Which Sweet Potato Entry?

SarahStarr86

Im plan on eating a baked sweet potato with dinner but there are so many different entries in the database...even multiple entries with a green check. How do you know if you're choosing the right one?

susanp57

add usda to your search. Those are accurate. It will usually give a weight in grams so that you can weigh accurately.

OhMsDiva

When adding a food to my diary for the first time I look up the calories on other sites, like usda, then I look for something that matches on mfp. Btw I eat a lot of sweet potatoes. Bakes sweet potato fries are the best. Also If you are leaving the skin on when baking and eating you want to deduct the weight of the skin if you are not eating it.

SarahStarr86

Thank you both so much!

lynn_glenmont

If you search on the USDA site first (https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list), and copy the exact language used there when you search on MFP, you should get a correct entry as your top search hit most of the time.

E.g., Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, flesh, without salt
There are also USDA entries for raw sweet potato (if you use that, you need to weigh the sweet potato before you cook it) and boiled sweet potato.

A good sign that you've got a good, USDA-based entry for whole foods like fruits and veggies is if it offers multiple serving size options, including both volume and weight measurements, includes data for potassium, and the numbers for vitamins A&C, iron, and calcium aren't all nice round numbers.

The MFP database isn't as good as it used to be, in that some of the good entries that were based on the USDA have gotten messed up. I think it happened when they tried to run an update of the database so that any entry with a volume measure would automatically offer both milliliters and fluid ounces, and any entry with a weight measure would automatically offer both grams and ounces. Now you have to be careful, because some of the entries that are fine with one of their serving units are completely insane for others. There's a garlic entry that you need to use the 3 clove serving size for, because the 1 clove serving size is hundreds of calories. (If you use one clove, log .33 of 3 cloves.)

OhMsDiva

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

If you search on the USDA site first (https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list), and copy the exact language used there when you search on MFP, you should get a correct entry as your top search hit most of the time.

E.g., Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, flesh, without salt
There are also USDA entries for raw sweet potato (if you use that, you need to weigh the sweet potato before you cook it) and boiled sweet potato.

A good sign that you've got a good, USDA-based entry for whole foods like fruits and veggies is if it offers multiple serving size options, including both volume and weight measurements, includes data for potassium, and the numbers for vitamins A&C, iron, and calcium aren't all nice round numbers.

The MFP database isn't as good as it used to be, in that some of the good entries that were based on the USDA have gotten messed up. I think it happened when they tried to run an update of the database so that any entry with a volume measure would automatically offer both milliliters and fluid ounces, and any entry with a weight measure would automatically offer both grams and ounces. Now you have to be careful, because some of the entries that are fine with one of their serving units are completely insane for others. There's a garlic entry that you need to use the 3 clove serving size for, because the 1 clove serving size is hundreds of calories. (If you use one clove, log .33 of 3 cloves.)

I know I am not a meticulous logger, but how many calories are in a clove of garlic? People really weigh garlic before cooking or eating it?

Momepro

OhMsDiva wrote: »

When adding a food to my diary for the first time I look up the calories on other sites, like usda, then I look for something that matches on mfp. Btw I eat a lot of sweet potatoes. Bakes sweet potato fries are the best. Also If you are leaving the skin on when baking and eating you want to deduct the weight of the skin if you are not eating it.

Oooh, no GRILLED sweet potato fries mmmmmmmm! Actually, almost everything tastes better grilled. My 7 year old calls it the magic make yum cooker!

CyberTone

OhMsDiva wrote: »

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

If you search on the USDA site first (https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list), and copy the exact language used there when you search on MFP, you should get a correct entry as your top search hit most of the time.

E.g., Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, flesh, without salt
There are also USDA entries for raw sweet potato (if you use that, you need to weigh the sweet potato before you cook it) and boiled sweet potato.

A good sign that you've got a good, USDA-based entry for whole foods like fruits and veggies is if it offers multiple serving size options, including both volume and weight measurements, includes data for potassium, and the numbers for vitamins A&C, iron, and calcium aren't all nice round numbers.

The MFP database isn't as good as it used to be, in that some of the good entries that were based on the USDA have gotten messed up. I think it happened when they tried to run an update of the database so that any entry with a volume measure would automatically offer both milliliters and fluid ounces, and any entry with a weight measure would automatically offer both grams and ounces. Now you have to be careful, because some of the entries that are fine with one of their serving units are completely insane for others. There's a garlic entry that you need to use the 3 clove serving size for, because the 1 clove serving size is hundreds of calories. (If you use one clove, log .33 of 3 cloves.)

I know I am not a meticulous logger, but how many calories are in a clove of garlic? People really weigh garlic before cooking or eating it?

When I make a big pot of something, I put in about 10 cloves of garlic which is 30g and about 45 Calories. I add that information when I create a Recipe. Garlic also provides calcium, iron, potassium, and Vitamin C. I want that information to be correct for my Recipe.