How do you count marinade?

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JDelphiki
JDelphiki Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Tonight for dinner I am having chicken tacos. I made a marinade, which is enough to submerge the chicken. I know the amount of calories, but how to I account for how much marinade is actually consumed?

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  • Stpjudge
    Stpjudge Posts: 129 Member
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    I don't -- too minimal to worry with.
  • JGT3
    JGT3 Posts: 8 Member
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    I have wondered this same thing...my thought? Weigh the marinate before and after soaking the meat...the difference is what stayed! If anyone has a better way, I would love to hear it :)
  • sunsnstatheart
    sunsnstatheart Posts: 2,544 Member
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    It depends on the marinade. If its one with a decent amount of calories (oil based, some sugar, etc.) then weigh it before you put the meat in and then after, and divide by the number of pieces. If its basically low calorie broth and some seasoning, then I wouldn't bother except to get into the habit of recording absolutely everything (which is a good habit to build).
  • JDelphiki
    JDelphiki Posts: 47 Member
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    It depends on the marinade. If its one with a decent amount of calories (oil based, some sugar, etc.) then weigh it before you put the meat in and then after, and divide by the number of pieces. If its basically low calorie broth and some seasoning, then I wouldn't bother except to get into the habit of recording absolutely everything (which is a good habit to build).

    This sounds pretty reasonable. The stuff I make has a good amount of honey and soy sauce, so I'd lack to track not only calories but sodium.
  • longhaul64
    longhaul64 Posts: 124
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    I don't -- too minimal to worry with.

    ^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^
  • WolfPackFan13
    WolfPackFan13 Posts: 95 Member
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    It is a little more work, but it is more accurate, to make a recipe with the meat and the marinated together.
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
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    I don't unless it has oil in it, then I only add about a tsp to my calorie count because most of it falls off anyway. If you use honey or other sugars you may want to add a bit for it too.
    If it's just spices I only try to keep track of the sodium.
  • PINKinquisition1908
    PINKinquisition1908 Posts: 180 Member
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    I just estimate 1-2 tablespoons for each piece of meat. This DEFINATELY DOES MATTER if you are following a low carb diet. Marinades--especially the pre-made ones--can be full of carbs and sugar.
  • TriShamelessly
    TriShamelessly Posts: 905 Member
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    Yes! Depending on the marinade, they can be loaded with calories as well as sodium.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    It depends on the marinade. If its one with a decent amount of calories (oil based, some sugar, etc.) then weigh it before you put the meat in and then after, and divide by the number of pieces. If its basically low calorie broth and some seasoning, then I wouldn't bother except to get into the habit of recording absolutely everything (which is a good habit to build).

    This sounds pretty reasonable. The stuff I make has a good amount of honey and soy sauce, so I'd lack to track not only calories but sodium.
    Sodium is the tricky part because it gets absorbed until the mix reaches equilibrium. When I made jerky, I just used minimal marinade and logged the whole thing. Use a smaller container and less marinade.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    If I'm using something pretty high-calories, like oil or barbecue sauce, then I just count it all like all the calories went into the recipe. If I'm off by a bit, it's in the direction of greater calorie deficit for the day.
  • mnwalkingqueen
    mnwalkingqueen Posts: 1,299 Member
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    You can go to the receipe section of the food diary and create a marinade receipe. Ex. you would put how many chicken breast were used and how much marinade along with how many people it will feed. It will give you the calorie count and all other tracking for 1 serving.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    I don't usually log the packet ones where you add oil, vinegar & water because I cut the oil way down so the amount per piece of meat is insubstantial. But I will log the bottled ones because, as others have said, they tend to have a lot of sugar and fat and therefore more calories. I also log any marinades I make myself. It's a wild guesstimate but most of the time it's better than not logging at all.
  • IslandDreamer64
    IslandDreamer64 Posts: 258 Member
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    Really? I'm pretty sure no one gained weight because they didn't keep accurate track of the marinade on their meat. At the most, if it was an oil based marinade, I would add 50 calories to my meal. I never have done that though.

    Life is short, are you sure you want to spend it weighing your meat before and after it sits in marinade?
  • Brandnewme150
    Brandnewme150 Posts: 43 Member
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    I have wondered this same thing...my thought? Weigh the marinate before and after soaking the meat...the difference is what stayed! If anyone has a better way, I would love to hear it :)
    ^^
    This thats how I do it.
  • heypurdy
    heypurdy Posts: 196 Member
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    I would search for some sort of mexican seasoned chicken.
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
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    Yes! Depending on the marinade, they can be loaded with calories as well as sodium.

    Um. The question was - How?
  • Leeanne1974
    Leeanne1974 Posts: 207 Member
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    Have you thought about, for next time, using a marinate per - for example - chicken breast?
    If you use enough to literally coat the meat without any left then you could use exact measurements. E.G 0.5 teaspoon of honey, 0.5 teaspoon olive oil etc etc
    I do cheat and use pre-made marinades though. I used powdered ones that you coat the meat with, in my experience they tend to be lighter in cals than others.
  • NeewMee
    NeewMee Posts: 26 Member
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    I make a new recipe on MFP and count everything. Better to record that I had more than I did than less but weighing it was a great idea- had never thought of that!!

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