand names for fake sugar. Use “zero-calorie sweetener.”
• Toasted sesame seeds is a product, not necessary to say sesame seeds, toasted.
• Canned goods: Note drained vs. undrained if there’s any room for ambiguity in the instructions.
• When referencing citrus zest and juice in the directions, zest doesn’t need to name the fruit unless there are multiple zests used, but juice should. If used together, include fruit name.
• For all-purpose flour, only specify if there are multiple flours in ingredients. Style when needed: all-purpose.
• Always use “cooking spray,” never non-stick spray or olive oil spray, etc.
• Always used “no-salt-added” for prepared products that should have no added salt. Example: 1 (15 oz.) can no-salt-added chicken stock.
• When referencing divided ingredients in the directions, note percentage of ingredient to use at that step. Example: Heat half of oil in pan on medium heat.
• Use celery stalk, not celery rib.
• Hyphenate whole-wheat when used as an adjective.
• When skewers are called for, specify an appropriate number, when possible. Do not specify material.

Directions

Style

Make recipes / calendar home-cook friendly.

• Most understandable terms possible. For example, don’t say “julienne” where “slice thinly” will work.
• Add time estimates to specific cooking steps. (Example: Cook until beginning to brown (3-4 minutes).)
• Determine if there a more straightforward way to explain the directions.
• Ask yourself: Are the directions accurate enough to follow with minimal cooking experience?
• Ask yourself: Have all directions been explained? Are they broken out appropriately (both short enough and complex enough) within each step?

Logic for Separation of Steps

• If you’re changing vessel, prep method, or group of ingredients, move to a new step.
• Service and garnishing notes should be folded into the last step unless more than “serve and garnish with X” is required to explain how the dish comes together.

Internal Review Process

• Perform careful spelling/grammar/sense/style check.
• Confirm picture has same ingredients as recipe (and if there are key ingredients, they’re shown in the picture)
• Confirm picture is associated with square image and recipe UPC.
• Confirm picture is added to both Photo field and Featured Image field.
• Review ingredients, making sure document and ESHA lists agree. If a substitute has been used to rate the recipe, edit the recipe to reflect the right ingredient.
• Ingredients are listed in the order they appear in the recipe.
• All ingredients listed appear in the directions.
• Measurements are standard.
• Data integrity: if any edit we’d like to make could potentially change the recipe, add a note to “Notes” for confirmation with Joyce.

NFP Style for Print Materials

Note: Serving Size grams are shown with serving size # separately. Data is shown per serving, no total calories shown.

• Calories 
• Total Fat + DV
• Saturated Fat + DV
• Trans Fat 
• Cholesterol + DV
• Sodium + DV
• Total Carbohydrate + DV
• Dietary Fiber + DV
• Total Sugars
• Added Sugars + DV
• Protein

——–

• Vitamin D DV
• Calcium DV
• Iron DV
• Potassium DV
• Three top DV % of 3 vitamins/minerals (ordered by %)

We are not including the amount of vitamins/minerals for space saving (per Guiding Stars, Aug 1, 2019)

Example from the website (which has existing print material):
https://guidingstars.com/recipes/pumpkin-overnight-waffles/?print_recipe

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 265; Total Fat 10g (13% Daily Value); Saturated Fat 1.5g (8% DV); Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol 63mg (20% DV); Sodium 195mg (8% DV); Total Carbohydrate 37g (13% DV); Dietary Fiber 5.5g (18% DV); Total Sugars 0g; Includes 2g Added Sugars (4% DV); Protein 10g; Vitamin D 6% DV; Calcium 8% DV; Iron 10% DV; Potassium 6% DV; Manganese 80% DV; Selenium 60% DV; Thiamin 35% DV.