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Food image analysis for calorie estimation with Vision AI and Telegram

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Food image analysis for calorie estimation with Vision AI and Telegram preview
Open on n8n.io

Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

1. Workflow Overview

Who’s it for Teams building health/fitness apps, coaches running check ins in chat, and anyone who needs quick, structured nutrition insights from food photos—without manual logging. What it does /...

Best for

  • Content Creation automation workflows
  • Multimodal AI automation workflows
  • advanced n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.outputparserstructured, n8n-nodes-base.telegramtrigger, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatopenrouter, n8n-nodes-base.code, n8n-nodes-base.gmail, n8n-nodes-base.stickynote

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Toshiya Minami.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Food image analysis for calorie estimation with Vision AI and Telegram
Workflow name
Food image analysis for calorie estimation with Vision AI and Telegram

Who’s it for

Teams building health/fitness apps, coaches running check-ins in chat, and anyone who needs quick, structured nutrition insights from food photos—without manual logging.

What it does / How it works

This workflow accepts a food image (URL or Base64), uses a vision-capable LLM to infer likely ingredients and rough gram amounts, estimates per-ingredient calories, and returns a strict JSON summary with total calories and a short nutrition note. It normalizes different payloads (e.g., Telegram/LINE/Webhook) into a common format, handles transient errors with retries, and avoids hardcoded secrets by using credentials/env vars.

Requirements

  • Vision-capable LLM credentials (e.g., gpt-4o or equivalent)
  • One input channel (Webhook, Telegram, or LINE)
  • Environment variables for model name/temperature and optional request validation

How to set up

  1. Connect your input channel and enable the Webhook (copy the test URL).
  2. Add LLM credentials and set LLM_MODEL and LLM_TEMPERATURE (e.g., 0.3).
  3. Turn on the workflow, send a sample payload with imageUrl, and confirm the strict JSON output.
  4. (Optional) Configure a reply node (Telegram/Slack or HTTP Response) and a logger (Google Sheets/Notion).

How to customize the workflow

  • Outputs: Add macros (protein/fat/carb) or micronutrient fields.
  • Units: Convert portion descriptions (piece/slice) to grams with your own mapping.
  • Languages: Toggle multilingual output (ja/en).
  • Policies: Tighten validation (reject low-confidence parses) or add manual review steps.
  • Security: Use signed/temporary URLs for private images; mask PII in logs.

Data model (strict JSON)

{
  "dishName": "string",
  "ingredients": [{ "name": "string", "amount": 0, "calories": 0 }],
  "totalCalories": 0,
  "nutritionEvaluation": "string"
}

Notes

Rename all nodes clearly, include sticky notes explaining the setup, and never commit real IDs, tokens, or API keys.

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - AI Agent - 食材分析

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent - agent
Config choices
Version 2

Block 2 - Structured Output Parser

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.outputParserStructured - outputParserStructured
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 3 - Telegram Trigger

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.telegramTrigger - telegramTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 4 - OpenRouter Chat Model

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenRouter - lmChatOpenRouter
Config choices
Version 1

Block 5 - Format for Gmail

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.code - code
Config choices
Version 2

Block 6 - Send a message1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.gmail - gmail
Config choices
Version 2.1

Block 7 - Sticky 1: Overview

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 8 - Sticky 2: Prerequisites

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 9 - Sticky 3: Input Format

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 10 - Sticky 4: Model & Prompt

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 11 - Sticky 5: Output Schema

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 12 - Sticky 6: Test Steps

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 13 - Sticky 7: Errors & Limits

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 14 - Sticky 8: Security

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 15 - Sticky 9: Delivery

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 16 - Sticky 10: Extensibility

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

3. Summary Table

Workflow Food image analysis for calorie estimation with Vision AI and Telegram
Complexity advanced
Nodes 16
Categories Content Creation, Multimodal AI
Author Toshiya Minami
Published 14 Oct 2025

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/9619/9619.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does Food image analysis for calorie estimation with Vision AI and Telegram do?

Who’s it for Teams building health/fitness apps, coaches running check ins in chat, and anyone who needs quick, structured nutrition insights from food photos—without manual logging. What it does /...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your Content Creation, Multimodal AI use case.