Unknown Nutritional Data

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PrajnaFaux
PrajnaFaux Posts: 45
in Food and Nutrition
How do you record foods that have no nutritional data available? Like when you have a casserole at a friend's house or end up at a restaurant that doesn't list the calories on the menu. I'm going out to lunch for Thai food tomorrow with friends, and we always order family style and share the dishes. I'm wondering how to account for that, since I'll be having a little bit of everything. I'm new to the system here and would appreciate some instruction.

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  • TimeWarp9
    TimeWarp9 Posts: 91
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    Do a google search for the restaurant's nutritional information - sometimes they'll have it even if it is not listed on the menu (sometimes not). If you can't find that specific restaurant, check a different Thai restaurant that does have the NI. You will be able to compare on that menu which items might be better choices and which ones you may only want to try a bite of. It will not be precise, but it will get you in the ballpark. Either way, enjoy your lunch!
  • allshebe
    allshebe Posts: 423 Member
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    I make my best guess and try to err on the high side. You can usually get a sense of the ingredients from looking at the food and have a general sense if it's going to be low calorie (most any sort of steamed vegetables) or high calorie (most things with pasta/rice/creamy looking sauces) and sample accordingly. Unless you eat out a lot, an error in one day's recordings shouldn't have a particularly huge impact.
  • PrajnaFaux
    PrajnaFaux Posts: 45
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    Thank you!

    I did some searching of the database and took some averages from the various entries. Looks like I'll be able to have my curry, rice, noodles, and soup and still stay within my goals if I stick to my planned serving sizes and have a light dinner. I had a protein shake for breakfast, which tends to really fill me up, so I won't be crazy hungry at lunch time.
  • Mustaine4Pres
    Mustaine4Pres Posts: 86
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    Sometimes I log foods from a different restaurant if I don't know. Today's breakfast is a total guess (hoping it is high), but at least I have a rough calorie count.

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