Frustrating food database. No idea if this is right.

Hypsibius

Trying to find an accurate macro count for a couple things I eat ALL the time:

1. Quinoa cooked in chicken stock
2. Cooked chicken breast

Does anybody have a hyper-accurate count for these? The food database has some versioning that is wildly different.

Any advice for how to "find" out the truthful answers on these? Some people seem to just plug in "calories" but ignore all macros...

Are there any particularly good sources for looking this kind of thing up?

Thanks!

susanofarrell

Make a recipe for exactly how you cook those items (chicken stock, or low sodium beef stock, or bullion, etc.). Look for the food items in the DB with the green check next to them.
Good luck!

Hypsibius

susanofarrell wrote: »

Make a recipe for exactly how you cook those items (chicken stock, or low sodium beef stock, or bullion, etc.). Look for the food items in the DB with the green check next to them.
Good luck!

This is helpful. So "green" checkmark means it was verified by a 3rd party? I see that for a lot of pre-packaged stuff -- but since I mostly cook at home this feels like a bit of guess work.

Good idea on counting the stock and quinoa separately. I could never eat quinoa without boiling it in some delicious stock .

Alatariel75

Hypsibius wrote: »

susanofarrell wrote: »

Make a recipe for exactly how you cook those items (chicken stock, or low sodium beef stock, or bullion, etc.). Look for the food items in the DB with the green check next to them.
Good luck!

This is helpful. So "green" checkmark means it was verified by a 3rd party? I see that for a lot of pre-packaged stuff -- but since I mostly cook at home this feels like a bit of guess work.

Good idea on counting the stock and quinoa separately. I could never eat quinoa without boiling it in some delicious stock .

Do be suspicious of the green checks too - I know it seems counter-intuitive, but even they aren't reliable. The best thing is to log things as their separate components where possible, as soon as an entry combines more than 1 component, you're at the mercy of the person who put it in the database and their method.

katnadreau

I actually spent some time on google searching for accurate nutrition info. the database can really vary

middlehaitch

Use the USDA data base for chicken, quinoa, and other single items.
Sometimes these are in the data base with their ref number so you can double check.

Packaged things use the package label or the mfg website.

Weigh the amount you are using then use the drop downs to alter serving size or serving number.

I always had serving size 1g. Then would weigh my item and use the weight as my number of servings.

Cheers, h.

ETA. The good thing is, once you have the correct entry in your database your logging gets easier and more accurate.
It can be slow collecting the correct entries, but so worth it.

musicfan68

I finally quit using the database for the most part. If I have to verify with USDA, I might as well just look it up and track it all on the computer. The green check doesn't mean anything. Those entries can be as wrong as any other.

try2again

For my chicken breast, which I always weigh cooked, I typically enter "USDA chicken breast boneless skinless grilled" (43 cal/oz). Putting the "USDA" in front with the precise part & cooking method will usually yield the best result for any meat. As others have said, you need to look up your quinoa & broth separately. If you make a big batch, use the recipe builder with the quantities you use and the number of servings it makes, and then weigh the finished product to determine your serving size.

JeromeBarry1

https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

05746, Chicken, broiler or fryers, breast, skinless, boneless, meat only, cooked, braised


Search for that in the database. Compare the 100 g calorie value in mfp to the 100 g energy value in usda, and if they match, proceed to use it. Yes, it's a pain in the shorthair.

PinkPupper

Learn to weigh or mesaure everything. Then search online for cal/weight ratio for items. I have to weigh new items all the time. I save those items cal/100g.
It's easier and much more reliable when you do the math yourself rather than relying on someone's entry. I know it's a bit of work but it's worth it!

PinkPupper

Here's a visual, hope it helps!

try2again

Another helpful tip I've found is to put "grams" in your search. Not always of course, but generally I think that people that include serving sizes in grams are striving to be more accurate.