Ready meals - processed, but easy to count calories?

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emmacummin
emmacummin Posts: 23
in Food and Nutrition
My question is about ready meals ... I eat a lot of processed food (and a reasonable amount of fruit), but it has a lot of salt and is notorious for weight gain rather than loss. I would rather eat lovely fresh home cooked meals, but the issue I have is that it's so difficult to accurately estimate how many calories are in the food I make myself! I just find it much easier to eat microwave meals because then I can just write down the calories exactly.
What do all you guys do??

Replies

  • stanvoodoo
    stanvoodoo Posts: 1,023 Member
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    Use the receipe calculator to give you the calories, etc for your home cooked meals. Also alot of the receipes on the internet now have nutritional info.

    Homemade is so superior to frozen/processed foods. The sodium alone is killer!

    Remember Protein first, then veggies for fiber and always have your 64oz of water!

    Best of Luck! You can do it!
  • katschi
    katschi Posts: 689 Member
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    I bought myself a digital food scale and weigh all my food before cooking.
    I spent a bit of change on it, though.
    It gives me the readings for calories, carbs, protein, fat etc.
    I love it and it's been the best tool for weight loss so far.

    I don't eat processed foods for the most part anymore.
    It didn't happen overnight but I gradually made the change over a few years.
    Slow learner. :tongue:
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    I might suggest using the recipes feature of MFP. It's on the Food tab, of course. You can add each ingredient individually that you are using for your meal then enter how many servings that meal makes. You can then find that meal with the proper proportion of calories, etc. in the Recipes section when you add food to your diary. This is especially helpful for meals you make often.

    Make your healthy meals with extra servings that you can freeze for an easy meal on another night.
  • symphonika
    symphonika Posts: 107 Member
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    There's a website called sparkrecipes.com it gives a lot of good recipes and they tell you the calories of each portion. It's really handy!
  • Creiche
    Creiche Posts: 264 Member
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    Once you add meals under "Recipes" and get used to searching for fresh protein and produce, it gets a lot easier to log calories for home cooked meals. It's definitely worth it for all the benefits of home cooking and so much less sodium!!
  • mzenzer
    mzenzer Posts: 503 Member
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    Just buy a small scale and weigh everything. Also, to me, it's a big assumption that the calories in boxed foods are even exactly accurate, and probably no more than just looking at an apple and saying oh this is medium so it's 80 calories. But, for fresh food I just measure and weigh everything it's not difficult once you get used to doing it.
  • hopebuck
    hopebuck Posts: 138
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    I have a digital scale, they dont' have to be expensive...maybe $20 or so. i weigh my food before cooking it. when i'm making a recipe i weigh all the foods, i love the "grams" because it seems more accurate than "oz" but, anyway, i will then weigh my completed dish and figure out how many servings there are. it may seem like a lot of work, but it works and I know what I'm eating.... i believe MFP has a recipe calculator, that is awesome too. but, my scale is priceless to me!
  • skinnypigeon
    skinnypigeon Posts: 107 Member
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    When i cook my dinners, I try to make double the recipe, I add it into the recipe calculator like everyone suggested then I put the leftovers in the small zip-loc twist and seal containers (they hold 2 cups of food) This is the perfect size, and I can throw them in the freezer, just be sure to label the container with your recipe name and you just add it when you decide to have it for lunch. Its nice because you don't feel like your eating leftovers, just grab a new one each day! Some great freezer meals are casseroles, pasta and sauce, chicken and rice, soups, chili, curry's etc. I try to portion it so my lunches are around 300 calories each. Hope this helps =)
  • abalicious
    abalicious Posts: 361 Member
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    My dad lost a significant amount of weight from eating ready meals like lean cuisine. Of course he added in other stuff, but he ate probably one per day and lost about 20 or more lbs. But definitely home made food is WAY more healthy, so I think it's worth the extra effort.
  • ChloMonster
    ChloMonster Posts: 19 Member
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    I agree with get a scale and weighing everything. I just cut up or prep the food, throw it on the scale, then into the pot. I make my own microwave meals by freezing leftovers in individual portions. The recipe feature on MFP is great, but it is only going to be as accurate as you are detailed. Processed foods are terrible for you! Eat fresh!
  • emmacummin
    emmacummin Posts: 23
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    Thanks everyone for your great suggestions :-) I'm quite often tired and feel a bit run down ... I think it's got something to do with those damn ready meals again!
  • damonmath
    damonmath Posts: 359 Member
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    Ready meals contain a lot of preservatives like sodium and other things you can't pronounce. These things are meant to extend shelf life... to make more money for the store selling the meals. These are by no means good for you. Fresh is the way to go.

    I research the ingredients as has been mentioned. I then prepare them on paper to make sure the calories, carbs, protein, and fats meet my goal for that meal. I pre-cook my chicken, beans and rice so that I can measure them out quickly. My dinners are always freshly prepared in under 20 minutes. Generally I have fish for dinner.

    Once you create a few dishes that you can easily repeat, you will be able to quickly add them to your MFP. :)

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