Cookbook Help

All about creating and using Cookbooks

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Click on the links below for help and information about using Food in a Minute Cookbooks.

Help Topics

What do Shared Cookbooks allow you to do?

When you create a Shared Cookbook you can:

  • Personalize your Cookbook with your name, an image of your choice and a profile description about you and the types of recipes you collect.
  • Find other members with similar profiles, become their friends and share your favourite Food in a Minute Recipes with them.
  • Rate and review any recipes on the site and see how popular they are
  • Ask your Food in a Minute friends questions about recipes and their Cookbooks.
  • Send and receive bulletins between you and your friends

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How to set up a Shared Cookbook?

Already a Food in a Minute member?

Simply log in and you will be asked if you would like to upgrade your existing Cookbook to a Shared Cookbook. Click on Shared Cookbook, and you will be taken to a page that allows you to set up your personal options.

Not already a Food in a Minute member?

Join Now and register with us, select 'Shared Cookbook' in the Cookbook type options and you will be taken to a page that allows you to set up your personal options.

What happens to your old Cookbook recipes?

When you create a new, Shared Cookbook, your old recipes will automatically appear in your new Cookbook.

About your profile name

Choose your profile name carefully. This is the name that everyone sees as your Cookbook name on the site, and it cannot be changed once you have set up your Cookbook. Refer to our User Participation terms for more information.

About your profile description

Write your profile so that other members can see at a glance the types of Food in a Minute recipes you like to cook, and how they fit with your lifestyle. Keep it brief (500 characters maximum) and refer to our User Participation terms for more information.

About Cookbook categories

Choose one or more categories that describe your Cookbook. See Choosing a category for your Cookbook below.

How to upload your own image

Select an image that illustrates you and your Cookbook. See Uploading Images for details.

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Cookbook Categories

Our Cookbook categories reflect particular 'lifestyles' and indicate the types of recipes Cookbook owners* like to cook. When you first set up your Shared Cookbook you are asked to choose which categories you would like your Cookbook to be listed under, from the six categories described below:

  • Entertaining Ideas
    These people love getting together and sharing fun times and good food with friends and family. They are always willing to explore new ways to surprise and delight their guests.
  • Keeping it healthy
    For some people, watching their diet is more about maintaining their good health than just keeping their waistline in check. These cookbooks are designed to help make it easy for all kinds of people to eat well and stay on top of their conditions.
  • Family Fare
    It’s not easy coming up with new and inventive meals to satisfy hungry little and (sometimes) bigger mouths. These people are keen on recipes that offer a wide variety of tasty meal ideas to keep the tears at bay and have them coming back for more.
  • Cooking with kids
    For these people there’s no better way to spend time in the kitchen than cooking with their kids. When you can spend time making meals that are easy, imaginative, nutritious and fun to prepare, it’s not hard to see why.
  • Vegetarians
    Great, tasty vegetarian meals needn’t take hours of painstaking preparation. These people are looking for nutritious, delicious meals that offer them a variety of flavour experiences for all occasions.
  • Young and out there
    Typically most young people, either flatters or couples, are short on time and, sometimes, money. So they are looking for quick, easy meal solutions with just enough variety to keep life interesting. From traditional, everyday meals to great entertaining ideas it's all in here.

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Uploading Profile Images

Choose an image that reflects your lifestyle and cooking interests. Refer to our User Participation terms for more information about the use of appropriate images and image rights.

Format: jpeg or gif of maximum size 100Kb (we will resize the dimensions of your image automatically to fit with our website, but please keep the total size of your file to a minimum or it may not load).

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Managing your Cookbook recipes – adding & finding recipes and My Top 5 recipes

Finding your Cookbook

First, make sure you are logged in. There are two links you can click on: The ‘My Cookbook’ tab across the top of the screen , or the ‘My Cookbook’ link in the right hand column. To view your Cookbook, just click on either of these links.

Adding recipes to your Cookbook.

Once you are registered and logged in, you can add any recipe on this website to your Cookbook. Simply find the recipe, then select 'Add to my Cookbook' from the list of options beside the recipe, and the recipe will automatically be added to your Cookbook. You can View recipes or delete them from your Cookbook at any time, by clicking on the links provided.

Note: You can only add Food in a Minute recipes found on this site to your Cookbook.

Finding recipes in your Cookbook.

You can sort recipes by recipe category (these are the same as the main Food in a Minute recipe search categories), by ‘Alphabetical’, by ‘Date added’ to your Cookbook, or by ‘Top Rated’ (the recipes you have rated in your Top 5 – see below). You can also choose to view your results by 5, 10 or 20 recipes per page.

Choosing your Top 5 recipes and rating recipes.

You can select your 5 most favourite Food in a Minute recipes and flag them as your ‘Top 5’ . This allows you to quickly find these recipes yourself, and it also allows other people who view your Cookbook to see your favourite recipes. Don’t forget to give these recipes a rating (by clicking on the recipe when you are logged in) so people can see how you have rated this recipe against the average rating all members have given it [see rating and reviewing recipes below]

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Rating and reviewing recipes on the FIAM site

As a Shared Cookbook owner* you can rate and review any recipe on the Food in a Minute website for everyone to see. The three most recent reviews and ratings for each recipe are displayed with the recipe, along with the average rating this recipe has received to date. All other reviews and ratings can be seen by following the links provided.

When you are logged in, you will see an area at the bottom of the recipe page where you can add your rating and review to the recipe. Recipes can be rated on a scale of 1-5 stars – 5 being a highly favourable rating for that recipe (i.e. you really liked it), 1 being a low rating for that recipe (you didn’t really like it).

Ratings should reflect your opinion of a given recipe. Recipe ratings and reviews may be monitored by Heinz Wattie's from time to time so we can continue to improve our recipe service. We may also moderate reviews and ratings - inappropriate reviews may be removed at the discretion of Heinz Wattie's. Please refer to the User Participation terms for more information.

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Interacting with other members – Friends, Friends Q&A and Bulletins

As a Shared Cookbook owner* you can interact with other Shared Cookbook owners*. Here’s how:

Becoming people’s friends

To become someone’s friend, you need to ask them first – follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Shared Cookbooks section of our website to find Cookbook owners* who you would like to interact with.
  2. View the selected Cookbook(s) and click on 'Become my Friend'.
  3. Fill out the message form provided and the Cookbook owner* will be sent an email telling them that you have asked to become their friend.
  4. The Cookbook owner* can choose to accept or decline your request (if you are declined, don’t be offended – it may just be that the person has decided not to interact with other members).
  5. If your new friend accepts your request, you will be sent an email telling you this, and you will both automatically be added as a ‘Friend’ to each others Cookbook.

Asking friends questions about recipes

Once you are a friend of another Shared Cookbook owner*, you will see an 'Ask me a question' button alongside recipes that person has reviewed or rated.

The three most recent Questions and Answers asked of a Cookbook owner* appear on that person’s Cookbook for other people to read.

To ask your friend a question about a recipe:

  1. Click on the 'Ask me a Question' button
  2. Fill out the message form provided and your friend will be sent an email telling them you have asked them a question.
  3. When your friend answers the question, you will receive an email telling you they have responded and/or you can link to your Cookbook to view their answer.
  4. If someone has asked you a question, when you answer it, the question and your answer will appear on YOUR Cookbook for the public to view. Consider your responses carefully! Refer to our User Participation terms for more information about the appropriate use of the friends Q&A service.

If you have more questions to ask your friend about this recipe, you can repeat this process or choose to exchange email addresses and continue the discussion outside of the Food in a Minute website. Refer to our User Participation terms for more information about the appropriate use of the friends Q&A service.

Note: You can choose to turn on/off email notifications of Q&A requests and answers at any time – you can simply check these each time you go into your own Cookbook.

Sending and receiving Bulletins.

You can create and send bulletins to all your friends, and receive bulletins from other Cookbooks you are a friend of.

Bulletins are only viewed by friends of the senders Cookbook and are not displayed for public viewing on the website. They are intended as a one-way-only method of communicating between friends to make special announcements in relation to Food in a Minute recipes (for example 'Have you tried the recipe of the week this week – it's fantastic!'). Refer to our User Participation terms for more information about the appropriate use of the Bulletin service.

To create a bulletin:

  1. When you are in your Cookbook (logged in) click on the ‘Create Bulletin’ button
  2. Fill out the message form provided and your friends will automatically be sent the Bulletin you have just created.
  3. Your friends will receive an email telling them you have sent them a Bulletin (if they have email notifications turned on) and/or they will see they have a new Bulletin waiting for them the next time they log in and go to their Cookbook.

Note: Heinz Wattie's is an automatic friend of all Shared Cookbooks. Heinz Wattie’s will send you an instant bulletin when you first create your Shared Cookbook, and you may receive bulletins from us when we have special messages and offers for cookbook owners*. We may also monitor bulletins, so please ensure the appropriate use is made of this service. Refer to our User Participation terms for more information.

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Top 5 Cookbooks and Cookbook of the month

People looking through the Shared Cookbooks section of the site are able to search by 'Top 5'. These are the Top 5 Cookbooks determined by the number of friends those cookbook owners* have.

Each month, Heinz Wattie’s selects a Cookbook of the month which is featured on our home page. The chosen Cookbook is selected by Heinz Wattie’s to profile people who are active cookbook users. Refer to User Participation terms for more information.

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Changing your Cookbook options

Already selected Private Cookbook and want to change to a Shared Cookbook?

Easy. Click on the 'Upgrade to Shared Cookbook' link in the right hand column any time you are logged in, and you will be taken to a page that allows you to set up your Shared Cookbook.

Selected Shared Cookbook and want to go back to a Private Cookbook?

Click on the ‘Edit My Cookbook’ link in the right hand column any time you are logged in, and select the ‘Modify Cookbook – change to ‘Private Cookbook’ option at the bottom of the form.

Note: The details you previously saved in your Shared Cookbook, such as your profile information and your Friends list, will remain saved in our database, until such time as you unsubscribe from Food in a Minute. If you choose to reactivate your Shared Cookbook in the future, you will automatically see this information again.

Want to edit your Cookbook profile, categories or profile image?

Click on the ‘Edit My Cookbook’ link in the right hand column any time you are logged in, make your changes and click ‘Update Cookbook’.

Note: you are not able to change your Cookbook Profile Name once you have set up your Cookbook. Refer to our User Participation terms for more information.

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Changing your personal details / logging in / forgotten password

You can click on the ‘Update Your Details’ link in the right hand column any time you are logged in, make your changes and click ‘Submit’.

If you can’t remember your password, click on the ‘Forgotten Password’ link in the right hand column at the top of the page and enter your email address and city of birth answers. We will email you back to reconfirm your password.

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Browser and operating system minimum requirements

This website has been built to perform optimally on the following systems and operating systems.

Operating systems:

  • Windows 95 and above for PC
  • Apple OS X and above for Mac

Browsers:

  • IE 6.0 for PC and above
  • Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above
  • Mac Safari 2.0 and above.

If you are experiencing problems with viewing or using the site, please Contact us, listing the type of computer you are using (i.e. PC or Mac) and the browser you are using (as above or other).

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* The term ‘Cookbook owner’ is used only for the purposes of defining of person’s collection of Food in a Minute® recipes that comprise their Food in a Minute online cookbook. It in no way implies ownership of Food in a Minute or Heinz Wattie’s, products, recipes, services or functions of this website. Please refer to our Legal Policy for more information.