Recipe calorie calculator for real cooks

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kskroch
kskroch Posts: 288 Member
in Recipes
I'm looking for a good recipe calorie calculator for people who actually, really cook.... And I cook the 'old fashion way' - I don't use many processed food ingredients, cook from my own garden or the farmers market and I rarely measure anything except for baking.

I'm having trouble coming up with accurate calorie counts for the soups, casserole and even salads I make.

I'm frustrated with the ones I've found because they are geared toward people who eat out in restaurants and buy pre-processed foods. for example a search for in one for 'red wine vinegar' gives me the wine menu at an Olive Garden restaurant. I have to search through pages of unrelated items to find something as simple as 'black olives' or tomatoes.

Any real cooks out there and have you found anything that is geared toward us ?

Thanks!! Kevin

Replies

  • Kimbie500
    Kimbie500 Posts: 388 Member
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    I actually use the recipe function here on MFP. It allows me to enter all the ingredients in a recipe and gives me the nutritional info per serving. It is a bit time-consuming and not as user-friendly as it could be, but certainly does the job for me. If you've not tried it, it is under the food tab. Best of luck.
  • kcdrake
    kcdrake Posts: 512
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    I'm not a 'real cook' but does the 'Recipes' feature of MFP help you?
  • jupaba
    jupaba Posts: 25
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    I make all my meals from scratch and I use the MFP recipe builder
  • rockchick90
    rockchick90 Posts: 125
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    I actually use the recipe function here on MFP. It allows me to enter all the ingredients in a recipe and gives me the nutritional info per serving. It is a bit time-consuming and not as user-friendly as it could be, but certainly does the job for me. If you've not tried it, it is under the food tab. Best of luck.

    Ive had to use that too but it takes forever and then i have to try and add it all into my food diary, or if i cant be bothered I just do the quick add calories. I try and cook from scratch but its just so hard to keep track of calories
  • Busymomshantell
    Busymomshantell Posts: 126 Member
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    I also cook a lot from scratch - so I use the recipe builder. Put in all ingredients and how many servings and you got your nutritional value. It saves on your page under recipes for future reference. Good luck.
  • kskroch
    kskroch Posts: 288 Member
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    I'm terribly frustrated with the one here on MFP and Sparkpeople, I don't think either is very easy or friendly. Calorie King doesn't look like it has one you can enter your own recipe in just individual processed foods.

    I'm checking out one called calorie count right now.

    the metric conversion is a problem also I have no idea how many grams are anything.
  • TressaBarron
    TressaBarron Posts: 87
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    I have found if I type in "raw" or "fresh" before or after an ingredient it helps. I had the same problem when I started, always restaurant meals popped up. Also check your settings on recent foods to make sure it says all meals. After a few days, most of the things you usually use will be here and easier to find.
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
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    the metric conversion is a problem also I have no idea how many grams are anything.
    I have the same thing with "cups". I just don't get why a volume is used instead of a weight :ohwell:
    All nutritional info is in grammes so I find it's a lot easier to work with metric measures. (I grew up with both, but only started cooking seriously when I lived in the Netherlands and they only use metric measurements.)

    The recipe option here is very good and I use it everytime I cook (having first noted the quantities of the raw ingedients. I have found a lot of variation in fresh foods here on MFP and on other Calorie-counter sites online, but tend to stick with what seems to be the most common values)

    Anyhow, it works for me and I'm losing weight so something must be right :wink:
  • karensquiz
    karensquiz Posts: 12
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    I have been using the one on here on MFP. I have found if i type in "homemade" or "generic" I can get what I am looking for. Hope that helps.
  • pixiechick8321
    pixiechick8321 Posts: 284 Member
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    I like the calorie count one - I use it ALL the time and then just do a new "My Food" on here for the dish....

    I agree though that "real" foods are hard to find!
  • kskroch
    kskroch Posts: 288 Member
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    yea, I'm liking the calorie count one. Easy to enter a recipe. Still need to convert a dump and a bit of this and that into something measurable.

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