Food scales and family meals...

TiffanyR71
TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
edited November 15 in Health and Weight Loss
I do not own a food scale, but have been considering buying one because of everyone who swears by it here… I have a question about family meals. I do a lot of cooking, so, when I am eating healthier, my whole family is also. How do you account for family meals? More specifically, for example, a veggie dish I made last night had approximately 10 or so ingredients. So, I would theoretically have to weigh each ingredient and then cook that dish, and then what? Do I weigh the cooked veggie dish to get a total, and then weigh out of portion for myself to figure out how many servings I had of the total? Just trying to reconcile how I would weigh raw foods for myself, and then cook them together with portions for my family… What do you do?

Replies

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    I would weigh my ingredients and then use the recipe builder here to create a recipe with those ingredients. I would make my serving number the number of grams in the total (cooked) dish. I would then log 1 serving for each gram of the finished dish that I had.
  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
    Ok - yes, I do use the recipe builder, but my portion ends up being approximate, based on visual.... I know it's not accurate...
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    Weigh ingredients, enter into recipe builder, weigh final cooked meal and enter that as serving size (or put grams into the title) and then weigh out a portion for yourself.

    If dish was 1200 grams and you ate 300 grams, that's 0.25 servings. If dishes are ove 1000 grams you would need to enter the number of servings as 1 and do math every time you log the meal. Alternatively if your dish is less than 1000 grams cooked, then you can enter in the total weight of the dish into the recipe builder's servings (i.e. serves 1000 people) and then if you eat 300g of the dish you'd log it as 300 servings.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Use the recipe builder, it's awesome.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    TiffanyR71 wrote: »
    Ok - yes, I do use the recipe builder, but my portion ends up being approximate, based on visual.... I know it's not accurate...


    If you want to be more accurate, you can enter the serving number as a unit of weight (1 gram, for instance, equals 1 serving) and then you will be able to understand exactly how much you need to log. This is also great if you will have different serving sizes at different times (you might want a little soup if you're having leftover soup for lunch, or a big bowl if you are having it for dinner).
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    TiffanyR71 wrote: »
    Ok - yes, I do use the recipe builder, but my portion ends up being approximate, based on visual.... I know it's not accurate...

    weigh it when you get your food scale.
  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
    Thanks- that's what I figured I would have to do… I was just hoping there might be an easier way than having to weigh each "dish" three times! :)
    I guess it's time to go out and buy that scale now…
  • tlblood
    tlblood Posts: 473 Member
    For me it depends on how the dish is cooked...a lot of times for soups, I'll use a ladle and figure out how many scoops there are, a veggie dish in a casserole dish, I'll eyeball the servings (can I cut it 3x4 for 12?, or 3x3 for 9?, etc). Other times I will literally weigh it to find out how many grams/oz. the whole thing is, divide by the number of servings I want it to be (problem with that, I've found, is that as steam evaporates from a hot dish, the weight decreases).
  • Natsume
    Natsume Posts: 33 Member
    I create recipes while I make the dish, weight the ingredients, cook it, and when serving it divide it into visual "servings." It is not 100% accurate, but it has worked for me when I make food for lunch/dinner parties. :)

    The thing with weighing the food before and after you cook the ingredients is the weight won't match. Most foods lose water when you cook them. This will decrease the weight. I didn't even think of weighing the fully cooked food and using that as the servings. That would account for the weight difference. The difficulty will come from crock-pot meals. You could use your ladle as a serving. The servings don't have to be exact, but in the approximate.

    I also modify my recipes each time I cook. My ingredients/quantities change each time I cook.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    edited April 2015
    Weighing food portions is probably best, however, I have lost 53 pounds without weighing anything but me. I don't own a food scale.

    I guess I am talented at estimating.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    TiffanyR71 wrote: »
    Thanks- that's what I figured I would have to do… I was just hoping there might be an easier way than having to weigh each "dish" three times! :)
    I guess it's time to go out and buy that scale now…

    I don't understand why you'd need to weigh the dish three times. you weigh ingredients as they are going in, then you're weighing the final product. Any time you go to eat food you weigh the portion you'd like and then enter in how many servings that is.

    Doesn't seem any different than measuring all your ingredients with measuring cups (which would actually take longer), then figuring out how many servings your dish has (seems it would take longer when not weighing since you'd either have to measure out cups or try to split it up into x number of equal servings by eyeballing, which I've done and it can be a PITA) and then logging your single serving.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Weighing food portions is probably best, however, I have lost 53 pounds without weighing anything but me. I don't own a food scale.

    I guess I am talented at estimating.

    You probably have/had a lot of weight to lose. THe more you have to lose, the less accurate you need to be.
  • ncboiler89
    ncboiler89 Posts: 2,408 Member
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Weighing food portions is probably best, however, I have lost 53 pounds without weighing anything but me. I don't own a food scale.

    I guess I am talented at estimating.

    A carnival job awaits you.
  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
    Weighing ingredients plus weighing final dish plus weighing my portion of said final dish equals three times
  • DearestWinter
    DearestWinter Posts: 595 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I would weigh my ingredients and then use the recipe builder here to create a recipe with those ingredients. I would make my serving number the number of grams in the total (cooked) dish. I would then log 1 serving for each gram of the finished dish that I had.

    This is exactly what I do and would recommend.
  • ana3067
    ana3067 Posts: 5,623 Member
    TiffanyR71 wrote: »
    Weighing ingredients plus weighing final dish plus weighing my portion of said final dish equals three times

    Measure ingredients, measure out final dish, measure out final portion.

    Not much different, and the former method takes less time and is more precise.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    edited April 2015
    ana3067 wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Weighing food portions is probably best, however, I have lost 53 pounds without weighing anything but me. I don't own a food scale.

    I guess I am talented at estimating.

    You probably have/had a lot of weight to lose. THe more you have to lose, the less accurate you need to be.

    Or you know, even with a lot of weight to lose, he's a man and taller.

    Short women, even with having a lot to lose need to be accurate or the scale movement is painfully slow. Especially if they're older.

    OP, you've gotten all of the really good recommendations. I will add that I weigh the dish again every time I reheat leftovers if there will be more than one time I'm eating unless I've already divided it up into portions (subtracting the weight of the storage container). Stored food loses weight due to evaporation, so what you calculate for a serving size might change.

    To weigh my portions, I have a calculator I keep in the kitchen to help. I just use the recipe builder, weighing each ingredient as I go as suggested. I weigh the final dish, and subtract the container weight. I divide that by the number of servings I've allowed for the full recipe. Then I subtract that number from the total weight of the dish (the recipe plus the container) and scoop out my portion until the scale reads what my calculator says.

  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
    Thank you for all of your suggestions!
  • TiffanyR71
    TiffanyR71 Posts: 217 Member
    Short women, even with having a lot to lose need to be accurate or the scale movement is painfully slow. Especially if they're older.
    That's me, all the way - short, fat, and old! Well, I can change one out of those...
  • SophiaSerrao
    SophiaSerrao Posts: 234 Member
    TiffanyR71 wrote: »
    Short women, even with having a lot to lose need to be accurate or the scale movement is painfully slow. Especially if they're older.
    That's me, all the way - short, fat, and old! Well, I can change one out of those...

    Haha, true...
  • DebzNuDa
    DebzNuDa Posts: 252 Member
    When ever I make a recipe builder for soup, beans, etc. I always weigh the food as raw. I then cook the item and weigh the item on a freezer Ziploc (tare for zero on scale before adding the item) that way I know how accurate the food is. I also, always, weigh in grams. One serving always works as 1gram then I select how many servings. Makes it easy to store in the fridge or freezer too. Just put the Ziploc in the pan then place the item in the Ziploc. Freeze it then take the pan away and no mess. Ziplocs work great for solids as well.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    I just estimated and only bought a scale two weeks ago and that was to verify the weight on our pinewood derby car. Found that I was overestimating my portions by 1-2oz, so worked in my favor. Almost shocking how much 6oz of chicken breast looked like.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    Weigh the pan you are cooking in. write down how many grams it is.

    Weigh each ingredient as you add them...write it down.
    Once cooked, weigh the entire dish and subtract the weight of the empty pan from the weight of the total dish.

    weigh out your serving onto a plate.


    Its alot of steps, but easy. And it gets faster/easier as you do more.
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