spaghetti dinner

MeekMeals
MeekMeals Posts: 517 Member
edited September 24 in Food and Nutrition
How the heck am I going to log my spaghetti dinner tonight?? I have three teens so when i make spaghetti, i make a BIG pot. mix it all up: noodles, ground turkey and sauce together as one. I need to know how to log this in tonight or am i supposed to make my own separate batch???

thanks
tameka

Replies

  • tara3103
    tara3103 Posts: 107
    What I do is combine the turkey and sauce on the recipe tool on mfp and then figure how many cups that makes and it will tell you the nutritional value for each cup. I don't mix the noodles in, this way I can measure them out by the cup as well.
  • Crowhorse
    Crowhorse Posts: 394 Member
    How the heck am I going to log my spaghetti dinner tonight?? I have three teens so when i make spaghetti, i make a BIG pot. mix it all up: noodles, ground turkey and sauce together as one. I need to know how to log this in tonight or am i supposed to make my own separate batch???

    thanks
    tameka

    What I do is make a "recipe" and I put the box of noodles I use, and the sauce I use. Since I use a container of each, I put in the entire container calorie count. Then I put in the servings I'm sure I get out of it (how many bowls you are certain you'd get out of it). It may not be entirely accurate, but it's probably fairly close.
  • jen31889
    jen31889 Posts: 121
    I know your question is about logging, but have you tried spaghetti squash?
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    Yep use the receipe function. Use whole serving sizes when cooking and it should be easy.
  • hmschultz
    hmschultz Posts: 32
    Maybe you could measure out 1 cup of cooked pasta and 1/2 cup sauce before you mix it all up. (or whatever your portion is) Then just mix it in a small bowl. That way you know what you are getting and still have the same thing as your family. :)
  • Setof2Keys
    Setof2Keys Posts: 681 Member
    I had to seperate my ingredients and weigh them each individually, then mix mine seperate so I knew exactly what I was taking in. The noodles are a ton of calories for such a little amount and we do whole grain noodles. Yikes!
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    I know your question is about logging, but have you tried spaghetti squash?

    I cook zuchini & squash spaghetti....delicious!! I got this peeler from Bed Bath & Beyond. It slices the zuchini & squash into spaghetti.
  • MeekMeals
    MeekMeals Posts: 517 Member
    Definitely think i will use the squash spaghetti. I just checked the nutritional content for wheat spaghetti pasta versus the squash. they are close in cals but the squash has waaaay less carbs!! So i'll end up making my own batch anyways. And i think i may have a recipe for it that i did a while ago!! If not, i will have on tonight!
  • bubblebathducki
    bubblebathducki Posts: 1
    I weigh my portion used the internet to find similar recipies with the calories per weight.
  • jen31889
    jen31889 Posts: 121
    Definitely think i will use the squash spaghetti. I just checked the nutritional content for wheat spaghetti pasta versus the squash. they are close in cals but the squash has waaaay less carbs!! So i'll end up making my own batch anyways. And i think i may have a recipe for it that i did a while ago!! If not, i will have on tonight!

    I am surprised that they are similar in calories. I had one serving, 4 oz for lunch, plus 1.5 servings of Parmesan cheese on it and it was only 69 calories!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    How the heck am I going to log my spaghetti dinner tonight?? I have three teens so when i make spaghetti, i make a BIG pot. mix it all up: noodles, ground turkey and sauce together as one. I need to know how to log this in tonight or am i supposed to make my own separate batch???

    thanks
    tameka

    What I do is make a "recipe" and I put the box of noodles I use, and the sauce I use. Since I use a container of each, I put in the entire container calorie count. Then I put in the servings I'm sure I get out of it (how many bowls you are certain you'd get out of it). It may not be entirely accurate, but it's probably fairly close.

    This is what I do for a lot of different things and it works great!
  • WildFlower7
    WildFlower7 Posts: 714 Member
    When I eat things similar to that I weigh everything or measure everything seperatly, I search each item seperatly in the database and the last time I ate spaghetti which has been quite a while, I boiled the spaghetti , cooked my sauce in a seperate pot, and make my homemade turkey meatballs seperatly then put them in the oven, when everythng is done I first measure mine out seperatly, then make everyone elses:wink:
  • MeekMeals
    MeekMeals Posts: 517 Member
    Definitely think i will use the squash spaghetti. I just checked the nutritional content for wheat spaghetti pasta versus the squash. they are close in cals but the squash has waaaay less carbs!! So i'll end up making my own batch anyways. And i think i may have a recipe for it that i did a while ago!! If not, i will have on tonight!

    I am surprised that they are similar in calories. I had one serving, 4 oz for lunch, plus 1.5 servings of Parmesan cheese on it and it was only 69 calories!

    I didnt take into account the "quantity" so they were close but different quantity. you know what i mean? but basically the squash is best
  • CherylYMerritt
    CherylYMerritt Posts: 114 Member
    I love spagettti squash instead of pasta and so does my kids! I usually just stab the squash with a knife (5-6 times ) and microwave for 15-20 min. If you let it sit for a few minutes, then cut in half, scoop out seeds and scrape. Super easy, no mess and way easier than trying to peel or cut a squash:)

    Next question...how do you make those little blue "quote" boxes around comments that you reply to???
  • MeekMeals
    MeekMeals Posts: 517 Member
    I love spagettti squash instead of pasta and so does my kids! I usually just stab the squash with a knife (5-6 times ) and microwave for 15-20 min. If you let it sit for a few minutes, then cut in half, scoop out seeds and scrape. Super easy, no mess and way easier than trying to peel or cut a squash:)

    Next question...how do you make those little blue "quote" boxes around comments that you reply to???

    Nice! I will try the microwave method tonight!!! Luv a quicker alternative, the 1st time i did it i baked it in the oven 1st. And at the bottom of the message where you "reply" there is also the word "quote". thats how you get the little blue box...
  • riley711
    riley711 Posts: 298 Member
    You can put the whole thing into MFP recipes, and tell it how many servings one batch will make. Then, MFP will tell you how many calories per serving. I do this for a lot of my favorite recipes, including my spaghetti recipe. All the ingredients were already in the MFP food database, so it wasn't hard at all. I never learned how to make a small batch of spaghetti, even though I usually cook for 1 or 2 people. So, I make the whole batch, then put it in a bunch of small serving size containers and freeze it so I can have it whenever I want.
  • CherylYMerritt
    CherylYMerritt Posts: 114 Member
    Thanks!
    I love spagettti squash instead of pasta and so does my kids! I usually just stab the squash with a knife (5-6 times ) and microwave for 15-20 min. If you let it sit for a few minutes, then cut in half, scoop out seeds and scrape. Super easy, no mess and way easier than trying to peel or cut a squash:)

    Next question...how do you make those little blue "quote" boxes around comments that you reply to???

    Nice! I will try the microwave method tonight!!! Luv a quicker alternative, the 1st time i did it i baked it in the oven 1st. And at the bottom of the message where you "reply" there is also the word "quote". thats how you get the little blue box...
  • ShrinkinMel
    ShrinkinMel Posts: 982 Member
    I do my sauce or meat-sauce separate on top of noodles so I log them that way. I haven't tried the recipe tool out yet. That may be an option then you can just calculate out what each serving/cup or whatnot is.
  • Crystals422
    Crystals422 Posts: 382 Member
    I had spaghtti squash instead of noodels for the first time and it was great. I used Trader Joe Organic no salt added marania sauce and some parm cheese and I could not believe how good it was.
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    Next question...how do you make those little blue "quote" boxes around comments that you reply to???

    Just hit quote when responding to a question rather than reply to address a particular point that was made.
  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
    How the heck am I going to log my spaghetti dinner tonight?? I have three teens so when i make spaghetti, i make a BIG pot. mix it all up: noodles, ground turkey and sauce together as one. I need to know how to log this in tonight or am i supposed to make my own separate batch???

    thanks
    tameka

    What I do is make a "recipe" and I put the box of noodles I use, and the sauce I use. Since I use a container of each, I put in the entire container calorie count. Then I put in the servings I'm sure I get out of it (how many bowls you are certain you'd get out of it). It may not be entirely accurate, but it's probably fairly close.

    This is what I do for a lot of different things and it works great!

    I do this too. It is so much easier. Even when the portions aren't quite even. I did pasta for 9 today, 4 adults and children. I estimated that the 5 kids would eat 3 adult portions between them and so entered all the ingredients in the recipie section and told it that it served 7. Not completely accurate but close enough. It's sometimes too much hassle to cook so many different meals. I always get in a flap if i do everything seperate.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    This is the peeler I was referring to for the squash & zuchini to turn it into thin spaghetti in case anyone is interested.

    http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=16559512&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=the+titan+peeler&utm_campaign=Exact&
  • lexis0911
    lexis0911 Posts: 50
    <
    hungry for spaghetti
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    How the heck am I going to log my spaghetti dinner tonight?? I have three teens so when i make spaghetti, i make a BIG pot. mix it all up: noodles, ground turkey and sauce together as one. I need to know how to log this in tonight or am i supposed to make my own separate batch???

    thanks
    tameka

    What I do is make a "recipe" and I put the box of noodles I use, and the sauce I use. Since I use a container of each, I put in the entire container calorie count. Then I put in the servings I'm sure I get out of it (how many bowls you are certain you'd get out of it). It may not be entirely accurate, but it's probably fairly close.

    This is what I do for a lot of different things and it works great!

    Ditto! My diary is FULL of recipes that I entered for this very reason. :flowerforyou:
  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    This is the peeler I was referring to for the squash & zuchini to turn it into thin spaghetti in case anyone is interested.

    http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=16559512&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=the+titan+peeler&utm_campaign=Exact&amp;

    Wow, that looks awesome! So it's the julienne attachment that makes the spaghetti out of regular squash then?
  • writtenINthestars
    writtenINthestars Posts: 1,933 Member
    Ahh yes! Spaghetti Squash is delicious! And it's actually kind of fun to make (esp if you have kids). LOL I do not have kids but I do have fun making it. I just cut the sucker in half, poke it with a fork on the skin, and wrap in seran wrap and microwave. I start at 5 mins and go from there-usually doesn't take more than 7-8 mins depending on your microwave and such. Let it cool for a few mins and then scrape it out.

    DELICIOUS! And a way better alternative to the pasta. You get the protein you need from the turkey sauce, and get vitamins and such from the squash, including fiber. :) It's a win win in my book!
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