serving size when using your own recipe

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  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    However much chicken you put into the whole recipe goes into the recipe calculator. You then divide the result of the whole recipe by the number of "servings" you'll have. Ideally, you'd actually weigh the whole recipe and use math to figure out how many grams/ounces are in each serving (but that isn't always practical).

    (And inb4 "not able to edit recipes in the app" frustrations...because argh.)


    edit: why is it so difficult to type "weigh" instead of "weight"???
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    Why not omit the chicken from the recipe and then add itnto your diary as a separate item?
  • babynew
    babynew Posts: 613 Member
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    One thing that's worked for me (though it is a bit of a pain) is that I weigh the cooked dish when it's finished. Then, I make the portion size 1 ounce. If I eat 5 oz. of said dish, then it's 5 servings. I'm not even sure it's completely accurate, but it's the only way I could figure out how to make 'absolute' serving sizes.
    Yes I've done that by breaking the portions down into cup measurements..or each portion is 100 grams..Once you start building recipes in the builder it gets easier.
    Just make sure you keep your portions the Same,& noteing it in the Recipe Title helps a lot.
    :flowerforyou:
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
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    Ok. I have a recipe that I am making that says it serves 5-6 people. It calls for 40 oz of chicken or 2.5 lbs. That works out to be 5 chicken breasts in my case. The serving size on the chicken breast says 3 oz cooked. When calculating this recipe for serving size, should I divide the 40 oz. by 3 oz.? If so, this recipe serves 13? Am I totally off base here?
    A "serving" is just a name for a unit of food. It is not a measure of "this is how much anyone should eat at a given time."

    It serves however many people it takes to eat it.
  • knra_grl
    knra_grl Posts: 1,568 Member
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    Most chicken breasts are enough for 2 servings if you are conservative with your portions. Guess it depends on how big of a meal you plan to have - I would make 5 breasts 10 portions personally.
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
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    My rule of thumb when making recipes is to divide it into serving sizes that make a reasonable calorie amount for the meal. For example, I made a big pot of chili. I could have 4 big bowls for 600 calories each, or 6 bowls for 400 calories each. Therefore, I say it's 6 servings and eat less, because 400 calories seems more reasonable.

    So that would be my suggestion. Add all the ingredients to the recipe, then create a serving size that gives you an appropriate number of calories for your goals. Then divide appropriately and enjoy.

    P.S. 3 oz of chicken might be a serving size, but that's rarely enough chicken to satisfy anyone. There's nothing wrong with eating two servings of meat at a meal, as long as you understand it's two servings.

    You can't do that with this app though.

    You cant do what? Make your own reciepe.... yes you can. Go to Food, reciepes, and create a new one

    No, I mean you can't change it.

    If you go online, you can change edit the recipes. For some reason you can't do it on the app, but I mostly use the online version.
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
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    I add up the weight of All ingredients and the calories for each weight and divide it up using one ounce as my serving size. I then can have however many ounces of the recipe I want. It seems more accurate for me. It can add up to 40 or fifty ounces. But measured by one at a time.:happy:

    I do this, but by grams.
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
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    My rule of thumb when making recipes is to divide it into serving sizes that make a reasonable calorie amount for the meal. For example, I made a big pot of chili. I could have 4 big bowls for 600 calories each, or 6 bowls for 400 calories each. Therefore, I say it's 6 servings and eat less, because 400 calories seems more reasonable.

    So that would be my suggestion. Add all the ingredients to the recipe, then create a serving size that gives you an appropriate number of calories for your goals. Then divide appropriately and enjoy.

    P.S. 3 oz of chicken might be a serving size, but that's rarely enough chicken to satisfy anyone. There's nothing wrong with eating two servings of meat at a meal, as long as you understand it's two servings.

    You can't do that with this app though.

    You cant do what? Make your own reciepe.... yes you can. Go to Food, reciepes, and create a new one

    No, I mean you can't change it.

    If you go online, you can change edit the recipes. For some reason you can't do it on the app, but I mostly use the online version.

    Which app and which version are you using? I've regularly changed recipes in the iOS app and just confirmed that it is still possible with 5.0 (latest version).
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    One thing that's worked for me (though it is a bit of a pain) is that I weigh the cooked dish when it's finished. Then, I make the portion size 1 ounce. If I eat 5 oz. of said dish, then it's 5 servings. I'm not even sure it's completely accurate, but it's the only way I could figure out how to make 'absolute' serving sizes.
    Yes I've done that by breaking the portions down into cup measurements..or each portion is 100 grams..Once you start building recipes in the builder it gets easier.
    Just make sure you keep your portions the Same,& noteing it in the Recipe Title helps a lot.
    :flowerforyou:

    This is what I do, also. If I make something that, in the end, weighs 1310 grams, I then put it as 13 servings so each serving weighs @100 grams. I then weight my actual serving. If it comes to 262, then I input that as 2.62 servings.
  • WakkoW
    WakkoW Posts: 567 Member
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    My rule of thumb when making recipes is to divide it into serving sizes that make a reasonable calorie amount for the meal. For example, I made a big pot of chili. I could have 4 big bowls for 600 calories each, or 6 bowls for 400 calories each. Therefore, I say it's 6 servings and eat less, because 400 calories seems more reasonable.

    So that would be my suggestion. Add all the ingredients to the recipe, then create a serving size that gives you an appropriate number of calories for your goals. Then divide appropriately and enjoy.

    P.S. 3 oz of chicken might be a serving size, but that's rarely enough chicken to satisfy anyone. There's nothing wrong with eating two servings of meat at a meal, as long as you understand it's two servings.

    You can't do that with this app though.

    You cant do what? Make your own reciepe.... yes you can. Go to Food, reciepes, and create a new one

    No, I mean you can't change it.

    If you go online, you can change edit the recipes. For some reason you can't do it on the app, but I mostly use the online version.

    Which app and which version are you using? I've regularly changed recipes in the iOS app and just confirmed that it is still possible with 5.0 (latest version).

    It used to be that you couldn't change the recipes in the app and could only do it online. I haven't tried to change a recipe in the app since I first got it, so it very well may have been updated. Thanks for the info.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    My rule of thumb when making recipes is to divide it into serving sizes that make a reasonable calorie amount for the meal. For example, I made a big pot of chili. I could have 4 big bowls for 600 calories each, or 6 bowls for 400 calories each. Therefore, I say it's 6 servings and eat less, because 400 calories seems more reasonable.

    So that would be my suggestion. Add all the ingredients to the recipe, then create a serving size that gives you an appropriate number of calories for your goals. Then divide appropriately and enjoy.

    P.S. 3 oz of chicken might be a serving size, but that's rarely enough chicken to satisfy anyone. There's nothing wrong with eating two servings of meat at a meal, as long as you understand it's two servings.

    You can't do that with this app though.

    You cant do what? Make your own reciepe.... yes you can. Go to Food, reciepes, and create a new one

    No, I mean you can't change it.

    If you go online, you can change edit the recipes. For some reason you can't do it on the app, but I mostly use the online version.

    That must be recent because you used to not be able to edit, even a few weeks ago, when I tried and had to delete and start over.

    ^this

    I'll have to remember to check this later tonight.
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
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    My rule of thumb when making recipes is to divide it into serving sizes that make a reasonable calorie amount for the meal. For example, I made a big pot of chili. I could have 4 big bowls for 600 calories each, or 6 bowls for 400 calories each. Therefore, I say it's 6 servings and eat less, because 400 calories seems more reasonable.

    So that would be my suggestion. Add all the ingredients to the recipe, then create a serving size that gives you an appropriate number of calories for your goals. Then divide appropriately and enjoy.

    P.S. 3 oz of chicken might be a serving size, but that's rarely enough chicken to satisfy anyone. There's nothing wrong with eating two servings of meat at a meal, as long as you understand it's two servings.

    You can't do that with this app though.

    You cant do what? Make your own reciepe.... yes you can. Go to Food, reciepes, and create a new one

    No, I mean you can't change it.

    If you go online, you can change edit the recipes. For some reason you can't do it on the app, but I mostly use the online version.

    That must be recent because you used to not be able to edit, even a few weeks ago, when I tried and had to delete and start over. And apparently I'm the only one on MFP. I'm serious you guys, you couldn't do this last summer.

    No one has still said which app they're using where you can't edit recipes. I've been able to do so on Android and iOS (iPad) for awhile, though I primarily use iOS. I gave directions on how to edit them. It's complicated, and kind of hidden, but possible.
  • jmv7117
    jmv7117 Posts: 891 Member
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    I hate this. It's so hard. How much is a serving? No one knows. It's frustrating. If I make chili or something, I have the same problem.

    I did a one pot dish last week and weighed each ingredient then the actual yield. I then spooned out 400 g for 1 serving. That way I can duplicate the recipe and serving size again. A 400 g serving was just right for me but my husband had 500 g. You can use restaurant or prepared food serving sizes as a guideline for how big your homemade servings should be.
  • sitayaksha
    sitayaksha Posts: 10
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    I have issues trying to figure out how my each portion should be once I make my recipes, so for example I make spaghetti sauce with fresh veggies, I use jar sauce which gives me a portion size of 1/2 cup peer serving. Now when I am done and have added everything into it, should I still go by that portion size or can I make it a cup of sauce or does it matter? Also I am going to be making homemade vegitable beef and can I make the portion size per serving what I want it to be? Thanks for the help :)

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