Cooking from scratch

Claudia1957 · January 2015

I do alot of cooking from scratch as I refuse to use prepared foods. How do you deal with not having any choices from the food database that matches cooking from scratch. I am not a whiz in determining this when cooking from scratch AND I don't have time to micro-calculate every ingredient. I try to stay away from heavy fats and calories so I like to think I'm cooking smart, but I am curious how others manage this. Thank you!

queenliz99 · January 2015

the recipe builder

Claudia1957 · January 2015

I should add that I am only trying to lose 20lbs and maintain my preferred weight.

acheben · January 2015

The recipe builder (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/box) is the most accurate way to do this. You have no idea what people used to come up with calorie figures for the homemade entries.

Ready2Rock206 · January 2015

Time to make friends with the recipe builder.

Claudia1957 · January 2015

Just checked it out. Looks like a great tool. I will give it a try this Sunday when I make my soup for the weeks' lunches. Thanks!

Shastabaldi · January 2015

honestly i've been doing this so long that MOST foods i have a general idea of what is accurate. i use that knowledge to find something relatively close and just use that. i track higher than i think just in case, and double check when need to verify. i'm pretty accurate usually and its way quicker than building a recipe.

sprintto50 · January 2015

I also cook from scratch. Most recipes now have a nutrition summary with them. I try and find the closest item in the database and use it. Many published recipes are in the database if you include the source in your query ie Skinnytaste French Onion Soup (dinner tonight)

Claudia1957 · January 2015

I so appreciate all the input!

sjaplo · January 2015

I just go with something in the database that looks reasonable.

Escloflowne · January 2015

I use the calorie builder to make it but then I have to make a custom food because for some reason I can't figure out how to change servings per batch to 100g per serving which is how I measure everything...

jpaulie · January 2015

great to see when people make their own food from scratch. recipe builder here is good if you make something a lot. Make sure you have a decent scale.

ksolksol · January 2015

It depends. I use the recipe builder for things I will make a lot, although I make my bean soup a little differently each time and I just go with the original bean soup entry instead of trying to recalculate it each time. Sometimes, I grab something from the database, like sjaplo. Sometimes I'll just enter my best estimate of the component ingredients individually.

I don't worry so much about ultra-low-cal stuff like the broccoli, peppers, etc., but I will try to be mindful and more accurate on the higher-calorie items, such as oil, meat, rice. When in doubt, I try to estimate portions/calories on the high side to give myself a little cushion.

I find I have to strike a balance between accuracy and sanity. I would literally make myself crazy trying to get the calories right down to the single digits. I figure the slightly imperfect tracking I WILL do is better than the ultra-precise tracking I would NOT do!

mrsmartinez99 · January 2015

If you have the app, you can scan the barcodes into the recipe builder to be more accurate. I use all kinds of recipes and log later when I have downtime. Name your recipe, so that when you make the same meal you can tweak the amounts of the items used and log again. Good Luck!