The recipe feature still isn't working right. I have to switch browsers and then it takes 30min to get it all in due to slow scripts. It's ridiculous.

melissa968 wrote: »

Also, when entering a recipe you can only enter it as number of servings. It would seem the program should be able to total the volume of the recipe in oz, grams, cups and let you decide how many oz, grams or whatever you are going to log for a meal. Or am I putting it in wrong?

This is how I do it:

1) Volume method by putting in Containers. Lets say you make a batch of soup or tuna salad. I would get my (same size) dollar store containers out and put equal amounts into each container. I make the serving size about what I'd like to eat. To make them dead even, I'll weigh them on my scale. However many I filled, is the serving size you use in the recipe. Since they are now in their containers, they are good to go to use and log into MFP.

2) Weight method. Let's say you are going to make your world famous beef soup. In MFP, start the recipe, initially set to serving to 1. In the name of the recipe, call it:

Melissa's Beef Soup (1) oz. Serving Size

Putting the serving size in the title ~ is very important.

If you are going make the soup in a pot. Weigh/record the empty pot on your scale. Make the soup. Add all the ingredients in MFP as you normally would. Now, weigh the pot with the soup in it. Subtract the weight of the pot. Lets say you have 132 oz's of soup. On MFP, go back and edit the serving size to 132.

Let's say you want to keep the soup in the pot, and keep it in the fridge, warming it up every day. When you go to eat it, set your empty bowl on the scale and tare it. Now pour as much as you want to eat, in the bowl. Lets say you pour 10 oz in the bowl. When you log your diary, (10) is the serving size.

3) Volume method by scooping it out in a measuring cup. I think you could do it this way: take the soup as per #2 method above, but in the recipe title, name it:

Melissa's Beef Soup (1) CUP Serving Size

Now this is a little more complicated. Make the soup as per above. Tare and weigh the soup. Lets say you have 132 oz. of soup. Find a measuring cup (1 cup), tare the scale with the cup. Now pour into the cup ~ one cup of soup (be sure to pour in all the ingredients evenly, in other words, don't just pour the broth, include the solids also). Now read the scale. For math simplicity sakes, lets say you now have 13.2 oz's of soup in the measuring cup. On your calculator, take 132 (the total weight) divided by the cup weight of 13.2 = 10. (10) is the serving size in MFP for the recipe. So, every time you eat it, you'll have to scoop it out of the pot by using a measuring cup, recording how many cups you eat.

No matter which way you do any bulk batch recipe (and you want to track it in a food diary), even if you use paper and pencil, you're going to have to use weight or volume. There is no way around it. I still think MFP is the best way to do this. I wouldn't want to log multitude of items every time I eat a recipe.

I haven't tried the #3 method, I am pretty sure it would work though. I have used the #1 & 2 extensively. I make my own steak sauce, crock pot recipes, fat bombs, soups, broccoli/cauliflower/squash medley's, bacon-green beans... I have recipes for them all.

I hope all this makes sense.

Dan the Man from Michigan

melissa968 wrote: »

Oh my goodness, Dan! Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this to me! I think I understand it and will be working on changing my recipes to implement this procedure. You've also just made it possible for me to get a better night's sleep as I lay awake some nights agonizing over whether I was truly accurate in my logging.

Yeah, I struggle with it too. MFP has changed its recipe method (on my I-Phone app) no less than three times since I started the diet on Aug 29th. Currently it is the most improved of all the updates.

I think I'll add the to a blog, so if anyone asks in the future, we can easily find it.

Dan the Man from Michigan

I use a similar method as Dan in that I weight my pot or pan or whatever before I start my recipe. Once the food is done I weigh the whole batch and subtract the weight of the pot and decide how many servings I want it to be and edit the recipe to reflect that. I have not been putting serving size in the title but rather just use a note on the refrigerator, but also putting it in the title is a good idea since notes can get misplaced.

BTW I only make recipes from the computer. Sometimes it is crazy and will not save an ingredient (or I think it won't) and then when I look at the final list it is on there three times (or however many I hit save). Grrr.

As for conversions, I have a scale that does both grams and oz so that makes that easy, but if something is listed in MFP by volume rather than weight I search for one that has weight or I either look at the conversion on the ingredient container or I'll weigh out a tablespoon and convert myself.