Measurments - Cups

Amyjanegirl

Hi There
Not sure if this is the correct place to post this but its a start and if Im wrong please direct me to the correct place. I live in the UK and I have noticed when adding things to my food diary like....1 onion, it rarely gives me the Kcal for 1 onion and instead gives me an option of 1/4 cup????

What I want to know is how do I convert this so I know I an using the correct amount of calories??? Or can someone tell me what general amounts are so I can add to my list.

Hope that makes sense.

Much appreciated...

yoghurtand

We don't really use cups with regards to food portioning in the UK (or at least, I don't). Try getting a measuring scale and weighing out your portions and then finding the calories for either the oz (the unit of measurement in the US) or the grams you've eaten. Using measurements such as 1 onion is quite inaccurate because the sizes of the onions can vary.

Nuclear_Synthesis

weighing things out and a bit of googling is the best way to go. Ive found this, like, so how big is this cup?!

Amyjanegirl

Well thats what I thought...thank you, I will start to use the scales more to measure

ak_in_ak

i would recomend a food scale for sure. I will often measure out a 100g of something then use google to find out the calories and find a similar entry in MFP. I have heard to people purchasing measuring cups of sites like Amazon to make it easier.

BTW 1 cup is 8 oz

aippolito1

I think because a lot of people are probably measuring chopped onions? I just try to find an entry that has 1 onion and put in "1/4" or less depending on how much I used.

Amyjanegirl

Right this is where Im confused....I can weigh 1 onion but then I can't seem to match it to any suitable entry in the database....am i being stupid??? Please don't think all I eat is onions I am just picking it as an example

yoghurtand

You just have to look around for what fits best, I'm afraid! For onions specifically, I always search 'raw onion' searching using 'relevance' and use the result that has no star next to it (it should be near the top). No star means that it's been put there by mfp themselves, so is guaranteed to be more accurate. Once you've been using the site for a while, you'll build up a collection of items that you always use, so it'll make them easier to find.

Amyjanegirl

Thanks to everyone....I think I have got it now...can go to sleep happy, ready for another day of mfp

teacherspet1

If you type in food calories and go on the web site .......www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_in_food.htm........ you will find allsorts of calories for food including onions under vegetables where 1/2 cup = 3oz. You can always enter your own foods on the database or add quick calories yourself. Hope this helps.....good luck

Laura_beau

I was frustrated with this too- and I ordered a set of US measuring cups from amazon. They only cost me £2.50 for the whole set- and they came with free measuring spoons too )