Question about weighing food

Erin29ga
Erin29ga Posts: 22 Member
in Getting Started
If I'm cooking....let's say...spaghetti. In the same pot I have ground beef, and sauce. How in the world do I get the calories that are in the sauce? I could probably figure it out for the entire pot...but of course I'm not going to eat the entire pot..LOL.how do I get the calories for my serving only? I'm just all confused on this weighing thing. Thanks!

Replies

  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    figure out how much is in the entire pot - then decide how many servings you want it to be. Divide by # of servings, and you'll have the # of ounces or grams (I prefer grams, more precise) and the number of calories that are in your serving.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    Yes, that is what I do. I build a recipe that includes every item in the complete recipe: maybe that is a whole package of spaghetti, a jar of sauce and a pound of hamburger. After I'm finished cooking, I line up all my single serve Ziplock containers on the counter, fill them all up and look and see how many I ended up with. That number goes into the recipe database as how many servings I got.

    That has worked out well with every recipe I've made. I freeze quite a few Ziplock containers and leave in the fridge what I'll need for the next couple of days.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Weigh the entire batch. Divide by the number of servings you want it to have. That's the number of grams per serving.

    So if my batch made 500 grams and I want it to be 5 servings, each serving is 100 grams.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    Yup. Measure everything that went into the pot, and add it all up as one big recipe. Then weigh the whole thing and weigh the portion you take out.

    So if the whole thing weighs 1000 grams and you eat 300, you had 0.3 servings.

    The recipe builder is great for this.
  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
    I've given it some thought because it is a major PITA for me.

    I think this would work - although I admit I haven't done it yet. I'll try it on the weekend when I have more time.

    Before you start cooking weight your pot so you know how much it weighs.

    Enter all your ingredients and before serving weigh it all again, subtract the weight of the pot, and you know how much the food weighs.

    Then you can portion out the serving by weight. You'd probably have to go back into the recipe to adjust the number of servings after the fact - or just count it as one serving and then enter in .10 as your portion size.

    I don't know any other way to do do it. I can not look at giant stock pot of food and guess how much 1/14th or 1/8th of it would be. My head doesn't work like that. Things in a 9x13 pan are easier because I can slice out 12 pieces.

    Sorry - I type so slow a billion people answer before I post, lmao.
  • losingw8now
    losingw8now Posts: 105 Member
    I do what everyone else said - add up the entire batch by item and then divide by postions.

    SherryTech - that is a great idea!! I need to preportion and freeze! Or keep some out just preportioned. Never thought of using baggies for something like spaghetti - that would be easier. I always do containers and that is harder and I don't always have enough. So I keep it in a big container and take a serving out as I go and then freeze later in the week as a big container. Your way would also make it easier for me to grab something to take for lunch to work. Thanks!
  • MichelleMinus100
    MichelleMinus100 Posts: 101
    It does take some work up front to get your "per serving" nutritional numbers. I've been working on my big batch recipes like chili and it is really awesome when I come back around for the second time and the numbers are all ready for me!

    Just last night I made turkey sloppy joes in a big pan. I added up all the ingredient macros. Then I got a large pot and scooped out all the sloppy joe so I could weigh it. The entire batch was 3000 grams and it will always be 3000 grams if I follow the recipe. I had a serving of 300 g or 1/10th of the entire calories. Now I don't have to figure it out again!

    Good luck with your spaghetti!
  • Erin29ga
    Erin29ga Posts: 22 Member
    LOL, Bounce, I've had the stuff to make sketti for about two weeks now and haven't done it because I have no clue how to figure out the calories in it. My brain doesn't work like that either. Thanks guys, I'm gonna TRY!!! LOL
  • TechNerd42
    TechNerd42 Posts: 225 Member
    Here is what I do. I measure the individual ingredients in grams and take a picture of the scale for each one. Then I take those measurements and put them in a spreadsheet. I divide the total of the ingredients by 150g or so per serving (my last one was 174g per serving, but could have used less.) and that gives the number of servings this batch will give me.

    Now to MyFitnessPal - Create a new recipe and enter in the ingredients. I have a tendency to update items in the database to match labels and/or the USDA and to use the gram measurements (I wish the US would go Metric). Enter the servings from the spreadsheet, (I've noticed it does not like the period in the numberpad on the keyboard, but it will accept the period from the alphabet side.)

    Then, when I dish it out, I just make sure I weigh out the serving size I calculated.

    As for pasta, I try to weigh before and after it is cooked, and calculate the ratio to make sure I get the right amount of that. (although last time I just made my 2ozs separately from everyone elses, but that's annoying, and doesn't help if I have calories left for seconds.)

    Spreadsheets are my friends.

    And for things like pot roasts in the crock pot. Again, I weigh before and after to get the ratio as I was under the impression that most meat servings sizes are pre-cooked weight. So, last time I made a roast, I was going to do 100g servings, once it cooked, it was about 60g per serving.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    It does take some work up front to get your "per serving" nutritional numbers. I've been working on my big batch recipes like chili and it is really awesome when I come back around for the second time and the numbers are all ready for me!

    Just last night I made turkey sloppy joes in a big pan. I added up all the ingredient macros. Then I got a large pot and scooped out all the sloppy joe so I could weigh it. The entire batch was 3000 grams and it will always be 3000 grams if I follow the recipe. I had a serving of 300 g or 1/10th of the entire calories. Now I don't have to figure it out again!

    Good luck with your spaghetti!

    Unless you cook it down more or less than normal. :flowerforyou:


    But I do the same thing. Any minor errors aren't a big enough deal for me to be concerned about.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    LOL, Bounce, I've had the stuff to make sketti for about two weeks now and haven't done it because I have no clue how to figure out the calories in it. My brain doesn't work like that either. Thanks guys, I'm gonna TRY!!! LOL

    Go to Food -> Recipes. In there, add the total amount of all the ingredients and save it. Then you can do the weigh the whole thing vs weigh your portion trick.
  • LiftAllThePizzas
    LiftAllThePizzas Posts: 17,857 Member
    If I'm cooking....let's say...spaghetti. In the same pot I have ground beef, and sauce. How in the world do I get the calories that are in the sauce? I could probably figure it out for the entire pot...but of course I'm not going to eat the entire pot..LOL.how do I get the calories for my serving only? I'm just all confused on this weighing thing. Thanks!
    You can also figure out the calories in the entire thing, and how many grams the entire thing is, which gives you "calories per gram." From there you can put exactly the size/calories you want on your plate.
  • Erin29ga
    Erin29ga Posts: 22 Member
    When I buy ground beef, it's usually on sale so I buy huge packs, and then make it into smaller sizes before freezing. How do I get the calories in my little pack? I know I'm being a PITA, but I'm confused.
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    When I buy ground beef, it's usually on sale so I buy huge packs, and then make it into smaller sizes before freezing. How do I get the calories in my little pack? I know I'm being a PITA, but I'm confused.

    Weigh the meat raw. Search the database for " ground hamburger raw"-- choose the entry with no asterisk that has the same fat content as what you bought.
  • Erin29ga
    Erin29ga Posts: 22 Member
    aha!!! I got it! Thank Youuuuuuuuuu!!!
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    I do what everyone else said - add up the entire batch by item and then divide by postions.

    SherryTech - that is a great idea!! I need to preportion and freeze! Or keep some out just preportioned. Never thought of using baggies for something like spaghetti - that would be easier. I always do containers and that is harder and I don't always have enough. So I keep it in a big container and take a serving out as I go and then freeze later in the week as a big container. Your way would also make it easier for me to grab something to take for lunch to work. Thanks!

    I buy Ziplock containers. They are hard plastic with screw on lids. They are very sturdy and DO NOT LEAK, even with soup. They freeze well and go in the dishwasher. They come in a set of three at the supermarket. I would have to say that batch cooking like this has been the key to my success. I am never tempted to say. . . just order a pizza because in my freezer I have chicken pesto pasta, spaghetti, pork tenderloin and rice, turkey chili, chicken fajita filling, and sirloin steak stir fry with peppers. I can take my pick and then just do a cooking when it's looking a little low in there or I notice that I have a lot of clean empty containers sitting around!

    And figuring out the calorie count is much easier too with pre-portioning and then adjusting the number of servings in the database.
  • feelin_gr_8
    feelin_gr_8 Posts: 308 Member
    Probably going to say what everyone else said...didn't read them all ;) But I do this:

    1) weigh the whole batch and then enter my recipe per gram i.e. I bake my own bread so if my loaf comes out 600 grams, it's 600 servings. When I cut off a 50 gram slice, it's 50 servings.

    2)guess...I suppose that pot/pan makes 12 servings (if I'm a few calories off, my life doesn't end ;) )

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