Serving sizes
Crystal817
Posts: 2,021 Member
Question for all you cooks out there...
Ok, say I make a big pot of chili. I put all my ingredients into the recipe tool on mfp, but how do I determine how many servings there are or how much each serving should be? (some recipes say how many servings, but not how much in each serving)
I'm getting a food scale soon, so I thought about weighing all of it and then just dividing it by number of servings, but honestly that seems like a lot of work. What do you do?
Ok, say I make a big pot of chili. I put all my ingredients into the recipe tool on mfp, but how do I determine how many servings there are or how much each serving should be? (some recipes say how many servings, but not how much in each serving)
I'm getting a food scale soon, so I thought about weighing all of it and then just dividing it by number of servings, but honestly that seems like a lot of work. What do you do?
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Replies
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I go by the packaging on the item.
Example - Salad dressing - 80 calories per serving - 1 serving equals 2 tbsp0 -
Umm... I'm talking about when you make food from scratch. Not pre-packaged items.
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This is a great question! I want to see what people say cause I've had this problem a lot (as I like cooking).0
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Easy. I put an empty bowl on the digital kitchen scale and tare it. Then I dump my pot of chili into the bowl and note the number of grams.
Then I put a clean bowl on the scale and hit tare, add however much chili I want, and then note how many grams.
Divide the weight of the entire batch of chili by the weight of the serving you are going to eat. E.g., 2500 grams/250 grams = 10 servings per recipe.
Voila!
Oh and I note the serving size in grams when I calculate that and add a note to my recipe's name so I will know how much to dish up next time. 0 -
Question for all you cooks out there...
Ok, say I make a big pot of chili. I put all my ingredients into the recipe tool on mfp, but how do I determine how many servings there are or how much each serving should be? (some recipes say how many servings, but not how much in each serving)
I'm getting a food scale soon, so I thought about weighing all of it and then just dividing it by number of servings, but honestly that seems like a lot of work. What do you do?
I don't know if this will help you any but I make a chili recipe that I got out of a magazine and it calls for 1 lb ground beef, 1 package chili seasoning, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can 8 oz can tomato sauce and it says that it serves 5 people.0 -
@Robin - thanks! That's what I was thinking... just not sure if there was an easier way.
@Cowbelles - I see that a lot in recipes, tells how many people it serves but no mention on how much a serving size actually is...one cup, cup and a half? I just like to know exactly how much in a serving size, so I can record it correctly. 0 -
honestly? i usually just pick a number. for instance, if i make a casserole, it's typically gonna be either 9 or 12 servings, depending on how the numbers look when i put the whole recipe into MFP.
for something like chili or soups, i measure by volume, not weight. so i made a big pot of burrito filling the other day to freeze in portions. each portion was half a cup. i ended up with 10 portions, so that's what i put into the database. you may have to do this for every new recipe you make, but once you've done it, you won't have to do it again.
you're right. it's a lot of trouble, but in a situation like this where accuracy is key, it's just something you have to do. and besides, just because a recipe says "10 servings", that doesn't mean you HAVE to figure out how to make 10 servings out of it. it's YOUR soup-pot, after all! just decide how much you want a serving to be, and go from there.0 -
bump0
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i make large batches of home made bolognese and then put into tupperware boxes and freeze - i add everything together, get the total weight and values, then divide that into 300g portions and see how many i get - then divide the total vlaues by that numebr and i know whats in each serving
if i dont weigh the portions then i wouldnt be having to same amount per serving so numbers would be off0 -
Well I am making my taco soup right now, for the beginning I put 10 servings. When it is done, I dish it all out into individual containers so I can take it to work. So, I use 1 cup for my serving size. So if the pot of soup actually makes 12 cups then I go in and change it to 12 servings. If you go into "My recipes" then click on the dish, you can change everything.0
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I play with the food (not the right term really)
but if its something quite pudgey like chilli, i get a knife or something straight and draw lines on it to see how many servings it can make with a smallish serving then add salad.
Kinda like how you slice a pie or cake, then scoop it out.0 -
I don't have a good scale, so I just figure out what fits in my nutritional, and caloric needs from the site, I try to keep everything around 300 or 400 calories, if I can, then when I figure out how many servings will give me that amount of calories, I get out that many plates/bowls/tupperware and try to dish it out into equal amounts into whatever I'm using.0
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Question for all you cooks out there...
Ok, say I make a big pot of chili. I put all my ingredients into the recipe tool on mfp, but how do I determine how many servings there are or how much each serving should be? (some recipes say how many servings, but not how much in each serving)
I'm getting a food scale soon, so I thought about weighing all of it and then just dividing it by number of servings, but honestly that seems like a lot of work. What do you do?
This would be the most exact method. A less exact method would be to find the nutrition info for a similar recipe and determine the calories per gram and apply it to your weighed portion. That is typically what I do when I am eating food that I didn't make myself.0 -
This is very helpful, I think about this a lot and what to do about it. When I have made stuff, I just add up cals for each ingredient and then kinda guess as to how much that would be for me all together. Generally I work with 1/2 cups and whole cups. But doing what you mentioned would be much more reliable for sure.0
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BUMP!0
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Yeah you dont need to measure by weight when you make something like stew or chili.
What I do is get another big bowl or pot and scoop the soup into the second bowl using a one cup measuring cup. The last soup I made was 5 Cups, so I made it 5 one cup servings.
Essentially what the serving calculator does is divide up the total nutrition content into the amount of calories and macro nutrients per serving. This is why you should measure the servings into the actual amounts that you sit down to eat. Otherwise, if you are eating a smaller or larger portion than you entered into the recipe and you will be misreporting your nutrition.
But its also okay to "average out" the calories... For example for the above mentioned soup I just have to make sure I report eating 5 servings even if some are smaller and some are larger. The total amount of nutrients will be equal to the total recipe as long as I report the right amount of servings, since the servings are a fraction of a whole, not a specific weight or measurement. However, this wouldnt work if you are sharing the recipe with another person since you might eat different amounts.0 -
Can someone help me figure this out? I have 1 lb of 9% ground beef and will add 1 can of Rosarita No fat Traditional refried beans to it. I need to figure out how to figure out the serving size of the mixture... I am so confused.0
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Can someone help me figure this out? I have 1 lb of 9% ground beef and will add 1 can of Rosarita No fat Traditional refried beans to it. I need to figure out how to figure out the serving size of the mixture... I am so confused.
After its all mixed, scoop it into another bowl with a measuring cup. Each cup is one serving.0 -
Do I use 1/2 cup, 1 cup? 4 oz meat is 180 calories & 1/2 cup of refried beans is 100 calories.. If I mix a whole can and a whole pound of meat I would calculate what the whole amount calories would be then divide that by the amount of servings I get out of it? Is this correct?
For Example:
4 oz x 180 calories x 4 = 720
1/2 cup x 100 calories x 3.5 = 350
Total = 1070
If I do 6 1/2 cup servings the calories would be 1070/6 = 178.333 calories per serving... Is this correct?0 -
I've done it the weighing method many people described here, but what has also worked for me if we are making a big batch of chilli or stew or soup on the weekend I just measure it with a measuring cup into containers, and do the math. If I fill up 6 containers with a two cups each then I'll put it in the receipe as making 12 servings and know each container contains 2 servings (for sharing or indulding, LOL)0
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Do I use 1/2 cup, 1 cup? 4 oz meat is 180 calories & 1/2 cup of refried beans is 100 calories.. If I mix a whole can and a whole pound of meat I would calculate what the whole amount calories would be then divide that by the amount of servings I get out of it? Is this correct?
For Example:
4 oz x 180 calories x 4 = 720
1/2 cup x 100 calories x 3.5 = 350
Total = 1070
If I do 6 1/2 cup servings the calories would be 1070/6 = 178.333 calories per serving... Is this correct?
Use whatever you want for each serving. If you want a bigger serving, use 1 cup. If you're having other sides, make the portion smaller and use a 1/2 cup.
You can plug all of your ingredients into the recipe tool here and it will tell you how many calories per serving.0 -
Do I use 1/2 cup, 1 cup? 4 oz meat is 180 calories & 1/2 cup of refried beans is 100 calories.. If I mix a whole can and a whole pound of meat I would calculate what the whole amount calories would be then divide that by the amount of servings I get out of it? Is this correct?
For Example:
4 oz x 180 calories x 4 = 720
1/2 cup x 100 calories x 3.5 = 350
Total = 1070
If I do 6 1/2 cup servings the calories would be 1070/6 = 178.333 calories per serving... Is this correct?
not sure if I get what you are asking here. Are you putting all your ingredients in the recipe part of your diary? It will give you what the total calories you measure out how many servings you are making it into and then it'll tel you how many calories in each serving.0 -
When I added it to the recipe area it stated the calories were 93 for each 1 serving but it did not tell me what the serving was....0
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When I added it to the recipe area it stated the calories were 93 for each 1 serving but it did not tell me what the serving was....
You need to figure out how many servings you would like to get out of it. Then put it into the recipe.
So if you divide it out and figure you want 1 cup servings and there are 4 cups in the whole recipe, change the servings to 4.0 -
Ok thank you. I will figure out how many servings I want out of it when I make it.. I was trying to work ahead and figure out calories. Thank you for your help 0
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I think you are making it more difficult then it is... The recipe tool makes it super easy. I make a lot of soup but to take the guess work out I always use my crock pot because I know how much it holds (5 quarts = 20 Cups). Then I decide how big I want the portion to be... usually 2 cups. 20 cups total divided by 2 cup serving = 10 servings total. Super simple 0
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I think you are making it more difficult then it is... The recipe tool makes it super easy. I make a lot of soup but to take the guess work out I always use my crock pot because I know how much it holds (5 quarts = 20 Cups). Then I decide how big I want the portion to be... usually 2 cups. 20 cups total divided by 2 cup serving = 10 servings total. Super simple
Right, but not everyone uses a crockpot. Not so simple when you just throw something together and have no idea how much is in the finished product. 0 -
ok, I guess I really don't get this... I scooped up 9 1/3 cups so I got 9 servings but the recipe maker is only calculating 1 serving divided by 9 servings which is not correct... meaning it is not taking the whole calories of both items adding them together and then dividing by the number of servings to get my calories.0
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is it possible to measure it into equal amounts of individual serving sizes with use of tupperware? like one cup0
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I think you are making it more difficult then it is... The recipe tool makes it super easy. I make a lot of soup but to take the guess work out I always use my crock pot because I know how much it holds (5 quarts = 20 Cups). Then I decide how big I want the portion to be... usually 2 cups. 20 cups total divided by 2 cup serving = 10 servings total. Super simple
Right, but not everyone uses a crockpot. Not so simple when you just throw something together and have no idea how much is in the finished product.
you could always just enter the recipe and through eating it for a few days figure out how many servings by how many portions you had0
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