Serving Sizes
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I find that entering the total amount (ie. 1565) as the number of servings always gives me 1 calorie, regardless of the recipe. I don't think it's an accurate way of working out servings. I weigh the entire meal and then decide how many servings I think it would be (usually 4 or 6) and then divide the total amount by that. So 1565 with 6 servings would make each serve ~260 grams. Then I write that number in the name of the recipes so I can remember how much a serve is.0
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I find that entering the total amount (ie. 1565) as the number of servings always gives me 1 calorie, regardless of the recipe. I don't think it's an accurate way of working out servings. I weigh the entire meal and then decide how many servings I think it would be (usually 4 or 6) and then divide the total amount by that. So 1565 with 6 servings would make each serve ~260 grams. Then I write that number in the name of the recipes so I can remember how much a serve is.
It is an accurate way of working out servings. When you use the "total weight of recipe in grams as the number of servings" method, the Calories per gram may display only 1 Calorie, but the underlying equations that provide the actual Calories per gram (and other nutrients) are still there. You can test that by adding a 100g serving of the recipe to your Food Diary, and then check that the Calorie and other nutrient calculations are still correct.0 -
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If 1 gram servings are too confusing, just do 100g. So divide your total weight by 100 (in your case 15.6). Then put in the recipe title 100g serving, so you remember. Then log it with decimals....like 200g would be 2 servings. or 150 g would be 1.5 servings.0
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I find that entering the total amount (ie. 1565) as the number of servings always gives me 1 calorie, regardless of the recipe. I don't think it's an accurate way of working out servings. I weigh the entire meal and then decide how many servings I think it would be (usually 4 or 6) and then divide the total amount by that. So 1565 with 6 servings would make each serve ~260 grams. Then I write that number in the name of the recipes so I can remember how much a serve is.
It is an accurate way of working out servings. When you use the "total weight of recipe in grams as the number of servings" method, the Calories per gram may display only 1 Calorie, but the underlying equations that provide the actual Calories per gram (and other nutrients) are still there. You can test that by adding a 100g serving of the recipe to your Food Diary, and then check that the Calorie and other nutrient calculations are still correct.
Precisely.
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robertwilkens wrote: »I think MFP has a thing called recipes (not sure haven't used yet) and i think you add the ingredients you used to make your 'cauliflower potato salad', and it'll probably tell you the total calories, if you tell it the portion you made (did you make x # of cups?) you can do some math (or maybe it does it for you) to figure out the serving sizes that are appropriate....
I've not done this before on MFP but years ago i did on other similar sites.
He is right the do but I personally recommend working with a fitness group I know. It's called TD Nation. I was once struggling with portion control and balance diet. After being told about TD nation and they Boot camp my life has not been the same. Thanks to them I have now lost 76 lbs and I'm getting fit and health with each passing day. They have designed a program that really works.
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I've made a huge pot of veggie stew today and was going to do this method but then it occurred to me it wouldn't work because the weight contains a lot of water (plus some lost in cooking ) - have I got the idea wrong here?0
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I've made a huge pot of veggie stew today and was going to do this method but then it occurred to me it wouldn't work because the weight contains a lot of water (plus some lost in cooking ) - have I got the idea wrong here?
Yeah same with my ratatouille. Tons of liquid. I just weigh and log it that way anyway, it's just impossible to be completely accurate.0 -
And I put 4 litres of added water in the recipe builder?0
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You can add the weight (or volume) of "water - municipal" to your Recipe, but as you note, some of that is going to evaporate during cooking and cooling. To get the most accurate Calorie count, you will have to let it cool completely, weigh the cooled batch, and then complete the Recipe, noting the total weight of the entire batch cooled. Alternately, note the amount that you and your family use at the time it is still hot, then when the leftovers are cooled, add the weight of the cooled food plus the weight of the food that was eaten, and then update the Recipe. It may be slightly inaccurate, but close enough.I've made a huge pot of veggie stew today and was going to do this method but then it occurred to me it wouldn't work because the weight contains a lot of water (plus some lost in cooking ) - have I got the idea wrong here?
Tip: I keep a list of the weights of my pots/pans and storage containers on my refrigerator, so I can just quickly put 1000g of food into a serving pot or container of known weight and serve the food from that.0 -
That's great advice thankyou
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You can add the weight (or volume) of "water - municipal" to your Recipe, but as you note, some of that is going to evaporate during cooking and cooling. To get the most accurate Calorie count, you will have to let it cool completely, weigh the cooled batch, and then complete the Recipe, noting the total weight of the entire batch cooled. Alternately, note the amount that you and your family use at the time it is still hot, then when the leftovers are cooled, add the weight of the cooled food plus the weight of the food that was eaten, and then update the Recipe. It may be slightly inaccurate, but close enough.I've made a huge pot of veggie stew today and was going to do this method but then it occurred to me it wouldn't work because the weight contains a lot of water (plus some lost in cooking ) - have I got the idea wrong here?
Tip: I keep a list of the weights of my pots/pans and storage containers on my refrigerator, so I can just quickly put 1000g of food into a serving pot or container of known weight and serve the food from that.
Yes, as I weigh containers I add them to the back of the notebook I use to bring weights from the kitchen to the computer so am keeping a list of how much containers weigh there.
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I've made a huge pot of veggie stew today and was going to do this method but then it occurred to me it wouldn't work because the weight contains a lot of water (plus some lost in cooking ) - have I got the idea wrong here?
Yeah same with my ratatouille. Tons of liquid. I just weigh and log it that way anyway, it's just impossible to be completely accurate.
What?
The total weight of the dish is still the total weight of dish
So 800g mixed ingredients = 500 calories
200g water = 0 calories
Total weight = 1000g = 500 calories
10 x 100g serving ...each serving is 50 calories
Water means diddly ...weigh the cooked dish
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kshama2001 wrote: »
I do this, but with 100 grams, not 1. (I'd be worried you'd end up with weird rounding errors with 1 gram--it depends on whether anything too small to show up with 1 gram would be included in the correct amounts with 50.)0 -
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I've made a huge pot of veggie stew today and was going to do this method but then it occurred to me it wouldn't work because the weight contains a lot of water (plus some lost in cooking ) - have I got the idea wrong here?
Yeah same with my ratatouille. Tons of liquid. I just weigh and log it that way anyway, it's just impossible to be completely accurate.
What?
The total weight of the dish is still the total weight of dish
So 800g mixed ingredients = 500 calories
200g water = 0 calories
Total weight = 1000g = 500 calories
10 x 100g serving ...each serving is 50 calories
Water means diddly ...weigh the cooked dish
Ok let me explain - I didn't add water but the veggies made juice so 1/3 of the weight is liquid after it's cooked. 100g of liquid probably has 10% of the calories than 100g of veggies have. So in a 300g serving I could end up with 300g of mostly water or 300g of mostly veggies and the actual calories could be very different but it's impossible to account for the difference (plus I don't drink the liquid).
It's what I meant. It's not accurate. But still the best way.0 -
And I put 4 litres of added water in the recipe builder?
It really doesn't matter whether you include the water as an ingredient for the recipe builder, at least not for calories and macros (may possibly have some slight effect on mineral content, i.e., sodium, calcium, iron, depending on which entry you are using for water).
MFP recipe builder is not relying on the total weight of the ingredients as entered. It just divides the calories and other nutrients in the total recipe by the number of servings you tell it are in the recipe.
Where water comes into play is that it disappears from the dish over time -- as steam on top of the stove as you're cooking it, and then as you're cooling it, then some will evaporate in the refrigerator or freezer (and refreeze as an icy coating on your food) while stored, then if you reheat it more it will steam off....
Best you can do is to let it cool before you weigh it to determine the total weight of the prepared recipe and decide on serving size/number of servings and, if possible, only reheat the amount you're going to eat at one time (unfortunately, that last bit goes against best practices for food safety if you're storing it in the refrigerator for several days -- so if you have a substantial amount, freeze it in meal size portions).0 -
More importantly, where can I find the recipe for this delicious cauliflower salad???!!! 0
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There's an easier way that doesn't require any math. Just weigh all ingredients and build a recipe on MFP, which will automatically calculate all your macros. Then divide into portions (doesn't matter how big as long as each portion is more or less equal). I usually use half a cup or a cup depending on if it is a side or main course (since you have already weighed the total, slight 5-10% inaccuracies in portion size are okay). Your total caloric deficit over consuming all portions is the same regardless if you divide it up 5 times or 10 times.
So lets say you divide it into 8 portions. In the recipe builder, you just enter "8" servings and it automatically divides it all. Then when entering it on your daily tracker, you just do 1-2 servings depending on how many you ate. It does all the math for you. Easy peasy. I do this for all my homecooked meals.0 -
There's an easier way that doesn't require any math. Just weigh all ingredients and build a recipe on MFP, which will automatically calculate all your macros. Then divide into portions (doesn't matter how big as long as each portion is more or less equal). I usually use half a cup or a cup depending on if it is a side or main course (since you have already weighed the total, slight 5-10% inaccuracies in portion size are okay). Your total caloric deficit over consuming all portions is the same regardless if you divide it up 5 times or 10 times.
So lets say you divide it into 8 portions. In the recipe builder, you just enter "8" servings and it automatically divides it all. Then when entering it on your daily tracker, you just do 1-2 servings depending on how many you ate. It does all the math for you. Easy peasy. I do this for all my homecooked meals.
I do this too. Make soup, log all ingredients in the recipe builder. Make serving "1".
If it makes 5 servings, log your serving as 0.20, etc.0
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