Can we all agree on how to enter recipes in the database?!?

SoCalSwimmerDude

So, when I enter a recipe that I made for dinner, the little thing at the end says "Would you like to add this to the MFP database?"... and I never click "yes". Why? Well because you cant see whats in my recipe, you only see what its called and, therefore, why would you add it? One of my recipe's is "Scott's Nut Mix". Another is "Scott's Healthy Veggie Mix"... are you really going to log that?? Further, am I really going to log something that you've entered when I have no idea what you put in it??

Basically, when you send your own recipe to the database, all of us have to search through it to find what we're looking for. Now, there is the very rare occasion when I have no idea what was in a food I had from a restaurant, and I choose some random thing on the MFP database that seems about right... but a majority of the time it really just clogs up the database. Go into the database and search "yellow squash" to see what I'm talking about...

I really don't envy the job of the site owners who have to keep the database as clean as possible, but can we please use a little common sense??

OK, first rant ever on here... sorry... I am done...

Athena413

I hear you. I normally just put in my recipes and hit "no" when it asks. I tend to make a lot of the same things pretty often, so it's just easier for me to cook what I know and log what I cook!

HoopFire5602

Agreed. I hate having to search so much, and when I do find it it is still wrong and I have to keep looking. Yellow squash is a great example....Fage Greek yogurt is too. O, and finding one for a whole tomato; not sliced, diced, or anything else. Well crap, now you have me ranting.

NKF92879

I had read somewhere on here (can't recall where) that the purpose for sharing would be for a future database of healthy recipes. Maybe someone would like to make "Scott's Healthy Veggies Mix" at some point. (Not that I'm trying to persuade you to add your recipes. However, some people (like me) are always on the hunt for healthier recipes.

SoCalSwimmerDude

I had read somewhere on here (can't recall where) that the purpose for sharing would be for a future database of healthy recipes. Maybe someone would like to make "Scott's Healthy Veggies Mix" at some point. (Not that I'm trying to persuade you to add your recipes. However, some people (like me) are always on the hunt for healthier recipes.

Yup, I totally agree. If the database showed everything that was in the recipe then I wouldn't have any problems with it. But I'm not aware of of one that exists right now. I think its an excellent idea for MFP, but until it comes, there's no way of anyone knowing exactly what is in my "healthy veggie mix".

TexasNana41

Healthy veggies?

robinaddison

Amen my friend, amen.

SoCalSwimmerDude

Healthy veggies?

Ha, leave it to you to make fun. It is actually called "Scott's Veggie Mix w/ Parmesan"...

TexasNana41

Healthy veggies?

Ha, leave it to you to make fun. It is actually called "Scott's Veggie Mix w/ Parmesan"...

TexasNana41

It's my job as your mother. And I've had your Scott's Veggies with Parmesan and it's wonderful.

macenro

Why can you just name the thing with the main ingredients in the title?

Homemade lasagna (beef, ragu pasta sauce, cottage cheese, etc)

It may not tell you the recipe but you would have a good idea what it was.

SoCalSwimmerDude

Why can you just name the thing with the main ingredients in the title?

Homemade lasagna (beef, ragu pasta sauce, cottage cheese, etc)

It may not tell you the recipe but you would have a good idea what it was.

Ha, thats exactly what I have a problem with. How much cottage cheese or beef or ragu? Did you use Olive Oil to brown the meat (cuz that would add or subtract alot of calories)? Was the cheese low fat? What brand of sauce did you use? Last, how large are the servings?? That info can't all be included in the title. My lasagna has 12+ different ingredients. To me, it would be just like estimating restaurant cals because you technically know what goes into a lasagna, but can't figure out how the restaurant down the street makes it to equal 2,000 cals. I'm ranting again... sorry....

macenro

Why can you just name the thing with the main ingredients in the title?

Homemade lasagna (beef, ragu pasta sauce, cottage cheese, etc)

It may not tell you the recipe but you would have a good idea what it was.

Ha, thats exactly what I have a problem with. How much cottage cheese or beef or ragu? Did you use Olive Oil to brown the meat (cuz that would add or subtract alot of calories)? Was the cheese low fat? What brand of sauce did you use? Last, how large are the servings?? That info can't all be included in the title. My lasagna has 12+ different ingredients. To me, it would be just like estimating restaurant cals because you technically know what goes into a lasagna, but can't figure out how the restaurant down the street makes it to equal 2,000 cals. I'm ranting again... sorry....

Well my thing is if you are looking for something similar to what you ate (which you obviously are since you are using the search function) than either two things are going to happen:

1) You find an exact match because it is a popular food
2) You look for something that is close

Either way having a lot of different options should not be a problem. For option 1, you must know what you ate so put the most information in the search as possible. Of course if you put something really general, like yellow squash, into the search then you will get a lot of general results. As for Option 2, all those results that you find annoying come in handy for this. If you only have a general idea of what you ate (someone made you dinner/ate at party/ etc.) then it is going to be basically impossible to get an accurate calorie count anyways. So the fact that there are many options of the same meal makes it so you can get a better estimate. With so many options you can see the min/max calories and add accordingly.