how do i figure out serving size of my own recipe?

RenaPink11
RenaPink11 Posts: 329 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've put all the ingredients in the calculator, but how do I know how many servings there are?

Replies

  • Apryl546
    Apryl546 Posts: 909 Member
    I have trouble with this as well.
    Especially if I am far too lazy to go and portion it all up after making it all.
  • nehushtan
    nehushtan Posts: 566 Member
    It's your call. What portion / fraction of the recipe do you eat? If you are making it as a meal for 4 people and you eat one fourth of it, record it as four servings.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    Just decide on your own how many portions you want to get out of your recipe, and stick with that!
  • run_panda_run
    run_panda_run Posts: 14 Member
    I usually just guesstimate how many days/people it will last. You can always update it after it's eaten for the next time.
  • clreid313
    clreid313 Posts: 1 Member
    I usually can get 8 out of a 9 x 13 pan.
  • janet_pratt
    janet_pratt Posts: 747 Member
    I usually base it on one cup. I have a 10 cup measuring cup. I dump it all in there and see how many cups it is, then say it serves that many people. That gives me the calories per cup. Then I can adjust to 1/2 or 2 servings if I want more or less.
  • Lemonaiding
    Lemonaiding Posts: 78 Member
    Easy. Weigh the entire dish, divide the weight by the number of servings you want. If you have the calories calculated for the entire dish then that is easily divisible as well.
  • PatasDeGallina
    PatasDeGallina Posts: 155 Member
    You have several options...

    You can visually divide it into parts, like 1/4 of this pan is one serving. (I do this with stir fry)

    You can measure it with a measuring cup into tupperware, this is nice because when you're done, voila, leftovers are packed up. (I do this with soup.)

    If you have a food scale, you can weigh it. Once you weigh it, decide on a decent serving size.

    Then!! You can create it as a custom food.

    AND if your serving is in grams, for example, the program will automatically let you change the serving size by using the pulldown menu and manually setting the number of grams. (I like this option best, because then my husband can eat it and track it easier.)

    I do all three depending on the dish.
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
    I don't measure/portion, per se. I just guesstimate how many "scoops" there are and use that number. Or my lasagna, I sliced it the way I normally would and counted them and that became my # of servings.
  • Ashalena
    Ashalena Posts: 162
    Add all the calories that you put into it. (cheese, sauce, chicken...you get the point lol)
    Divide the total calories of the whole dish by the portions you cut it into to.
    Boom- you've got yourself serving size calories
  • KeyMasterOfGozer
    KeyMasterOfGozer Posts: 229 Member
    There are a lot of ways to do this.

    1) Eye-ball a 1/4th or 1/8th or what ever is convenient portion, and use that.

    2) Measure the weight in grams of the finished recipe, then make a determination of a good way to divide that number. Then weigh out portions in relation to that weight.

    3) Measure our the entire recipe in some volume measurement like cups, then use that as the number of servings.


    1) is the easiest. 2) is the most accurate, and 3) is somewhere in between.

    For what it's worth, a good kitchen scale will make your life easier.
  • RenaPink11
    RenaPink11 Posts: 329 Member
    Thanks! :) I'm making chili so I guess I will go by cup.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I've put all the ingredients in the calculator, but how do I know how many servings there are?

    I just go buy how much of the dish I eat. For example, if I fix a casserole and eat 1/6 of the whole thing for dinner then I say there are 6 serviings. I don't actually measure out 6 portions, I just eyeball it so I'm sure not always accurate.

    It would be much more convenient if we could enter all the ingredients and it would tell us how many grams or cups it totals up to.
  • katelyntharp1992
    katelyntharp1992 Posts: 1 Member
    There should be an option that lets you pick what servings you want and tell you much each serving is. It doesn’t help when you’ve added all the ingredients and then have to weigh it all out again. Or if it’s not like pizza. I made soup….😩
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    katelyntharp1992 wrote: »
    There should be an option that lets you pick what servings you want and tell you much each serving is. It doesn’t help when you’ve added all the ingredients and then have to weigh it all out again. Or if it’s not like pizza. I made soup….😩

    There's no way for a calculator to know how long you cooked the soup at what temperature, and thus how much water you cooked out of it.
  • Cluelessmama1979
    Cluelessmama1979 Posts: 129 Member
    I make a lot of casseroles and baked pastas, skillet meals and stockpot meals.

    My 9×13 baking dish is 8 servings.

    My loaf pan is 4 servings.

    A 10" skillet meal is usually 4 servings.

    Sauté pan is 8 servings

    Anything which can't be divided this way (soups, stews, rice, etc) I go by cups or by weight. For cups, if I use, say 5 cups of broth and 1 cup of cream and 3 cups of insert-something-else that's9 cups, so it's9 1 cup servings.

    For weight I weigh the empty pot/dish before scanning/cooking, write the weight down, re-weigh after all ingredients added.

    ... you can change the number of servings in a recipe you're creating before you save it. So if I look at the weight and think it will be about 6 servings, but that makes each serving 700 calories, I will change it to eight servings.

    For reference, nearly all my dinners come out around 400-500 calories this way, so adjust as needed, lol.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    katelyntharp1992 wrote: »
    There should be an option that lets you pick what servings you want and tell you much each serving is. It doesn’t help when you’ve added all the ingredients and then have to weigh it all out again. Or if it’s not like pizza. I made soup….😩

    It's not that big a deal. Weigh the empty pot or dish before you start. Weigh the full pot or dish with all of the food in it after it's cooked. Subtract the weight of the empty pot.

    Lynn's right, what you're suggesting wouldn't work because in most cooked foods, both volume and weight change during cooking. Things we just cook (in oven or stove top) tend to get lighter. Things we boil in water tend to get heavier.

    Personally, I like to set the MFP recipe's servings to the total number of grams of the cooked food. Then, when I serve myself some, I put my eating dish on the scale, hit tare to zero it, and dish out some onto the plate or bowl. The number of grams is the number of servings I'd log in MFP. Easy.

    Some people like to weigh all of their most commonly used pots/pans, put it on a list, tape the list on the inside of a cupboard door or similar convenient spot.
  • Cluelessmama1979
    Cluelessmama1979 Posts: 129 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Some people like to weigh all of their most commonly used pots/pans, put it on a list, tape the list on the inside of a cupboard door or similar convenient spot.

    Why haven't I done that omg

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    or write it on the bottom in permanant texta.

    Not sure how that would work for saucepans which go onto direct heat - but works well for the slow cooker

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