Logging a Potluck dinner

KristiCee67
KristiCee67 Posts: 71 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just got home from a School Board meeting, where we had a potluck dinner. I have NO idea where to begin to log it! I had small portions of everything, but there was nothing that was simple to identify...everything was a yummy, complicated dish with lots of ingredients. I saved 900 calories for this meal....

How do you folks do it? I don't want to have to avoid social situations like these...but I also want to truthfully log as often as I can.

Thoughts? Thanks!!!

Replies

  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    just log the closest thing you can to what you had. Say someone brought in peanut butter brownies, search peanut butter brownies and log that, you will not be able to get it exact but it sounds like you saved your calories for this anyway so a aproximation is as close as you can get without getting everyones recipies and breaking them down via ingredients.
  • KristiCee67
    KristiCee67 Posts: 71 Member
    The problem is...I don't know what half of it was? Was it Quinoa? Or was it Farro? You know?
  • LyndaTay
    LyndaTay Posts: 48 Member
    I had this same problem a few days ago. I logged what foods I had brought, then did the best I could with the "bites" of others. Then just added quick calories.
  • KristiCee67
    KristiCee67 Posts: 71 Member
    What are "quick calories"?
  • janimei
    janimei Posts: 105 Member
    One cup of cooked cous cous is 176 calories. One cup of cooked quinoa is 222. One cup of brown rice is 216. One cup of cooked barley is 193. If you guess wrong, you'll still be in the ballpark.
    If you think oil was used during cooking, as with rice pilaf, add an oil value. Just get approximations and guesses in the log.
    Don't spend a lot of time sweating the small stuff.
    And give yourself credit for doing your best in a tempting situation.
    The standard potluck guideline is to fill at least half your plate with veggies, and sample only one dessert.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    When you go to add food to your diary, click "quick tools". Under that is an option "quick add calories" . Add your estimate in there - I'd say 1,000 for a dinner like that, depending on portion size. But don't get too stressed out about it.
  • KristiCee67
    KristiCee67 Posts: 71 Member

    The standard potluck guideline is to fill at least half your plate with veggies, and sample only one dessert.

    I did 1/4 veggies....and didn't have any dessert. :)
  • KristiCee67
    KristiCee67 Posts: 71 Member
    Thanks for the ideas everyone!
  • sbhartzell
    sbhartzell Posts: 1
    The first time I had to log a potluck, I searched the database for "potluck" and found several entries. I used one of them since some other member had already gone to the trouble of tallying or estimating it. The search results range from "Generic Vegan Potluck" (500 cal. plate) to "Potluck Gone Bad" (2,000 calorie plate). This might save you some time.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    One cup of cooked cous cous is 176 calories. One cup of cooked quinoa is 222. One cup of brown rice is 216. One cup of cooked barley is 193. If you guess wrong, you'll still be in the ballpark.
    If you think oil was used during cooking, as with rice pilaf, add an oil value. Just get approximations and guesses in the log.
    Don't spend a lot of time sweating the small stuff.
    And give yourself credit for doing your best in a tempting situation.
    The standard potluck guideline is to fill at least half your plate with veggies, and sample only one dessert.
    that's what i was thinking.

    I also have a potluck coming up in july/august, and it is a foodie group i belong to so everything is just yum. luckily there are always lots of salads and healthier sides, so i'll fill up on that, and i'll take a "taste" of desserts (like a teaspoon of each).
  • Melampus
    Melampus Posts: 95 Member
    What are "quick calories"?

    It isn't the calories that are "quick" as this makes no sense at all. Rather, this refers to a feature in MFP where you quickly add a number of calories for a meal rather than log exactly what you ate. You can use this, for example if you eat in a cafe or resturant and they have a calorie figure for a particular menu choice but no other nutritional info. It is also useful for situations when the best you can do is guess. I use the Android app and it's at the bottom of each of the lists of things to add to each meal, i.e. "Frequent", "Recent", "My Foods", "Recepies".

    If these events are very occasional I'd not worry too much about it. If they happen more frequently then I'd plan the rest of the meals around it for example my having a modest breakfast and a light luch, for example salad.
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    If I know I'm going to have a naughty meal (we had a BBQ last Saturday, for example) I try to stay 100+ calories under each day so I have a "cushion". For Saturday I logged everything I knew I'd definitely had, and a guess for other stuff (like I knew I had a little pasta salad but I didn't weigh it, just guessed the volume)

    But even if you had twice as much as you thought, it won't be enough to derail you completely so don't stress it.:drinker:
  • gaboudreau
    gaboudreau Posts: 12 Member
    I do pretty much exactly what everyone is saying..after dieting for years you can pretty much calculate in your brain what a plate of "bad" food, or healthy choices might be and just guesstamate what it is..the rest of the day I eat really really light and then try to add in some exercise or a walk to help cover some of it..as long as it's not a frequent thing it will work out in the end. Just be honest with yourself and try to pick out the best options if there are any, otherwise eat smaller portions..you'll have to eat that way in order to keep the weight off in the future anyway.
  • MoRiv1986
    MoRiv1986 Posts: 379 Member
    Anytime I have a buffet of food, I just log it in as a buffet. Here in Korea when we have our dinners with a lot of random food, I log it in as a Korean buffet.
  • HealthWoke0ish
    HealthWoke0ish Posts: 2,078 Member
    The problem is...I don't know what half of it was? Was it Quinoa? Or was it Farro? You know?

    When I'm making a guess like this (very rarely, if ever) I often pick the one with more calories. For me, that accomplishes two things: It helps to ensure that I do not go over...and it teaches me a lesson for being unprepared or for eating a food I can't identify...haha.

    Good luck to you. :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Eh I wouldn't log it. Or just put 600 calories or whatever just because.
  • KristiCee67
    KristiCee67 Posts: 71 Member
    For me, that accomplishes two things: It helps to ensure that I do not go over...and it teaches me a lesson for being unprepared or for eating a food I can't identify...haha.

    Good luck to you. :)

    I love trying new things that I can't idenitfy!!!! :)
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I saved 900 calories for this meal....

    How do you folks do it? I don't want to have to avoid social situations like these...but I also want to truthfully log as often as I can.

    Thoughts? Thanks!!!

    It's just one meal. Quick add 900 calories. Life will go on - I promise.

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