Frequently Asked Questions
Sign up Questions
While trying to sign up I was told I need to allow cookies. How do I do this?
All browsers have a settings section (Tools/Internet Options in IE, Tools/Options in Firefox, The Wrench icon/Options in Chrome, etc.) From there you will need to navigate to the privacy settings and return that setting to it's default position.
General Questions
Who is Maggie?
Maggie is a fictitious character that was created to represent our site. Occasionally she makes comments in the Friends Forum and shares recipes.
I have a question that isn't covered in the FAQs or on any of the help buttons. What should I do?
Click the "Contact Us" link at the bottom right of the site to send us your questions/comments. We read all of them!
Do I have to pay to use the site?
No. All of the functionality of this site is completely free to use. If you find HowDoesSheDoIt.com valuable in your own life, please just tell your friends. That's it. In exchange, we will keep the site free and continue to make improvements!
Why do you not provide nutritional information?
This site was designed around the idea of making recipes easy to customize and share. Many recipes that have been handed down through the generations don't offer information about servings or portion sizes. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to see the quantity of a particular ingredient given in a range, and/or optional ingredients listed. In addition, according to the FDA, food manufactures are allowed an error tolerance of 20% in some of their nutritional information labeling which means that large inaccuracies are possible if not inevitable. Members with special dietary requirements could easily be misled by this information, resulting in greater personal health risks. When considering these factors along with all of the flexibility built into this site, we felt that providing this questionable data to our members would be irresponsible.
Questions about My Profile
What is an Avatar?
The avatar is just a graphic (picture) that you would like to use to represent yourself. It can be a real picture of you (tasteful only please) or a cartoon picture you like, etc.
Why do we ask how many people you typically cook for?
In the future we may have different featured recipes for users who cook for larger groups.
Why do we ask for information about your children?
When a user opens their Menu Planner for the first time we have created a favorites folder for each of your family members. Obviously you can change the names of these categories or delete them altogether. We also auto-populate your calendar with the birthdays of your family members. In addition, we may occasionally market to users that have children in a specific age range. For example: contained within emails to users with young children we may include ads or coupons for diapers, etc.
Questions about My Preferences
Why does salt, pepper, and water never show up on my shopping list?
In
My Preferences (link near top right corner) you can setup
Recipe Items to Exclude from Shopping List. Many recipe sites that include some sort of shopping list feature include everything that the recipe calls for. So shopping lists end up containing "water" many times. Items that you always have on hand or that you don't want appearing on your shopping list can be added in this section to make your shopping list work better for you. We have auto-populated the list with salt, pepper, and water to help you get started. Other common items users add to this list are: ice, flour (if the user bakes a lot and buy flour in large quantities), and various spices.
How do I use the store section display order feature?
If you would like your printed shopping list to display in the order you actually shop for items you can move different store sections up or down the list. Example: maybe you always shop for the frozen foods last, so that store section should be near the bottom of the list. This feature simply allows you to further customize the site and make it work best for you.
I'm tired of getting emails every time someone comments on my status or shares a recipe with me. What can I do?
Click on "My Preferences" on the top left corner and change your "Notification Settings" to reflect your wishes. Be sure to save changes when you have checked or unchecked the appropriate boxes.
Questions about the Home Page
How is Maggie's Pick of the Day chosen?
Featured recipes are chosen from Maggie's private collection, popular "Share with Everyone" recipes that users have submitted, or based on recipes containing specific ingredients.
Questions about the Shopping List
I'm having trouble printing my shopping list, please help.
When you click the print button your shopping list is sent to your computer in a .pdf file. Most computers have the software already installed to view/print a .pdf file, however if you are having problems try downloading the latest version of
Adobe Reader (be sure to select the operating system for your computer). Adobe Reader is free and this will allow you to view and print your shopping list. Once the shopping list is displayed within the PDF viewer you will either have to click a print icon or right-click and select 'print' to send the document to your printer.
What if I don't want to shop for the whole week?
On the shopping list page under My Recipes this Week uncheck all of the recipes you DON'T want to shop for. Click the refresh button at the bottom of the list of recipes and then print your list. Only the items/ingredients that are needed for the recipes WITH a check mark next to them will be included on the shopping list.
Questions about Creating New Recipes
Some of the buttons on the tool bars for the Summary and Method text boxes don't work for me. Is something wrong?
Some the buttons are not supported in some browsers
I only want to share a recipe with some of my friends. Is that possible?
Yes. When entering the recipe select "Share with: Keep It Private". Once the recipe has been submitted, click on the recipes tab and choose My Recipes from the drop down list. Find the recipe you want to share with some friends and click "view details". Then at the bottom of the recipe click the "share with friends" button and choose which friends you want to share it with and click the submit button. The friends you shared it with will be notified that you shared a recipe with them.
I'm entering a recipe and the ingredient I want isn't on the drop-down list. Is this a problem?
Only ingredients that are on the drop-down list will be properly organized on your shopping list. However, several times per week we review all new ingredients that have been added and categorize them to the proper store section. So the good news is, by the time you print your list, chances are good that everything will be in the appropriate store section, otherwise it will be found in the store section "Other" on your shopping list.
The unit type and/or prepare instruction I want to use isn't on the drop-down list of choices. Can I type it in?
Yes, only the most common options are on the drop-down list, but you can use any unit type or prepare instruction that you want.
