Nutrition and processing, in one clear score.
Ember is Hestia's 0–100 nutrition-and-processing score. Recipes and grocery products also receive an A-to-F grade so you can compare options at a glance.
Why a combined view helps
Nutrition labels contain useful facts, but comparing a full recipe or two similar grocery products still takes work. Processing level is usually presented separately, if it is shown at all.
Ember brings selected nutrition and processing signals into one consistent comparison. It is designed to make tradeoffs easier to inspect, not to diagnose a condition or predict a health outcome.
What Ember Score is
Ember Score places a food, recipe, or product on a 0–100 nutrition-and-processing scale. The A-to-F grade is a compact view of that score. It is not a calorie target, serving recommendation, medical assessment, or promise about an individual outcome.
- A, Highest Ember range
- B, Higher Ember range
- C, Middle Ember range
- D, Lower Ember range
- F, Lowest Ember range
How the score is built
Hestia normalizes available nutrient and processing data into a 0–100 score. The same scale is used across recipe and shopping surfaces so a comparison does not silently change meaning between planning and shopping.
Data completeness matters. When the product record is incomplete, Hestia keeps the explanation limited to the signals it can actually support.
What we measure
Nutrient quality
Available signals such as fiber, protein, sodium, saturated fat, added sugar, and selected vitamins and minerals. The score summarizes those inputs; the underlying facts remain available for inspection.
Processing level
How closely the item resembles its original ingredients, using processing information such as NOVA group when available. A fresh salmon fillet and a salmon-flavored cracker both contain fish, but they do not have the same composition or processing profile.
Evidence quality
Verified product and recipe data supports a more specific explanation. Missing values do not become invented benefits, ingredient claims, or medical conclusions.
Your score isn't fixed. Your shopping changes it.
Every recipe starts with a baseline Ember Score, calculated using typical, widely available grocery store ingredients. That baseline is honest: it tells you what the meal looks like under average conditions.
When you shop and choose specific products, the score updates. The actual ingredients you bring home determine your actual grade.
Tuna salad may start at a B using the recipe's default ingredient records. Choosing products with different verified nutrition or processing data can move the score. Same dish, different product records, different score.
This is why Hestia tracks product-level detail. The recipe is the plan. The products you buy are the result. The Ember Score bridges both, and it updates when receipt and product details are confirmed.
No other scoring system does this. Static scores grade a food in isolation. Hestia grades what you actually brought home.
What the grades look like in practice
These grades represent real foods scored against the same methodology applied to every recipe and product in Hestia.
| Food | Grade | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wild salmon (baked) | A | Omega-3 fat, protein, selenium, minimal processing |
| Lentil soup (homemade) | A | Fiber, plant protein, whole-food ingredients |
| Plain Greek yogurt (full-fat) | C | Good protein and probiotics, but low fiber and elevated saturated fat pull it below B |
| Grilled chicken thigh | A | Whole food, NOVA 1, favorable fat profile, high protein, no processing penalty |
| White pasta with marinara | C | Refined pasta lowers the range; tomatoes and olive oil add favorable nutrient signals |
| Canned tuna salad (standard) | B | Omega-3s from tuna push into B range; upgrades toward A with better mayo (see above) |
| Frozen breakfast burrito | D | Ultra-processed, refined flour, high sodium |
| Chicken nuggets (fast food) | C | NOVA 4 and high omega-6 fats drag it down, but not enough to clear the D threshold |
| Pepperoni pizza (frozen) | C | NOVA 4, processed meat, refined flour, and omega-6 oils hold it mid-range |
| Hot dog | D | Processed meat, nitrites, ultra-processed |
Why not just use NutriScore or NOVA?
| NutriScore | NOVA | Ember Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrient quality | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Processing level | Partial | ✓ | ✓ |
| Combined nutrition and processing view | Partial | – | ✓ |
| Updates with your actual products | – | – | ✓ |
| 0–100 comparison scale | – | – | ✓ |
Nutri-Score focuses on nutrition. NOVA focuses on processing. Ember provides a Hestia-specific combined view while preserving the named source signals used in the explanation.
Ember is a nutrition-and-processing comparison score. It is not a medical diagnostic tool, individualized dietary advice, or a prediction of any health outcome. Review the underlying nutrition and ingredient data and consult a qualified professional for medical guidance.
There are families who haven't looked at a nutrition label in months. Not because they stopped caring. Because the plan grades every recipe before Saturday. The shop step updates the score when they pick the wild tuna instead of the generic. By Wednesday dinner, they're not tracking anything. The score took care of itself.
The food didn't change. The information did.
Week 5 changes everything. It always does.
See your Ember Score
Every recipe. Every product. Graded before it reaches your plate.
See a sample plan