Determining calories when marinating...

lilsassymom
lilsassymom Posts: 407 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So we are making this recipe for dinner:
http://rainydaygal.com/2011/02/03/beef-with-broccoli/

My question is how do you determine calories when you marinate something? Like in step 3 you only use half the marinade and toss the rest away....So do you count only calories for half---since only half is used? Or do you have to count ALL since it DID get marinated and soaked up some of the sauce?

I ask this question because I have another recipe where you marinade it and then toss ALL of the marinade away. So technically, you wouldn't add calories for the marinade if you toss all of it. But it did sit in sauce which affects the calories in the meat.

Sorry if I am not making any sense. It makes sense in my head, but I am having a hard time typing it....

Replies

  • AleshaRae82
    AleshaRae82 Posts: 31 Member
    I see what you're saying but whenever I'm in doubt I always add it. I'd rather add more than what I actually had than less. But that's just me.
  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member
    I see what you're saying but whenever I'm in doubt I always add it. I'd rather add more than what I actually had than less. But that's just me.

    Same here
  • alaskaang
    alaskaang Posts: 493 Member
    If truly tossing half of the marinade, I'd reduce what I counted by 30 to 40%. Normally though if marinading, (never used something like that one) it is more in line with the sauce ingredients, so I use whatever is left over and cook to reduce as part of the sauce.
  • kimmy_1432
    kimmy_1432 Posts: 40 Member
    I had trouble with this a while back also. I'm horrible on a diet and really have no idea to eat, so I decided chicken. Almost every time I cook chicken though I want flavor, so I marinade it. I started just logging the whole marinade ingredients in the recipe section which started adding up quickly. I use olive oil for my marinades. So now, most the time, I just spray the chicken with the zero calorie olive oil spray and sprinkle on the dry ingredients and then hit the chicken again with the spray after. I cut my chicken into strips and oven broil for only about 4-6 minutes per side and its cooked through, super yummy, and super quick too.

    I know your recipe is way different from my situation. For more in-dept recipes like yours I'd just log the entire marinade and make it fit into your calorie needs. You could also eliminate some of the ingredients like sugar and veg oil and try a substitute like a packet of stevia and a better for you oil like olive. Hope this helps.

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