Imported Recipes VS. Printed Nutritional Information
DupreeTheTRex
Posts: 105 Member
What should I be using when adding to my diary? When I import my recipe from google, the difference in calories is significant (200+ difference). But the meal kit says the calories are less than the imported recipe. Which is right? How can I trust the information on here with such a discrepancy?
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Replies
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Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.3
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Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.
Like how do you mean? When I cook the dishes I use a scale. So I’m terms of weight/amounts it’s accurate. I’ve never used import recipe before so I’m not sure where it’s getting the information from.
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DupreeTheTRex wrote: »Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.
Like how do you mean? When I cook the dishes I use a scale. So I’m terms of weight/amounts it’s accurate. I’ve never used import recipe before so I’m not sure where it’s getting the information from.
If you search the MFP database for chicken breasts, you will see many different entries with many different nutritional info, you have to be careful when selecting your entry to make sure it is correct.
Weighing your food accurately is half the battle, the other half is making sure it is logged correctly.
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DupreeTheTRex wrote: »Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.
Like how do you mean? When I cook the dishes I use a scale. So I’m terms of weight/amounts it’s accurate. I’ve never used import recipe before so I’m not sure where it’s getting the information from.
If you search the MFP database for chicken breasts, you will see many different entries with many different nutritional info, you have to be careful when selecting your entry to make sure it is correct.
Weighing your food accurately is half the battle, the other half is making sure it is logged correctly.
Are there any tips for doing this (making sure the log is correct)? I guess I should trust the nutritional information from the recipe cards rather than MFP?0 -
DupreeTheTRex wrote: »DupreeTheTRex wrote: »Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.
Like how do you mean? When I cook the dishes I use a scale. So I’m terms of weight/amounts it’s accurate. I’ve never used import recipe before so I’m not sure where it’s getting the information from.
If you search the MFP database for chicken breasts, you will see many different entries with many different nutritional info, you have to be careful when selecting your entry to make sure it is correct.
Weighing your food accurately is half the battle, the other half is making sure it is logged correctly.
Are there any tips for doing this (making sure the log is correct)? I guess I should trust the nutritional information from the recipe cards rather than MFP?
The USDA site is helpful, the item packaging is good and then if you scan through the MFP listings if you see several with the same weight and calories it is a fairly safe bet.
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Double check USDA database especially if the "deal" seems too good to be true. Invariably when it is the manufacturer has "lied" or made an error (or the MFP entries are wrong; or both at the same time plus the package weight is off for a trifecta!!!)2
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Double check USDA database especially if the "deal" seems too good to be true. Invariably when it is the manufacturer has "lied" or made an error (or the MFP entries are wrong; or both at the same time plus the package weight is off for a trifecta!!!)
I’m getting so much anxiety just thinking about this all! Wish it were just plain in simple. Thank you so much for the help!
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It still works to lose weight even if you're not perfect.
The closest you control the variables and more consistent you can be.
But consistent errors can be corrected... what you do is you compare your logged caloric balance to the caloric balance implied by your weight *trend" results.
Consider using a weight trend website or app.... And 3500 calories per pound as your magic value: it tends to be a fairly good aproximation for most people
As to the rest of it, SR Legacy, and clicking on "ALL" words for your search terms will be your friend when you're playing with food data central's new sorry excuse of a mess of a database search engine that they've created.
Sr Legacy entries should be findable verbatim when searched on Mfp0 -
DupreeTheTRex wrote: »Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.
Like how do you mean? When I cook the dishes I use a scale. So I’m terms of weight/amounts it’s accurate. I’ve never used import recipe before so I’m not sure where it’s getting the information from.
The ‘import recipe’ function of the recipe builder imports the recipe from the link you point it at. I always do a quick check that it’s picked up everything because, especially if a recipe comes in multiple parts (marinade, sauce, main recipe etc) it sometimes misses a bit. Don’t worry because you can still edit and add ingredients anyway.
The next step is to get MFP to ‘match ingredients’ - this is where the problems can creep in. The match sometimes interprets things badly so either the ingredient is wrong or the quantity is off. Add this to the inaccurate database entries and the chances that you have a correct recipe at this point are very slight!
I ALWAYS sanity check at every step. I replace every ingredient with a ‘search for alternative’ entry just to be sure - matching the items to brands etc I’m actually using - checking labels where available etc.
All this to say, since it sounds like you’re using a meal kit service, I’d try the above - sanity checking every entry - I’m betting you’ll end up much closer to the stated calories on the recipe card.1 -
BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »
The next step is to get MFP to ‘match ingredients’ - this is where the problems can creep in. The match sometimes interprets things badly so either the ingredient is wrong or the quantity is off. Add this to the inaccurate database entries and the chances that you have a correct recipe at this point are very slight!
This. I just imported a recipe and MFP interpreted "280g spelt flour" as 280 servings at 3 oz a serving, with an incorrect flour entry to boot.
So make sure to double check the ingredients list for accuracy. ☺️
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I always go by grams where possible, and weigh everything. As others have said, there are a lot of junk entries in the database that have been contributed by users. If a number is too good to be true or seems off, check other entries in the database as a cross check. If I search for something I've eaten before (say, a banana), the entry I've used before will pop up first so MFP "learns" over time and in my experience this becomes less of a problem.
Also, bear in mind that all of this is approximate: the database entries can be wrong, and the assumptions made in the entries can be off (what's a "medium apple? That's why I weigh everything). Further, your food scale isn't as accurate as a laboratory scale, your bathroom scale isn't as accurate as the scale in the doctor's office, the nutritional values on food labels aren't necessarily 100% accurate, and I've found the bar codes on items can give you funky results as well. Finally, your body weight is your weight at the moment you step on the scale: it won't necessarily be the same the next day, or even later in the same day.
The important thing is to be consistent, and keep at it. Glitches in the data will work out in the end. If you keep at it, you'll lose weight but given the approximate nature of this game, there's no reason to make yourself crazy worrying about the small details.0 -
BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »DupreeTheTRex wrote: »Are you using accurate entries for the individual items? There are many, many MANY wrong entries in the MFP database.
Like how do you mean? When I cook the dishes I use a scale. So I’m terms of weight/amounts it’s accurate. I’ve never used import recipe before so I’m not sure where it’s getting the information from.
The ‘import recipe’ function of the recipe builder imports the recipe from the link you point it at. I always do a quick check that it’s picked up everything because, especially if a recipe comes in multiple parts (marinade, sauce, main recipe etc) it sometimes misses a bit. Don’t worry because you can still edit and add ingredients anyway.
The next step is to get MFP to ‘match ingredients’ - this is where the problems can creep in. The match sometimes interprets things badly so either the ingredient is wrong or the quantity is off. Add this to the inaccurate database entries and the chances that you have a correct recipe at this point are very slight!
I ALWAYS sanity check at every step. I replace every ingredient with a ‘search for alternative’ entry just to be sure - matching the items to brands etc I’m actually using - checking labels where available etc.
All this to say, since it sounds like you’re using a meal kit service, I’d try the above - sanity checking every entry - I’m betting you’ll end up much closer to the stated calories on the recipe card.
As far as I'm concerned, the only benefit of the Import Recipe feature is that you get a picture of the item and a link. MFP's ability to accurately match ingredients is laughably inaccurate. I've even put in exact database syntax and it still won't get it right, but when I use Replace and that same syntax again, it does find it.1
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