Question about counting calories

ValerieHicks

Ok so how do you count calories in a recipe for ingredients used only for seasoning? For example making slow cooker ribs, recipe calls for onion and pineapple, but after cooking all day you discard them not eat them?
Same thing for the sauce, most of it will be left in the pan and bbq sauce is high in calories.

So do I count the total calories of everything that went in the pot or subtract the things I'm throwing out? And guestimate the amount of sauce on my plate?

mermx

Really tricky one. As you don`t know how much of the sauce/juices/sodium have been absorbed into the meat.

I would over estimate as if you were to discard 50% then I would log 75% to be on the safe side. It is better IMO to over estimate than under.

Then I would do 10-20 minutes of walking to be on the safe side, and not log it.

HarpingOn

I add the ingredients for sauces as separate recipes, then measure the sauce on to the plate and add the appropriate quantity of the sauce recipe to my meal.

redwards1325

I can't site my source for this info, but I have heard that you consume about 5-10% of anything that is cooked with a food. For instance: If you fry something in one tablespoon of butter, your food will absorb somewhere between 1/20 and 1/10 of a tablespoon serving. I always go with the high end (just to be safe) and count 10% of the calories and sodium and fat content of an ingredient that is discarded.

HarpingOn

Really tricky one. As you don`t know how much of the sauce/juices/sodium have been absorbed into the meat.

I would over estimate as if you were to discard 50% then I would log 75% to be on the safe side. It is better IMO to over estimate than under.

Then I would do 10-20 minutes of walking to be on the safe side, and not log it.

And this. Except it'd be cycling :-)

HarpingOn

I can't site my source for this info, but I have heard that you consume about 5-10% of anything that is cooked with a food. For instance: If you fry something in one tablespoon of butter, your food will absorb somewhere between 1/20 and 1/10 of a tablespoon serving. I always go with the high end (just to be safe) and count 10% of the calories and sodium and fat content of an ingredient that is discarded.

That also sounds good. I'll do that, I think.

ValerieHicks

Thanks everyone!