Help! Creating MFP "recipes" for marinated foods (Like in Fi

CaseyBee

I've spent a great deal of time learning how to freezer/OAMC cook so that I can have food prepared in advance so DH and I don't eat out all the time. We both work til past dinnertime and get home starving, so it's nice to have something all ready to toss in the oven.

Lots of these recipes have marinades that, while SOME of it soaks into the meat, a great portion of it gets poured out/dumped when it comes time to cook the meat, and I'm having a hard time reflecting that in the recipes I type out for my own use in the Recipes section of my foods.

For example, I have a (tripled & intended for 3 separate meals) recipe for Pecan-Crusted Chicken Strips that calls for 3/4c. olive oil, 2c. honey and 1c. spicy brown mustard. That makes up the liquid majority of the marinade, and the meat only soaks in it, I don't actually consume all of those calories.

My question is, how do I make up a recipe that reflects the actual amount of calories I consume, and not overshoot by all the extra marinade that goes down the sink? Here I have all this awesome food in my freezer that I'm afraid to eat because I can't accurately log it.

dlyeates

Personally I don't count the marinades. Since most does go down the sink. I also try to end the day with at least 100 calories left to account for stuff like that.

The other thing you could do is figure out the calories in the marinade and then take a fraction of those to add in. You will find what works best for you. I love doing freezer meals and I love using my crock pot to cook from frozen marinated meats!!! Makes my life sooo much easier!!!

Hayesgang

I also try to end the day with at least 100 calories left to account for stuff like that.

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Or you can add 75-100 (if they are made with oil especially) "quick calories" and in the food notes explain what they are.

ShannonM816

I'm never quite sure what to do with this type of situation either. I usually add calories/nutrition info for a tbsp or two worth of the marinade, just enough for the serving I'm eating that meal. If the marinade was a zero calorie or very low calorie, no fat marinade, I might not add anything. Anyway, that's what made sense to me.

erinserin

Maybe make up the marinade and measure it in cups. Then when you take the meat out, re-measure what you are throwing out and log the amount actually used?

Peachy_T

Maybe make up the marinade and measure it in cups. Then when you take the meat out, re-measure what you are throwing out and log the amount actually used?

This is what I do~measure what you start and finish with.

CaseyBee

Maybe make up the marinade and measure it in cups. Then when you take the meat out, re-measure what you are throwing out and log the amount actually used?

This is what I do~measure what you start and finish with.

GENIUS.