How to log Indian buffet food?

Mom2M_and_O
Mom2M_and_O Posts: 214
in Food and Nutrition
I went to an Indian buffet for lunch today for the first time, and the only thing I'm sure I had was 4 pieces of tofu fritters, one triangle of naan, maybe 1/2 cup of basmati rice, and two small beef meatballs. Everything else was a small sample of maybe 4 other things on the buffet -- a combination of chicken and vegetarian dishes. Probably no more than 1/3 cup of anything. But I have no idea how to log it because I don't know what I ate! Anyone have suggestions??

Thanks,
Melissa

Replies

  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    Quick add 750 cals and move on.

    Next time, plan ahead.
  • juleseybaby
    juleseybaby Posts: 712 Member
    That is a tough one. The Indian food buffet near me places a sign above the food so that you know at least if it is chicken tandoori or lentils or what... then I just search the MFP database with the word 'Indian' and can usually find almost everything I had.

    I use the Quick Add calories only feature for the rest and try to overestimate.
  • Maggie_Pie1
    Maggie_Pie1 Posts: 322 Member
    Anytime you eat out - especially at a buffet or a restaurant that doesn't post nutritional info, you really just have to kind of guess and maybe do a search and see if someone has some calorie info for similar foods. You won't be able to record your exact calories, but it's better than recording nothing. At least you might be in the ballpark.
  • alyaouellet
    alyaouellet Posts: 21 Member
    How about logging a thali plate?
  • neveahnadira
    neveahnadira Posts: 197
    1 cup of almost all Indian vegetables dishes comes in the calorie range of 280-350 cals and 1 cup of almost all Indian Chicken dishes comes in the calorie range of 350-400 cals.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    just like what you wrote pretty much! for the stuff you tried a bit of, I would just log a full serving of one of the things you had a cup of. for example, when I go to the chinese buffet, I try a little bit of a couple of chicken dishes, but i always log just the korean chicken.
  • nakabi
    nakabi Posts: 589 Member
    you probaby ate about 800 calories from what you have described :)
    We cook and eat Indian food on a regular basis and 800 cal sounds about right based on how the food is prepared. There is a lot of ghee (butter) in the food, especially the vindaloo & kormas
  • Mom2M_and_O
    Mom2M_and_O Posts: 214
    Thanks for the suggestions. I logged the things I knew I ate plus a full cup of one of the chicken dishes I recognized. Wow -- haven't dropped 800 calories on a single meal in a while -- not at lunch anyway. Next time I'll know to skip the rice and naan -- I know better than to include rice and bread in my meal. Tsk tsk.

    Definitely will need to pop in an exercise video tonight!

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