Recipe Builder

Ashers783
Ashers783 Posts: 41 Member
in Recipes
Hi, I am fairly new around here so firstly, apologies if this is being posted in the wrong place.

I have tried to use the Recipe Builder but it seems to pick the wrong ingredients, for example I used this link https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-casserole

but it told me it was several more calories than it actually is. Am I doing something wrong? Any tips?

Thanks

Replies

  • fruoshea
    fruoshea Posts: 46 Member
    @Ashers783 I make a lot of BBC Good Food recipes (love BBC Good Food :smile: ) but I never use the automatic recipe builder - always the manual.

    First, there are sometimes quantities that are less than perfect for calorie counting - e.g. a knob of butter, 2 carrots or 2 celery sticks in that recipe. Second, I live in Sweden, so most of the time the ingredient I use may not 100% match the calories or nutrition of whatever they use. Third, I have never used exactly spot on the same amount as they say.

    So I much prefer to enter it myself. That way I get to pick the brands I use, and add exactly the weight of my 2 carrots, etc :smile: Considering I use a lot of non-British brands I find that quicker than adding the recipe by adding a link and then having to go in and change everything.
  • fruoshea
    fruoshea Posts: 46 Member
    P.S. I've been eyeing that recipe - is it good?
  • Cat3141
    Cat3141 Posts: 162 Member
    I use the builder and then go through and replace the items that are wrong. It's not super convenient but it's better than the old one.
  • OldHobo
    OldHobo Posts: 647 Member
    Not sure I understand this discussion. I tried using the "Import Recipe Button" when I first came to MFP. It didn't work for me. Ever. Many times in a row.

    Now I always use the old recipe calculator button labeled "Enter New Recipe." Wouldn't call it elegant but it works well enough given the nature of MFP food database.
  • Ashers783
    Ashers783 Posts: 41 Member
    fruoshea wrote: »
    P.S. I've been eyeing that recipe - is it good?

    Hi, thank you for your help in your first post, I am glad it wasn't just me being daft, I guess it is just too good to be true!

    I haven't tried the recipe yet, but definitely going to, I love using a slow cooker!
  • kmsoucy457
    kmsoucy457 Posts: 237 Member
    Cat3141 wrote: »
    I use the builder and then go through and replace the items that are wrong. It's not super convenient but it's better than the old one.

    This is what i do, and always review the database's selections before saving my recipe. I DO end up changing a lot of the ingredient quantities or "replacing" the ingredient entirely (lookin' at YOU, 1,035cals-per-gram shallot!), but it's easier than typing everything out.
  • paganjaggermama
    paganjaggermama Posts: 1 Member
    Can you share your made recipes with another users (husband) on their account. I have to make the recipe on both of our accounts every time. So frustrating
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    paganjaggermama wrote: »
    Can you share your made recipes with another users (husband) on their account. I have to make the recipe on both of our accounts every time. So frustrating

    You can not share recipes directly with another user, and another user will not find your recipes through a search. Your recipes will be displayed in the search results only when you perform a search.

    ​There is a workaround to log another user's Recipe nutrition information. Once you log a Recipe to one of your Meals, another user who has access to your Food Diary can copy the Meal containing the Recipe item from your Diary to their Diary, then delete any unwanted entries from that copied Meal.

    ​Please see these articles, and search for other helpful articles, on the MFP Help/FAQ pages...

    myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/304780-can-i-share-recipes-with-other-users-

    myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/11478-can-i-copy-meals-from-my-friends-

    myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/201687-how-do-i-make-my-diary-visible-to-other-users-
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    Ashers783 wrote: »
    Hi, I am fairly new around here so firstly, apologies if this is being posted in the wrong place.

    I have tried to use the Recipe Builder but it seems to pick the wrong ingredients, for example I used this link https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chicken-casserole

    but it told me it was several more calories than it actually is. Am I doing something wrong? Any tips?

    Thanks

    • You will have to choose an alternate ingredient than the default that gets picked most of the time, which the Recipe builder allows you to do.
    • After a while, you'll learn how to word certain ingredients you use a lot to make the one you want come up first. Many times, this requires adding the words "USDA" and "raw". "Pure oil" for me brings up an accurate oil listing first. Adding my initials to the "My Foods" that I've added, and then using my initials when typing in that ingredient in the recipe builder will normally call up my version by default (this is largely useful for dried beans -- there are a lot of wonky highly variable listings in the DB for these). and so on.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    .. also, typing in the brand name of the item (if a common brand) will be more likely to call up the accurate listing.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    example:

    knob of butter
    ½ tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
    1 large onion
    finely chopped
    1 ½ tbsp flour
    650g boneless, skinless chicken
    thigh fillets
    3 garlic cloves, crushed
    400g baby new potatoes
    , halved
    2 sticks celery
    , diced
    2 carrots
    , diced
    250g mushrooms, quartered
    15g dried porcini mushroom, soaked in 50ml boiling water
    500ml stock made with 2 very low salt chicken stock cubes (we used Kallo)
    2 tsp Dijon mustard, plus extra to serve
    2 bay leaves


    to something like:

    1T salted butter
    0.5T pure olive oil
    __g onion usda raw
    1.5T king arthur flour
    650g boneless skinless chicken thigh raw usda
    __g garlic usda
    400g white potatoes raw usda
    __g celery usda raw
    __g carrots usda raw
    250g mushrooms raw usda
    15g _______ dried porcini mushroom (insert brand name if not from bulk, otherwise try adding usda)
    2 cubes Kallo chicken bouillion
    2tsp _______(brandname) dijon mustard
    __g bay leaves usda

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