Help! Food Entries...

WellAlB
WellAlB Posts: 10 Member
edited 6:15PM in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

So I have a quick question... And if there is a forum already dedicated to this subject, a link would be a great help.

For entering my meals and snacks, drinks and the like, do I need to break it all down by what it is for the entry? Or can I label it under something as a whole?

Example: If I eat a chicken and vegetable salad can I just enter it as “chicken vegetable salad” or should I enter each item individually (i.e. 1 cup lettuce, 2 tbs onion, half an avocado...)

I hope this makes sense. I’m trying to be as accurate as possible right now. I don’t have a food scale or any other kitchen gadgets that could help (besides measuring cups...).

Replies

  • DeviatedNorm
    DeviatedNorm Posts: 422 Member
    It's better to enter in everything individually.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,228 Member
    Unless you're entering everything you make into the recipe builder, then entering that entry into your diary, you're far far best off to enter them individually. Fact is, you have no idea what the "chicken vegetable salad" in the database is comprised of. What veg does it have? Does it have starches? Does it have dressing? Is the chicken thigh or breast? Skin on or off?

    Generic meal entries in the database are next to useless.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited February 2018
    If you find an entry for "Chicken vegetable salad" on the database, there are many unknowns you need to consider...

    do you know how much chicken? What type of meat? Skin? How was it cooked? What vegetables were in the salad? How much of each? Were they raw or cooked? How were they cooked? Was there dressing? What was in the dressing? How much dressing was there?

    The only way to be accurate is to enter components individually (either in the recipe builder if you're making more than one serve, or straight in to your diary) or find an entry for a meal that comes with a nutrition label you can check against. Weighing is more accurate for solids/semi-solids than cups and spoons - a scale isn't overly expensive and is a great tool.

    If you have meal you eat regularly, you can save it after entering all the ingredients in your diary and give it a simple name...
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    If you eat this regularly then you can safe the single components of your salad under My Meals. If you eat it again you just add it to your diary and check the weight of all ingredients again and change the entries. then you don't need to find a good entry anymore.

    This is how I cook recipes I eat regularly. Weighing takes less than a minute, and if I find a dinner doesn't fit my calorie allowance anymore then I use a smaller amount of rice or pasta for example.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    If you eat this regularly then you can safe the single components of your salad under My Meals. If you eat it again you just add it to your diary and check the weight of all ingredients again and change the entries. then you don't need to find a good entry anymore.

    This is how I cook recipes I eat regularly. Weighing takes less than a minute, and if I find a dinner doesn't fit my calorie allowance anymore then I use a smaller amount of rice or pasta for example.

    ^^ I do this too
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    If you eat this regularly then you can safe the single components of your salad under My Meals. If you eat it again you just add it to your diary and check the weight of all ingredients again and change the entries. then you don't need to find a good entry anymore.

    This is how I cook recipes I eat regularly. Weighing takes less than a minute, and if I find a dinner doesn't fit my calorie allowance anymore then I use a smaller amount of rice or pasta for example.

    Can you actually do that? I remember not being able to adjust the entries, so I've never used 'my meals' in 5 years.
  • trinati2001
    trinati2001 Posts: 262 Member
    You can definitely modify the "meals". The meal takes the individual items and adds them to your tracker. The recipe can also be modified but it takes a couple more steps. For the recipe you have to go back to the recipe section and edit it because it goes into your tracker as the title of the recipe. For simple recipes I usually call them a meal... Especially if individual ingredients change.... Like a sandwich.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    If you eat this regularly then you can safe the single components of your salad under My Meals. If you eat it again you just add it to your diary and check the weight of all ingredients again and change the entries. then you don't need to find a good entry anymore.

    This is how I cook recipes I eat regularly. Weighing takes less than a minute, and if I find a dinner doesn't fit my calorie allowance anymore then I use a smaller amount of rice or pasta for example.

    Can you actually do that? I remember not being able to adjust the entries, so I've never used 'my meals' in 5 years.

    Yes, you can change the individual components.
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