How do you calculate a homemade garden salad?
sydneydeb
Posts: 93 Member
I was wondering how you all measure homemade garden salad? Do you weigh/count everything that goes into it or just count it as salad? I have salad most days for lunch, it's easy and I love salad.
I've cut out the fatty stuff like feta cheese
(I did weigh that as I can't help myself when I comes to cheese) but I don't bother weighing the rest of it. I just sort of guestimate it.
Any advice appreciated.
I've cut out the fatty stuff like feta cheese
(I did weigh that as I can't help myself when I comes to cheese) but I don't bother weighing the rest of it. I just sort of guestimate it.Any advice appreciated.
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Replies
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There is a recipe builder available where you can put everything in to calculate the total calories.0
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I do all my ingredients separately in the recipe thing because I change up what I am doing with my salads alot and I am paying attention to micros for my dad that eats the same things I eat.
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PikaKnight wrote: »There is a recipe builder available where you can put everything in to calculate the total calories.
I've done that but I still only guess how much lettuce, cucumber etc is in the salad. I don't weigh every single ingredient.0 -
zachbonner_ wrote: »I just count the dressing
I don't use dressing, just a bit of lemon juice (which I do count)0 -
I don't normally count super low calorie things like salad or onion slices. I'll guesstimate and it's usually like 5-15 calories lol
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PikaKnight wrote: »There is a recipe builder available where you can put everything in to calculate the total calories.
I've done that but I still only guess how much lettuce, cucumber etc is in the salad. I don't weigh every single ingredient.
Than why does it matter how you log it if you don't know how much you are actually eating?0 -
Because it still has kilojoules so of course I have to log it
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Because it still has kilojoules so of course I have to log it
Lettuce, cucumber, radishes, tomatoes, bell peppers, whatever you put in a salad, have calories. I weigh everything. Figure you make a salad once, weigh everything, and then use that as a benchmark for every time you have a salad. Plus if you're trying to track your grams of carb and fiber, you'd want to log specific amounts as well.
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I have actually been weighing everything individually. My weigh & measures were off so I'm being strict about having the correct portions in order to lose weight. The day will come where I'll likely go back to logging it by a recipe but then again my salads always have different things in them.0
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There's an entry in the database for "Mixed Green Salad" or somesuch. I'm not terribly fussy about macros....I'll measure out a cup worth of shredded lettuce mixed with some carrot shavings, cucumber slices, onion, etc., and log it as 1.5 cups to overestimate just to be on the safe side, but I do weigh and individually log stuff like croutons, dressing, and shredded cheese if I use it.0
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I've created the recipe once and named it so I'll just keep using that, thanks all.0
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You can save the typical ingredients as a meal. Then when you log it log that meal, then change the amounts.
I put the bowl or plate on the scale and weigh as I toss stuff in, Zero the scale between each ingredient and its no big deal.0 -
That depends on the size of your salads. It can add up. 100 grams (or 3.5oz ) sounds big, but you'd be surprised how small it is. And if you have 100g of tomatoes, that's already about 20 calories, lettuce, while low in calories, isn't calorie free. Carrots have a surprising number of calories too.
I'd say weigh all the ingredients in what you consider your basic salad once, just once, enter it as a recipe and then just use that every time. From that time on, it's quick and easy. And then if you mix it up (like if you're feeling fancy and want to throw in cheese or lives or whatever) you can add those to your diary separately.0 -
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I use a medium size mixing bowl and scale.
I pretty much have standardized the weight of different ingredients depending on bulk and Calories per gram.
I put the bowl on the scale, tare scale, chop and weigh vegetable, tare scale, repeat.
Total Calories from vegetables: 118 - 63%
Total Calories from 30 grams (2 Tbsp) dressing: 70 - 37%
Depending on the amount of vegetables in your salad and the type of dressing, a greater percentage of Calories can be from the vegetables rather than the dressing.
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I weigh and measure and record everything. I put it all as individual components.0
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I use a medium size mixing bowl and scale.
I pretty much have standardized the weight of different ingredients depending on bulk and Calories per gram.
I put the bowl on the scale, tare scale, chop and weigh vegetable, tare scale, repeat.
Total Calories from vegetables: 118 - 63%
Total Calories from 30 grams (2 Tbsp) dressing: 70 - 37%
Depending on the amount of vegetables in your salad and the type of dressing, a greater percentage of Calories can be from the vegetables rather than the dressing.
What's yambean?0 -
I use a medium size mixing bowl and scale.
I pretty much have standardized the weight of different ingredients depending on bulk and Calories per gram.
I put the bowl on the scale, tare scale, chop and weigh vegetable, tare scale, repeat.
Total Calories from vegetables: 118 - 63%
Total Calories from 30 grams (2 Tbsp) dressing: 70 - 37%
Depending on the amount of vegetables in your salad and the type of dressing, a greater percentage of Calories can be from the vegetables rather than the dressing.
What's yambean?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachyrhizus_erosus0 -
What's yambean?
Yambean is jicama and in case anyone is wondering pe-tsai is commonly called napa cabbage and pak-choi is commonly called bok choy. I use those entries because they are the non-asterisked (MFP-entered) food items based on the USDA National Nutrient Database.0 -
Yup, I weigh it all out. I just tare the scale as I go. It's not tough at all. 0
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What's yambean?
Yambean is jicama and in case anyone is wondering pe-tsai is commonly called napa cabbage and pak-choi is commonly called bok choy. I use those entries because they are the non-asterisked (MFP-entered) food items based on the USDA National Nutrient Database.
I don't think they sell this here, I've never seen it and I'm very good friends with my local fruit and veggie shop.0 -
I have to defend feta cheese. It's only 70 calories for 28 grams, which is a LOT when distributed through an entire salad. As cheeses go, it's a caloric bargain.
As far as building a salad? I but the bowl on the scale, add an ingredient, weigh it, write it down, tare the scale, add the next ingredient, lather, rinse, repeat. Add the ingredients to my diary. I log everything.0 -
zachbonner_ wrote: »I just count the dressing
I don't use dressing, just a bit of lemon juice (which I do count)
Yum, I love using lemon juice on salads! Good choice.0 -
PeachyCarol wrote: »I have to defend feta cheese. It's only 70 calories for 28 grams, which is a LOT when distributed through an entire salad. As cheeses go, it's a caloric bargain.
As far as building a salad? I but the bowl on the scale, add an ingredient, weigh it, write it down, tare the scale, add the next ingredient, lather, rinse, repeat. Add the ingredients to my diary. I log everything.
This for me too. My salads are quite large and have a lot of ingredients. Even the low calorie stuff adds up if you eat enough of it.0 -
I'm too lazy to weigh every single ingredient every day, so I made my normal salad (it barely changes from one week to the next) weighing every ingredient, worked out the calories and added some for a buffer, and I just use that every time I have a salad now.
That's the leafy/veg part. I weigh the tuna/other additions separately because I change them up more often.0 -
PeachyCarol wrote: »I have to defend feta cheese. It's only 70 calories for 28 grams, which is a LOT when distributed through an entire salad. As cheeses go, it's a caloric bargain.
As far as building a salad? I but the bowl on the scale, add an ingredient, weigh it, write it down, tare the scale, add the next ingredient, lather, rinse, repeat. Add the ingredients to my diary. I log everything.
Not to mention, it's so flavorful that I usually don't even need 28g of it on my salad. The flavor will overtake my whole salad if I use too much.0 -
I eyeball the greens based on the size of my bowl; measure any dressing; and weigh the rest like the veggies, cheese, nuts, seeds, etc.0
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Put big bowl on scale. Tare it. Add mustard. Write number down. Tare it. Add vinegar (I don't log it). Tare it. Add lettuce. Write number down. Tare it. Add tomatoes. Write number down. Tare it. Add cucumber. Write number down. Tare it. Add cheese. Write number down. Tare it.
Etc etc. Doesn't get easier.
I don't use oil anymore but I like cheese in them, it keeps me fuller than just plain veggies.0
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