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    How do you know what to count when cooking?

    Posts: 15 Member
    edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
    If you place something like a lemon slice or garlic in with the meat (salmon, chicken, etc) while cooking do you count those carbs, etc? I'm not going to eat them, they are just there to add flavor to the meat. But I don't know if I should count them or not. I want to be accurate, and honest, but I don't know. (And I don't cook much.)

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    Replies

    • Posts: 373 Member
      Well they all add calories so count them if you can.

      I often don't count condiments myself but knowing they do contain calories and sodium has made my work toward limiting their consumption.
    • Posts: 542 Member
      I don't think there are many calories in a clove of garlic and a slice of lemon. Adding or not adding wouldn't really make a difference.

      I would of thought it would still add calories to the meal. It's the same as gum, if you chew gum you are still consuming calories even if it's little to nothing.
    • Posts: 1,680 Member
      If I am taking the trouble to use the recipe thing on this site, then I try to put everything in, but if I am just making something simple and throw in some herbs and spices, I don't bother to include them. The calories for most of those things are really negligible.
    • Posts: 818 Member
      Just add a slice of this or that to your log-I dont worry much about,garlic lemons, etc. Its, the olive oil or more calorie things like that, that add up:-) good luck!
    • Posts: 378 Member
      It's not necessary to nitpick every little calorie. It's not like you can pinpoint *exactly* how many calories you burned that day anyway.
    • Posts: 541 Member
      I add oil or butter that I may use, but not usually the small portion of onion or garlic. If I were not seeing any results I may get really strict about adding everything and weighing everything though.
    • Posts: 3,517 Member
      I add everything except salt (because I don't track sodium) and pepper. If I start skipping things now, I will make a habit of it and I don't want to do that.
    • Posts: 667 Member
      I agree with the other poster....those things don't have much calories so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

      What I do is I "build a recipe" on MFP for anything homemade and I add all the ingredients and then BAM! you have your numbers.
      :wink:
    • Posts: 8,934 Member
      The amount of calories in the example you used for flavoring and not getting eaten is negliglible. Like probably less than 10. To me, it seems bordering on OCD to worry about. I am a professional chef.
    • Posts: 371
      I agree with the other poster....those things don't have much calories so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

      What I do is I "build a recipe" on MFP for anything homemade and I add all the ingredients and then BAM! you have your numbers.
      :wink:

      I do this too. It's also a good way to remember what you used if the dish is really good.
    • Posts: 672 Member
      There is not an easy way of drawing the line, but clearly a slice of lemon and a clove of garlic I would not even worry about. It's the 1/4 cup of flour added to a stew to thicken it, or the olive oil used to brown the meat, or the 2 cans of tomatoes you put in a sauce, or the other higher calorie ones ...

      However, there are others, like pickles, or mustard, which are pretty much calorie free but are loaded with sodium (something I track) ... so I would log those type of things ...
    • Posts: 669 Member
      I add everything.

      If it will make you feel better you could add the lemon slice as lemon juice instead.
    • Posts: 1,336 Member
      It's easy count everything!
    • Posts: 16,947 Member
      If I'm entering a recipe in MFP so I can use it again and again, I'll add everything right down to the s&p. If I'm just making something up as I go, I don't bother logging seasonings (except salt, as I'm trying to watch my sodium)
    • Posts: 3,566 Member
      One slice of lemon, one clove of garlic... They have almost no caloric impact whatsoever, so if you don't add them, I promise you won't suffer for it.
    • Posts: 1,625 Member
      If I'm entering a recipe in MFP so I can use it again and again, I'll add everything right down to the s&p. If I'm just making something up as I go, I don't bother logging seasonings (except salt, as I'm trying to watch my sodium)
      This exactly. I especially like to count the mixed spices (season salt, garlic salt etc) because they typically have a good amount of sodium and that is something I've been trying to control!
    • Posts: 15 Member
      Thanks for all the replies!

      Oddly, calories are not my problem. Sodium & carbs are my limits. And making sure I get enough potassium, fiber and protein while staying within my limits. In fact, I haven't hit my calorie limit yet. Not even close. My dietitian says "don't worry about calories for now, focus on getting comfortable with the carbs and sodium first".

      So, what I'm hearing is:

      1. Don't sweat the small stuff, unless an ingredient is sneaky and contains a lot of something like sodium.

      2. Build a recipe in MFP and use that as a basic guide. At the least it can give you a guide to work from. And a shopping list.

      3. This is more like building a sandbox in your backyard than landing rockets. Stay within the planned area for the sandbox and you should be okay. Don't worry about safely landing a rocket on Mars.

      4. Precision is not always possible so just be happy being in the ballpark.

      (sorry for the mixed metaphors)
    • Posts: 1,850 Member
      I log EVERYthing except spices such as salt, pepper, and herbs. If I used a lot of pre-prepared products I might be concerned with the sodium, but we even make our own stocks (salt free). I use salt free butter and all my produce is fresh. I seldom use canned/bagged/frozen products except for maybe tomato sauce and black beans, but I don't use those often enough to be concerned.
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