Whether a dietitian interviews the participant or the participant logs meals as they happen, the record needs the same pieces: what, how much, when, where and how it was prepared. This template structures both modes in one dataset.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Food diary · Lunch
Subject 005-0022 · Day 2 · Demo study
Eating occasion
Time
What did you eat or drink?
Amount
Where did you eat?
At a glance
Method
A recall is only as good as the participant's memory and the interviewer's probing. Asking "what did you eat yesterday?" returns the main meals and misses snacks, drinks, condiments and added fats. The multiple-pass method fixes this with structure: first the participant lists everything they remember, then the interviewer prompts for commonly forgotten items, then collects times and occasions, then goes through each food for detail and amount, and finally asks a closing probe.
One recall describes one day. Day-to-day variation in intake is large, so a trial that needs an individual's habitual intake collects several recalls on non-consecutive days, typically including at least one weekend day. For comparing groups before and after an intervention, one or two recalls per time point may be enough, provided the design is balanced across weekdays. Write the number and timing of recalls in the protocol and the data management plan.
A diary is different: the participant records foods at the time of eating, which reduces memory error but changes behaviour, since people eat differently when they know they are recording. Both modes suit different questions, and many nutrition trials use a diary for 3 days and an interview recall for validation.
The template uses one section per pass, so interviewers follow the same order every time. Pass 1 captures the quick list of foods; pass 2 records items added after forgotten-food prompts; pass 3 records time and occasion; pass 4 records detail, amount and preparation per item; pass 5 records any final additions.
Amounts are the weakest link. Offer household measures (cups, tablespoons, slices), a photo atlas shown by the interviewer, or weights if the participant has a scale. Record the unit and quantity as separate fields so coding does not depend on parsing text.
| Assessment | BL | W2 | W6 | W12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24-hour recall (weekday) | ||||
| 24-hour recall (weekend day) | ||||
| 3-day food diary | D | D | ||
| Body weight (vital signs) |
D = diary kept on three days before the visit
Template
In the interview version each food is a row in a table section on the eCRF. In the diary version each eating occasion is one phone entry with the same fields.
| Field | Question type | Values | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recall date and day type | Date, single choice | Weekday, weekend | Intake differs by day type |
| Typical day? | Single choice | Yes, no, with reason | Illness or a party changes intake |
| Eating occasion | Single choice | Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, drink only | Structures the day |
| Time | Time | hh:mm | Meal timing endpoints |
| Food or drink description | Text | As described, with brand if known | Coded later against a food database |
| Preparation | Dropdown | Raw, boiled, fried, baked, grilled, other | Changes energy and fat content |
| Quantity and unit | Numeric, dropdown | e.g. 1.5, cup | Separate fields for clean coding |
| Where eaten | Dropdown | Home, work, restaurant, other | Context |
| Supplements taken | Single choice, text | Yes/no, product and dose | Contributes to total intake |
| Interviewer notes | Long text (site only) | Free text | Probes and uncertainties |
Table sections for repeating rows are available on eCRF forms. The phone diary uses one entry per occasion instead.
Diary mode
For the self-kept diary, Capture sends a secure link by email or SMS that opens in the phone's browser. Participants add an entry at each eating occasion. Completion windows stop a three-day diary from being written in one sitting from memory.
Build the form from the field table, set the completion window and enter a day of meals in the free sandbox.
After collection
Capture's export gives you one row per food with the description, amount, unit, time and context, with a data dictionary. Nutrient values are not calculated inside Capture. Dietary analysis software matches each description to a food composition database and returns energy, macronutrients and micronutrients, and your statisticians then average across recalls per participant. Plan for that coding step and its cost: a free-text description needs a trained coder, which is why many teams add a dropdown of common foods or code descriptions on a rolling basis during the study.
Tools for the analysis step vary by country and by funder, so name your food composition database and coding rules in the protocol. If you also need body composition or biomarker data in the same study, collect them on the vital signs and lab results forms and link them by participant. The nutrition research solution page covers the wider study design.
One describes one day. Estimating an individual's usual intake needs several recalls on non-consecutive days, usually including a weekend day. Group comparisons can use fewer when the design is balanced. Set the number in your protocol.
A structured interview developed by USDA with five passes: quick list, forgotten foods, time and occasion, detail cycle and a final probe. The template follows that order.
No. Capture records foods, amounts and context, and exports them with a data dictionary. Nutrient calculation is done in dietary analysis software against a food composition database.
Yes, as a phone diary with one entry per eating occasion, from a secure link with no app to install. The same fields can be completed by an interviewer at the site.
It is a generic structure, not a named validated instrument. Name your protocol's dietary method and cite its reference.
ASA24 is a free automated recall tool from NCI for researchers. Use it if you do not need the data in your study database; use this template if you do.
Yes, in the free sandbox with the rest of the template library. You pay only when a study goes live.
Keep exploring
Food frequency questionnaire eCRF
Habitual intake over months.
Clinical trial software for nutrition research
Study design for nutrition trials.
Digital patient diary
Phone diaries without an app.
Vital signs eCRF
Weight and BMI alongside intake.
GI symptoms diary
Daily symptoms next to diet.
ePRO compliance reminders
Reminder ladder and quiet hours.
Build the recall and diary forms, schedule them and test on your phone. Free sandbox, no credit card.