Recipe Calculator question, re:serving sizes.

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Menfusse
Menfusse Posts: 4
in Getting Started
If I have a recipe, and know what amount I want the serving size to be, but not how much total the recipe will make (as in, I want the serving size to be one cup, but have no idea how many cups total the recipe yields since I made it up)...what do I do? I don't see a way on there recipe calculator on here to help me figure it out. Is there another one online somewhere that will give you a yield total calculation? I make up most recipes, lol. I'll have to figure this out on way or another and I really don't have time to make something, then portion the whole thing out to count (I don't make myself anything special...so it's usually enough for a family meal and leftovers for lunches etc.) :/. There's gotta be an easier way. Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • tinascar2015
    tinascar2015 Posts: 413 Member
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    Make it first. Then scoop it into another container, one cup at a time. Go back and edit your recipe to reflect the correct number of servings.
  • Menfusse
    Menfusse Posts: 4
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    That's what I'm trying to avoid. I make large recipes very often, including soups, and scooping it out every time is just not feasible as far as time (and patience) go.
  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
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    I'm not sure I really get the question, but the way I'd do it is make the whole thing weighing each ingredient and writing it down so you know how much the whole thing is. Then weigh it when you put it on your plate (weighing each thing separately if it's something like meat, potatoes and veg rather than the sort of food that comes all in one go like soup or stew). You then know the % weight of the whole thing that you've got on your plate and can work out how many calories it is. Or is that what you don't want to do?

    When you say you're trying to avoid scooping things into another container, isn't that how making large amounts of food works? How else do you eat it? Just straight out of the container? But isn't it for your family? Sorry the more I think about this the more confused I get lol
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    edited April 2015
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    The only quick method is to use a kitchen scale. Scoop out a level one cup of the finished meal (preferably cooled because water continues to evaporate while cooling) and weigh it. It should weigh approximately 8 US ounces or about 230 grams. Then weigh the total recipe and divide the total recipe weight by the weight of the measured one cup.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Forget cups for recipes. Even if you did take the time to scoop it cup by cup, it would not be accurate as how much you put in the cup depends on how you pack it in.

    Make the serving size based on weight. Such as 100 grams. Weigh the final product. If its 1885 grams, then you'd set the recipe as being 18.85 servings of 100 grams each.
  • Menfusse
    Menfusse Posts: 4
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    Hmmm...not sure if my scale can weigh a whole pot of soup or a whole bowl of pasta salad. I generally weigh anything that is a single item as part of a meal (meats and individual sides), but I'm talking about things like soups, stews, or casseroles that have all the ingredients in one.
    DemoraFairy wrote: »
    I'm not sure I really get the question, but the way I'd do it is make the whole thing weighing each ingredient and writing it down so you know how much the whole thing is. Then weigh it when you put it on your plate (weighing each thing separately if it's something like meat, potatoes and veg rather than the sort of food that comes all in one go like soup or stew). You then know the % weight of the whole thing that you've got on your plate and can work out how many calories it is. Or is that what you don't want to do?

    When you say you're trying to avoid scooping things into another container, isn't that how making large amounts of food works? How else do you eat it? Just straight out of the container? But isn't it for your family? Sorry the more I think about this the more confused I get lol

    I guess I didn't specify what I mean by recipe. Like I said above, soups, stews, and casseroles (dishes with lots of ingredients all mixed together). What prompted this was a veg and pasta salad. I don't know why I didn't think to use the total weight. What I mean by scooping into a different container is that I make the soup, then scoop it cup by cup into another container just to measure the total number of cups before letting everyone get their portion. We serve from the pot into bowls, yes, but not in equal portions for every one, and I need to know that if I choose a cup or 8 oz of a food as a serving size, how many 8 oz servings does it have all together so I can put the recipe into the calculator. Does that make more sense? Of course we don't eat out of the container. :neutral:

    I guess, even though I generally weigh everything (as it's portioned), I assumed a cup was better for foods like pasta salad or soup or whatever. I'll just weigh each ingredient from now on, then add it all together and divide since I don't think my scale weighs that high. Thanks everyone.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Ask your family for just the one time to use a specific measure. They can take however much they want but they need to measure out what they take and write it down for you. Then be sure to also measure the leftovers. Once you have the total measure of how much you made. Decide how much is a portion for your use and divide the total by that number.

    I just did this with a soup recipe. It really wasn't that difficult. But easier since I live alone and always portion all of my leftovers int separate containers for lunches to take to work. But you should get your family involved in helping you with this stuff. Support at home is a big deal. :)
  • JMommy03
    JMommy03 Posts: 7 Member
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    You would think if you were entering all the ingredients one by one MFP should be able to calculate that for you!!! Just my opinion!
  • PopeyeCT
    PopeyeCT Posts: 249 Member
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    Here's what I did a while ago and it has worked for me.

    I filled my crock pot up with water to how full it normally is and then scooped it out and counted how many of the bowls I used got filled. It was six. So I just use six as the servings for a full crock pot. I put in my recipe and tell it six servings and list all the ingredients.
  • lenamae23
    lenamae23 Posts: 60 Member
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    I have this problem too. I just measure it in cups and use 1 cup as a serving. I think the calculator could be updated too. It should say ok this will give 25 cups of food and if each serving is 1 cup it is X amount of calories.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Cups don't add up, weight does.
  • usababs
    usababs Posts: 1 Member
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    I have the same problem. If I create a recipe and put in all my ingredients manually the only option I have is the change the serving number 1 - ...... How do I know how big a portion is in oz for one serving? Right know I can not put this in!
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    edited November 2017
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    I take the total weight in grams of the finished item for things like a loaf of homemade bread divided by 100 as the number of servings. A loaf of bread, for example, might weigh 1150 grams so I put 11.5 as the number of 100 gram servings. When I hack off a slice, I weigh it. The slice might weigh 87 grams or some other odd number. If one serving is 100 grams, then I just call my slice 0.87 servings in my diary.

    It's harder for things like soup if you are using different sized servings and you don't know how much the final product is. Weighing a hot pot of soup is just not practical and if you've boiled it for a good deal of time, a lot of the weight has steamed out (but not the calories). If you typically use the same soup pot when you make it you could try this: make a marked ruler for your pot that you could stick in to measure how many cups are in it. Something as simple as a chop stick with gashes in it would work. As long as you have written down the "gauge" for your gashes (e.g. 3 gashes deep = 6 cups), you'd have a pretty good idea of how many cups of soup your recipe made. Then you only have to measure your own serving.

    It's not as accurate as weighing but it would be a practical way to deal with the problem.
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
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    usababs wrote: »
    I have the same problem. If I create a recipe and put in all my ingredients manually the only option I have is the change the serving number 1 - ...... How do I know how big a portion is in oz for one serving? Right know I can not put this in!

    After I determine the number of servings per weight in grams or ounces, or by volume in tsp, tbsp, cup, etc., I put the Serving Size information in the title of the Recipe.

    I provide a descriptive name for my recipes, along with the date, total weight, number of servings, serving size, and Calories per serving to help me find them easier when browsing the list.

    The format I use also helps me see at a glance which version of a recipe I logged in my Food Diary. Here is the format I use.

    Recipe - [Keywords] [Date] [Total_Weight] [Number_of_Servings] [Weight_per_Serving] [Calories_per_Serving]

    Example:

    Recipe - Jambalaya, Chicken Chorizo Mussels 2015.10.03 4140g 18Srv 230g 169Cals


  • maryannprt
    maryannprt Posts: 152 Member
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    Most of my pots have markings on the inside for how many cups (for sauce pans) or quarts (for stock pots). I measure and/or weigh ingredients as they go in. I know how many "cups deep" my soup or sauce is, 12 cups in the pot, 1 cup per serving. It's not exact, but for most of us, rough is good enough. IF you discover you aren't losing weight as you think you should, then you can look at more precise methods. If your pots and pans don't have that sort of marking, Heidi's chopstick idea sounds very workable. For casseroles, again, measure everything as it goes in, a 9"x9" pan contains 9 servings, or (4 or however you divide it up in your house). Today you may get an extra potato in your serving of stew, next week you'll get more carrot. It all works out in the end. I also put my serving size in the name of the recipe. You can edit the recipe from 1 time to the next, but most of us make our stews or spaghetti sauces etc. pretty much the same every time, with minor differences based on what we have in the fridge today.

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