Logging food from small restaurants

ze_hombre
ze_hombre Posts: 377 Member
in Recipes
How do you log food when you eat at smaller restaurants that aren't in the MFP database? For ones that I frequent often I create recipes where I guesstimate the ingredients (being knowledgeable in the kitchen helps), but that seems like a lot of work for a place that I may not ever eat again. Right now I am eating a salad that I can't find anything like it in the database (its all spinach leaves, no lettuce with various toppings on it).

How do others handle these kind of scenarios?

Replies

  • preaser
    preaser Posts: 85 Member
    I use other restaurants that might be similiar. For example I went to a local pizza place and I thought their pizza very closely resembled Pizza Hut's thin pizza. So I just went by that. I don't know any other way to do it.
  • Amy1N
    Amy1N Posts: 10
    Ditto what Preaser said. Or I just search the type of food and then take the one with the calories that seem to be somewhere in the middle.
  • BlueObsidian
    BlueObsidian Posts: 297 Member
    I use other restaurants that might be similiar. For example I went to a local pizza place and I thought their pizza very closely resembled Pizza Hut's thin pizza. So I just went by that. I don't know any other way to do it.

    This. It's not perfect, but I try to look for a chain that serves a similar dish. For example, we went to my favorite local Mexican place the other day and I used the NI for Chevy's. It'll give you a good estimate. Most restaurant dishes are much higher in salt, oil, or butter than I would guesstimate.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    well, I think it's worth it to enter each item on the salad and then pick a dressing in the database that's close to what you're eating. I understand it takes a lot of time to do this every time you eat at a small restaurant, but I'd rather know and log it as correctly as I can. JMO though.
  • whatjesseats
    whatjesseats Posts: 228 Member
    I look at similar dishes in the database from chain restaurants and use one of those, or add my best guess on the ingredients separately.
  • wikitbikit
    wikitbikit Posts: 518 Member
    With something like a salad, I would just input all the things I can identify and roughly guessitimate how much of each thing there is. Not much else you can do.

    For most everything else, I do basically the same thing, but then add like 2-3 tablespoons of butter/oil/FAT because restaurants often do, even if it doesn't seem fully necessary.
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
    well, I think it's worth it to enter each item on the salad and then pick a dressing in the database that's close to what you're eating. I understand it takes a lot of time to do this every time you eat at a small restaurant, but I'd rather know and log it as correctly as I can. JMO though.

    I do this too. It's kind of a pain, but I try to enter individual things hoping for more accuracy...
  • tripitena
    tripitena Posts: 554 Member
    well, I think it's worth it to enter each item on the salad and then pick a dressing in the database that's close to what you're eating. I understand it takes a lot of time to do this every time you eat at a small restaurant, but I'd rather know and log it as correctly as I can. JMO though.

    I do this too. It's kind of a pain, but I try to enter individual things hoping for more accuracy...

    This
  • TinaBean007
    TinaBean007 Posts: 273 Member
    I do pretty much the same thing as everyone else. Sometimes I'll just scan through the database to get a rough idea as to how many calories the item might have at other restaurants, take and average, then add them as "quick calories".
  • Marion_
    Marion_ Posts: 56 Member
    I don't live in the US so basically every time I eat in a restaurant it's not in the database :)

    I try to find similar food from chains in the database (but it's not very accurate as recipes and serving sizes can vary a lot). Sometimes I log each ingredient, guessing serving sizes from what it looked like and adding fat or doing a quick calorie add.

    Anyway, I found out that I never do too bad on the days I eat out, because as I don't want to go over my calories, I tend to overestimate my calories for the meal in a restaurant & to eat less and exercise more the rest of the day...

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