How do you know what to count when cooking?

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724a
724a Posts: 15 Member
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.)

Replies

  • AlphamaleBAMF
    AlphamaleBAMF Posts: 373 Member
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    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.
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
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    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.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    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.
  • FITnFIRM4LIFE
    FITnFIRM4LIFE Posts: 818 Member
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    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!
  • FireBrand80
    FireBrand80 Posts: 378 Member
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    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.
  • cgarand
    cgarand Posts: 541 Member
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    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.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    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.
  • deniseg31
    deniseg31 Posts: 667 Member
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    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:
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    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.
  • skonly
    skonly Posts: 371
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    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.
  • HisPathDaily
    HisPathDaily Posts: 672 Member
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    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 ...
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
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    I add everything.

    If it will make you feel better you could add the lemon slice as lemon juice instead.
  • poedunk65
    poedunk65 Posts: 1,336 Member
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    It's easy count everything!
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    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)
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    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.
  • ErinBeth7
    ErinBeth7 Posts: 1,625 Member
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    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!
  • 724a
    724a Posts: 15 Member
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    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)
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
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    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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