Family Meal or cook for one?

lisawilkes20
lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Just wonderd how people manage to cook for a family or do you cook your own food separately?
For instance, I have made a big pot of veg soup, all ingrediants were weighed & I divide that figure which I then write in my diary. But, I'm just wondering once its all cooked & dished out, I dont actually know if, for example, I have had 100 grm of potato or not.
Not that worried I just wonderd how people work it out who cook for a family?

Replies

  • jfan175
    jfan175 Posts: 812 Member
    Much of the time I cook my own food seperately. I'm not a picky eater and I can cook a batch of lean protein or make some tuna salad for dinner and eat it for several days running. My wife and son don't want to do that and I can't blame them. On the days we do eat together, I weigh and measure my portions. That soup would be a challenge if everyone's eating out of the same pot. If you don't cook soups or casseroles or whatnot very often, do your best estimation when you do have them. In the big picture, a rare instance of being a little off in your calculations isn't going to mean anything. When you've weighed and measured long enough, your ability to estimate will be quite accurate.
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
    Thankyou everyone!
    I do most of the cooking & we all have the same, at the same time, I think its nice to sit & eat together while we can, one day it will change when our sons are working & all get in at different times, but for now it works.
    Our meals are sometimes meat & veg so thats easy to calorie count, as I weigh mine out as I'm putting in on my plate. I use a slow cooker some days & it just got me thinking thats all.
    Thanks for the comments
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
    ruqayyahsmum wrote: »
    Theres 2 options for dinner in my house. Its called eat it or go hungry.

    Im not running a resturant. I cook once and adjust portion sizes according to peoples needs

    Same here, they rarely go hungry, might not eat all of what is put in front off them, but then we have fruit & snacks if anyone wants them :)
  • freespirit6315
    freespirit6315 Posts: 119 Member
    I was just wondering what the best food scale to use for measuring out the portion size of your food I'm new at this so I'm trying to get the hang of it to make sure I get the right amount of calories so I don't go over. Want a good scale but when I can afford



  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I do the cooking, so I family cook. I use the recipe builder a lot and weigh the sum of everything after cooking so that 1g=1 serving and weigh the number of grams that fit my calories.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    freespirit6315 wrote: »
    I was just wondering what the best food scale to use for measuring out the portion size of your food I'm new at this so I'm trying to get the hang of it to make sure I get the right amount of calories so I don't go over. Want a good scale but when I can afford

    I got a simple OXO brand scale from Wal-Mart. No need to get top of the line. Right now they seem to be priced between $30 and $90.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,175 Member
    Actually the detachable faceplate OXO *is* the top of the line, and substantially more expensive than some of the (not as handy but still functional more often than not) stuff on Amazon.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    It sounds like your question is less about trying to balance different food preferences and calorie requirements for different family members and more about how to accurately log things that have multiple ingredients and multiple servings in the same pot - is that correct?;

    As others have said - use the recipe builder and a food scale - there are stickied posts in the top of the forum sections about how to log accurately.

    Good luck!
  • pamfin
    pamfin Posts: 169 Member
    We mostly eat the same things but I'll have more salad or veggies than my husband and kids.

    I use the recipe builder a lot, as described above and weigh the finished product to work out my portion before I start serving up.
  • vermilionflower
    vermilionflower Posts: 29 Member
    freespirit6315 wrote: »
    I was just wondering what the best food scale to use for measuring out the portion size of your food I'm new at this so I'm trying to get the hang of it to make sure I get the right amount of calories so I don't go over. Want a good scale but when I can afford



    I use this one. AmazonBasics Stainless Steel Digital Kitchen Scale with LCD Display (Batteries Included) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X9NQ8GX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dRSRAbJFZ1PFV
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
    Thanks everyone, what is this recipe builder some of you mention? It sounds handy.
    Do I find it in the app or website?
  • rikkejohnsenrij
    rikkejohnsenrij Posts: 510 Member
    I cook for the entire family...usually protein, starch and veggies are seperate, so I can have more veggies and the kids can have more starch.
    Tbh I dont weigh my food when we eat..I use the recipe builder, or weigh some part beforehand if possible, so some is a bit guesssing...if I eat alone i weigh everything.

    The reason is my daughter is getting quite "teenage"like (she's 10) and I really dont want her to worry about food or calories too much
  • RadishEater
    RadishEater Posts: 470 Member
    lisawilkes20 wrote: »
    Thanks everyone, what is this recipe builder some of you mention? It sounds handy.
    Do I find it in the app or website?
    You can find it in both. In the app it is in the sidebar , under recipe meals food, then click create recipe

    You can import from websites or copy paste ingredients from websites or type in Ingredients yourself in create new recipe.

    The key is to double check entries and quantities because the first thing myfitnesspal comes up with might not be the right ingredient or the right nutritional info for the ingredient, which is tedious but once the recipe is saved you are good to go.





  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    its on both...on the website its under the food tab

    on the app...its on the more options page (click the button on the bottom right) and its abuot 1/3 of the way down
  • kelsully
    kelsully Posts: 1,008 Member
    I have very different dietary needs as most of my family. My husband and 3/4 of my kids are meat eaters. I am a vegetarian and am Gluten and Dairy free...as is one of my 4 kids. I do the best I can to make stuff like rice and vegetables and meat separate so that every one can make a plate of what works for them. Sometimes I end up making an entirely separate meal for myself. It is what it is and no one goes hungry. Sometimes my meals for myself actually means that there will be enough for the growing preteen boy to have another helping or two as well.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    edited March 2018
    lisawilkes20 wrote: »
    Just wonderd how people manage to cook for a family or do you cook your own food separately?
    For instance, I have made a big pot of veg soup, all ingrediants were weighed & I divide that figure which I then write in my diary. But, I'm just wondering once its all cooked & dished out, I dont actually know if, for example, I have had 100 grm of potato or not.
    Not that worried I just wonderd how people work it out who cook for a family?


    I use the recipe builder instead of logging the indivudual components of a mixed dish.
    I don't worry about whether I got exactly 100 g potato in my serving of soup.
    Sometimes my plate looks slightly different. I generally have more vegetables on my plate. Tonight we will have fajitas and dh and dd will use tortillas but I am going to have mine as a salad. Sometimes I skip side items like rice, fries or bread that they might be eating.

    Sometimes I do make dd a completely different meal because she was 20 lbs underweight and is just into a healthy weight now. I'd rather put the extra effort in to make sure she eats enough than have her weight drop again or have her malnourished because that is a real possibility. If your family members are not at risk of that over the occasional missed meal or do not have a medically restricted diet then sure tell them "eat what I cook or starve".
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Click on Food, From there go to Recipes, from there on the right side go to the Old Recipe Calculator.
  • lisawilkes20
    lisawilkes20 Posts: 138 Member
    Thanks All.
    I've just found it & added a chicken dinner (to try it out)
    Going to add my breakfast now, as thats usually the same every day. A new toy :)
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I use the recipe builder when I cook a meal for my family. I weigh the whole dish when it’s done... I just have to remember to weigh the pot or pan or whatever it ends up in before I start cooking ! I keep meaning to weigh all my pots and pans etc and making a cheat sheet lol
  • thegeordielass
    thegeordielass Posts: 208 Member
    freespirit6315 wrote: »
    I was just wondering what the best food scale to use for measuring out the portion size of your food I'm new at this so I'm trying to get the hang of it to make sure I get the right amount of calories so I don't go over. Want a good scale but when I can afford



    Aside from digital you don't need an expensive scale. Anything that'll show you 1g is 1g is all you need. Pointless paying loads for the same info.

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