estimating portions?

AKAMrsR
AKAMrsR Posts: 45 Member
edited September 25 in Food and Nutrition
I'm having a hard time estimating portions of generic foods or homemade meals. For example, I had light italian dressing marinaded chicken tonight and don't know how many ounces of chicken I ate or how much dressing was really in my finished product! I had the same problem a few nights ago with shrimp scampi cooked with margarine. Any suggestions?? Thanks!

Replies

  • TonysMiss
    TonysMiss Posts: 128 Member
    It's kind of a pain but if it is something you like to eat then it's worth it. Add it into your data base as a recipe. You add all the ingredients and split it up into how many portions are in the recipe and it will give you all the info. I just added another one last night for Chicken Enchiladas. Took me a bit but it was worth it.
  • monkeybuttsmommy
    monkeybuttsmommy Posts: 343 Member
    With meat, any meat, about the size of your open palm is a serving. The sauces are a little bit harder. I generally over estimate to be on the safe side. I hope others have a better way.
  • onawho
    onawho Posts: 196 Member
    get a kitchen scale. They are awesome!
  • singer201
    singer201 Posts: 563 Member
    Use a scale and measuring cups. Also, you can enter homemade recipes into your own recipe tab on your MFP Food page, and it will calculate the calories and nutrients per serving.
  • pelleld
    pelleld Posts: 363 Member
    A food scale will help with some of your questions. As far as how much marinade ends up on your plate......no idea, sorry!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 Member
    Use the recipe feature in here, same tab as your food diary.. click food... click recipes... enter new recipe... then if you have it again it's saved already and just needs to be added to your diary.

    I just made a home-made casserole I know what went into it and i'm going to enter the recipe now to see how many portions I should get out of the dish to have a realistic calorie hit from dinner.
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
    enter your recipe in the recipe calculator. It will tell you how many calories your serving is.

    So if your recipe feeds 4 people, enter that number in the feeds how many people, then when you cook it divide it up into 4 equal portions.

    I love the recipe calculator it takes out the guess work.
  • ITSSODAMNHOT
    ITSSODAMNHOT Posts: 121 Member
    At first, it would be best to take actual measurements of the foods you eat. It won't take too long before you figure out what a 6 oz or whatever of chicken looks like. Hope this helps

    God Bless
  • gatedialer
    gatedialer Posts: 149 Member
    I read somewhere today that the recommended portion size should be the size of the palm of your hand. I use a scale to measure my foods. It helps a lot as I rarely eat out and make my own meals.
  • bethvandenberg
    bethvandenberg Posts: 1,496 Member
    3 oz's is like the size of a deck of cards. 2 T of salad dressing/margerine is about the size of a golf ball. 1 c. is about the size of a baseball. :) Hope that helps.
  • audjrey
    audjrey Posts: 360 Member
    The diabetes association has excellent visual hand portion guides that you can download and print out for free. I'm not diabetic, but it sure has helped me. I have one copy tacked to the front of my fridge so I never have to guess.

    Simply google "handy portion guide" or copy and paste the following link: http://www.diabetes.ca/files/plan your portions.pdf
  • rtmama
    rtmama Posts: 403 Member
    I agree with the advice to get a kitchen scale. You can get a nice basic one on Amazon for about $20. You'd be surprised how wrong you are when "estimating" - it's usually always a larger portion than you think!
  • TonysMiss
    TonysMiss Posts: 128 Member
    get a kitchen scale. They are awesome!
    My boyfriend just bought me one and yes, it is awesome! I used to google every thing to figure it out!
  • wanttogetskinny
    wanttogetskinny Posts: 194
    Yep, get a kitchen scale! I already had one prior to starting with MFP, as I'm a Type 1 diabetic and it helps to weigh my food whether I'm counting cals or not (cause I HAVE to count carbs), so it wasn't a huge deal for me to consider this in terms of cals as well. They're not expensive and will really help you see exactly what you're eating in terms of portion sizes!
  • Hippopotoart
    Hippopotoart Posts: 17
    I got a cheap food scale at Target for like $8 and it helps to get a good idea. I think you can also get plastic (floppy) cutting "board" sheets and, for example with chicken breast, it will have a square on it so you can measure out what should be approximately 1 or 2oz. as you cut.
    As for the marinade- I made grilled portabello tonight and marinated it in italian dressing. I put about 4-5 Tablespoons in the bag and then estimated that after some cooking off and some left in the bag, I probably ate about 2 Tablespoons. Again, I just use MFP to get an idea of how I'm eating so, it's not as important for me to be super exact. I do a lot of eyeballing.
  • lukimakamai
    lukimakamai Posts: 498 Member
    same as everyone else- measuring cups, food scale , and use the recipe adder on MFP
  • eveunderground
    eveunderground Posts: 236 Member
    Another vote for food scale! Also measuring cups, and measuring spoons...those will help for stuff like salad dressing, or foods measured by volume rather than weight (like ice cream).

    Oh and for any who drinks - get a real one ounce shot glass to measure, it's not the same as the standard shot glasses which are usually a jigger (1.5oz).
  • bharris999
    bharris999 Posts: 1 Member
    This is just a suggestion, but I have started eating with a set of measuring spoons and a set up measuring cups out on the counter or right on the table.

    If possible, I pour the product into the cups before pouring into my bowl or plate (such as cereal). I have been doing that for a little while and now I can just about estimate 2 oz, 4 oz, 6oz and a cup. Most calorie counting increments that do not come in ounces, quarter cup, etc ... come in teaspoon and tablespoon. By looking at the spoons or even measuring things out for a few times, it becomes easier to estimate your portions.

    I have been told that you never eat meat that is bigger than the size of your palm. Just the palm part is about the size and thickness of a portion of meat -- roughly 4 oz.

    Does that help?
  • AKAMrsR
    AKAMrsR Posts: 45 Member
    Thanks so much, everyone!! I guess I am going to look into a food scale. I will also check that website with the estimations. I don't need to be exact, but I want a realistic picture of what I'm really eating!
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