Homemade recipe nutrition?

monkeeluv
monkeeluv Posts: 8 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
I do a lot of cooking at home, sometimes from a recipe but often not. I'm wondering the best way to figure out nutritional information for a home-made recipe? I have a few that I think are healthy, but want to make sure. Any thoughts, suggestions or references are appreciated!

Replies

  • juliec0619
    juliec0619 Posts: 20 Member
    The recipe builder on this site works really well. It also allows you to save all of your recipes so that you can easily add them to your diary over and over.
  • marrieandfive
    marrieandfive Posts: 51
    I do a lot of cooking at home, sometimes from a recipe but often not. I'm wondering the best way to figure out nutritional information for a home-made recipe? I have a few that I think are healthy, but want to make sure. Any thoughts, suggestions or references are appreciated!

    If you figure out the calories for the individual ingredients, then add it all together and divide it by serving size then that should work. I do that sometimes, you just have to be sure to measure your ingredients when you otherwise maybe wouldn't.
  • marrieandfive
    marrieandfive Posts: 51
    The recipe builder on this site works really well. It also allows you to save all of your recipes so that you can easily add them to your diary over and over.

    That's awesome! I'm new here and I just keep finding out more cool things!
  • juliec0619
    juliec0619 Posts: 20 Member
    The only hard part is figuring out the serving sizes. I usually weigh the empty dish, then weight it again with the recipe in it. That way I can figure out exactly how many ounces are in the entire dish and seriving size. I know----sounds crazy---but it works.
  • dlaplume2
    dlaplume2 Posts: 1,658 Member
    definitely the recipe builder. You add all the ingredients in and tell them how many servings you get and it will tell you how many calories are in each serving.

    of course you need to make sure you are evening out the servings, so they are all the same. You can't give your husband 2/3 and eat 1/3 and call it 2 servings.
  • WritingMyLife
    WritingMyLife Posts: 57 Member
    Loving the recipe builder. Made a modified version of Lentil Stew from a recipe in a cookbook then logged all the info in here last night. It said 6 servings but I took four of those cheap glad/ziploc food storage containers and portioned it into that so I told the recipe builder 4 servings and it figured it out for me.
  • Shamrock40
    Shamrock40 Posts: 264
    Depending on what you're making, you can weigh things, or portion them out and weigh them. For example, I make homemade chili and put all the ingredients in and (I only do this once so I know.) I portion out 8 1-cup servings. Then I start adding 1/4 cup to each serving to see where the chili runs out. If I run out and have only added 1/4 cup to five portions, I know that's 74 ounces, which works out to be about seven 1 1/4 cup portions. If I make a salad, I figure out if it's going to be a side salad that I eat with a starch and protein, or a salad that I'm going to eat as an entree. Then, as I make the salad, I put all the ingredients in to the recipe tool, and make it into, say 6 side salad portions, or 3 entree portions. I also have a little scale that measures ounces and grams, so if I have steak or chicken, I can weigh it and use the recipe tool to figure the calories, etc. If you make a casserole, as you add the ingredients in, it will tell you how much the entire casserole is, then you cut it into 6-8-12 portions.

    I hope that helps!
  • monkeeluv
    monkeeluv Posts: 8 Member
    Wow- thanks for all of the suggestions/help! I'm new to the site and hadn't found the recipe builder yet... I will definitely be using it! I think it's going to take some trial & error to get it right in terms of the serving size issue. Tonight I made vegetarian Shepherd's Pie using Morningstar crumblies, Road's end Organic Mushroom gravy, Garlic mash potatoes (instant) and corn (a nod to my 4 yr old!). It asked how many servings as they way to sort out per serving information... I estimated 4. Not very scientfic but I was in a rush... I'll have to keep playing with it on nights I have more time. Thanks again all!!
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