Calculating calories of home-made food

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drshona
drshona Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been reading comments on another thread about whether it's easier to calculate the calories in homemade food or take out type food. The general point form most people being that homemade is easier.

Now, I get this point in general, the idea being that you know what you've put in it. But I do wonder if people land Jo adjusting what they eat - not to make it healthier or lower calorie, but to make it easier to calculate.

The example that springs to mind is last weekend. I made pulled pork with BBQ sauce. I'll post a link to the recipe so you've an idea, but basically it was 2 LARGE cuts of pork, fat on. Slow cook for hours, remove fat, pull meat apart. Then make sauce.

This made enough for 7 meals for 2 adults and 2 kids each meal. I did say large...

The thing is, I don't really see how you can have any idea how much pork there is. I could weigh it before cooking, but the fat is removed after so that's not accurate. I could weigh it after cooking, but presumably it weighs differently once cooked as it loses liquid.

Then there's the fact that you use some of the cooking liquor to make the BBQ sauce. As the fat was in the slow cooker when it was cooked, there is some fat in this but it would be impossible to estimate how much.

So, do people just stop cooking things that are too difficult to calculate? (or do most people only cook simple 1 portion meals anyway?) Or do you just guess? There are quite a few things like this that I cook and everything (almost) is cooked in vast quantities and portioned into tubs in the freezer.

I stuck "pulled pork BBQ sauce" into MFP and picked a random one as being the correct calories. I have no real idea.

Fantastic recipe btw, and there's no way I'm going to stop making it because it's a favourite with all the family. http://mudpiesandfries.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/epic-pork.html

Replies

  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Not entirely sure how accurate this would be, but since you're removing the fat, when you're doing the recipe calculator, you could use the database entry that's closest to the cut you have... for example "Pork - Fresh, loin, whole, cooked, roasted" (replace loin with the cut or something similar) and then the bbq sauce (perhaps weigh out the sauce first before applying). When done cooking, weigh out the whole thing (subtract the sauce) and then you can divvy it up into "servings".

    This is what I'd do at least. It may not be 100% accurate, but it would be fairly close.
  • trisH_7183
    trisH_7183 Posts: 1,486 Member
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    Store bought meat in the USA comes with weight printed on the label.That is your starting point. You can weigh the fat you remove.
    You can remove your portion of meat,when cold remove fat,weigh,then add sauce,weigh again.

    Made as you described,it sounds tasty,but a calorie bomb.:bigsmile: Maybe just track it a barbecue sandwich & enjoy. JMO
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
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    When entering recipes I weigh all food raw. And the database generally has multiple entries for something like pork, e.g. fat and lean, lean only, and for different cuts. It can only ever be an estimate but I think you can get pretty close.

    For something like soup I generally count the spoonfuls as I transfer from the cooking pot to the storage containers and call each spoonful 1 serving. Or you can weigh the whole lot, call 1 gram a serving and then just weigh how much you eat at a time.

    I'd never use someone else's recipe from the database as you have no idea about their quantities and accuracy.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    EVERYTHING is an estimate. Even the calories you get on a box or package will not be exact.

    So you do the best you can. You pick out the biggest calorie elements of a meal, and record those, or you find something similar in the database.

    I'd feel that choosing to eat something on the basis of how easy it was to record is a bit back to front.
  • drshona
    drshona Posts: 52 Member
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    Store bought meat in the USA comes with weight printed on the label.That is your starting point. You can weigh the fat you remove.
    You can remove your portion of meat,when cold remove fat,weigh,then add sauce,weigh again.

    Made as you described,it sounds tasty,but a calorie bomb.:bigsmile: Maybe just track it a barbecue sandwich & enjoy. JMO

    I think it actually isn't too bad. The vast majority of the fat gets removed, it's only what there is in the cooking liquor that's left.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    then treat it as if the fat was still there

    enter each item into the recipe make by weight, once it is all cooked record the overall weight then take out your portion and weight it and then you should be able to calculate with reasonable accuracy the actual calories of your dinner
  • dawnmcneil10
    dawnmcneil10 Posts: 638 Member
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    Personally I use very lean meat for my pulled pork and I find I like it just as well. I also use the recipe builder section of the site to make my own meals because I do know what I put in and I'm honest about it, if I add a pat of butter or a tbsp of sugar it gets added. You will never be able to be exact to the calorie and if you try you'll make yourself (and others) crazy so when in doubt guess slightly higher and own your choices.
  • caranais
    caranais Posts: 101 Member
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    When I cook meat in it's juice (or make a stock for gravy or soups etc), I take out the meat, cool the stock and the fat rises and sets at the top. I skim this off and am left with the lovely meat juices. It might not be deadly accurate, but at least I know that most of the damaging fat is removed, and still have the lovely meaty flavour to make a sauce or gravy. If you don't have time for it to cool, you can put a few ice cubes on top and the fat solidifies around them and can be removed. Would love your pulled pork recipe btw xx
  • blackcows15
    blackcows15 Posts: 26 Member
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    I started MFP in August and as of this morning I have lost 36 of my 40 pound goal. When I started I knew I had to make it easy or I wouldn't follow. I log everything I eat but I also estimate almost everything. If it's the first time I eat something and I am not really sure what 4 oz looks like I will weigh to give myself a guide for the next time. When going out to eat the majority of foods at major chains are in the database so that;s easy. If I am somewhere at a one off restaurant and it's not i just find something in the database close and call it good. Same thing at home, if we are making something I find something in the database and call it good.

    We don't break down a lot of things we eat, In your particular situation, with the food you are describing, I would just find pulled pork in the database and call it good. Where I would do something different then I would have in the past is that I would eat about 4 to 6 oz of that meat, in the past I would have eaten 8 to 10. Also I would have corn or green beans as the side, in the past it would have been potatos or a rice side dish and I would drink iced tea instead of soda. For me it wasn't so much about the calorie count of the main dish it was how much of the main dish I had been eating and what went along with the main dish.

    Don't make it too complicated or it won't work for you, don't over think it just roll with it and see what happens. If it doesn't work then you can get more specific.
  • CHRISTTY33
    CHRISTTY33 Posts: 57
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    I started MFP in August and as of this morning I have lost 36 of my 40 pound goal. When I started I knew I had to make it easy or I wouldn't follow. I log everything I eat but I also estimate almost everything. If it's the first time I eat something and I am not really sure what 4 oz looks like I will weigh to give myself a guide for the next time. When going out to eat the majority of foods at major chains are in the database so that;s easy. If I am somewhere at a one off restaurant and it's not i just find something in the database close and call it good. Same thing at home, if we are making something I find something in the database and call it good.

    We don't break down a lot of things we eat, In your particular situation, with the food you are describing, I would just find pulled pork in the database and call it good. Where I would do something different then I would have in the past is that I would eat about 4 to 6 oz of that meat, in the past I would have eaten 8 to 10. Also I would have corn or green beans as the side, in the past it would have been potatos or a rice side dish and I would drink iced tea instead of soda. For me it wasn't so much about the calorie count of the main dish it was how much of the main dish I had been eating and what went along with the main dish.

    Don't make it too complicated or it won't work for you, don't over think it just roll with it and see what happens. If it doesn't work then you can get more specific.
    So you lost pretty close to 10 lbs a month? May I ask how? I lost 5 my first month :sad: I was so hoping for more..congrats by the way.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    ...with the food you are describing, I would just find pulled pork in the database and call it good.

    Same here.
  • seabee78
    seabee78 Posts: 126 Member
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    When I'm eating foods like potato salad, chicken salad, egg salad, etc. I use my measuring cups before putting it on my sandwich. 1/4c, 1/2c. You could do so with pulled pork I would imagine.
  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    EVERYTHING is an estimate. Even the calories you get on a box or package will not be exact.
    Yep. Not nearly as precise as some people imagine.
  • drshona
    drshona Posts: 52 Member
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    Thanks all. Some very sensible advice here. I suppose it's all the posts saying "I'm not losing"...."that's because you're not weighing every gram of food or liquid" that had me thinking. I guess so long as I'm losing it doesn't matter.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
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    Thanks all. Some very sensible advice here. I suppose it's all the posts saying "I'm not losing"...."that's because you're not weighing every gram of food or liquid" that had me thinking. I guess so long as I'm losing it doesn't matter.

    as long as you realise that if you are not losing anymore it is likely because you estimations don't add up and not because your metabolism doesn't work and you have entered the mythical starvation mode that makes you gain weight whilst eating 1200 calories or less

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