Calorie Question- Crockpot Chicken

amy_marie
amy_marie Posts: 130 Member
edited October 4 in Recipes
Hi, I love cooking in the crockpot, but I am having trouble figuring out the cal count on some of my favorites.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice:
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 14 oz
1 can cream of mushroom soup less sodium
1 can cream of potato soup
Water
Rice--I cook this on the side so it is easier to measure

I ate 1 piece of chicken, about 1/2 cup of the soup, and 1/2 cup rice, about 360 cals
I guess it makes sense to count each piece separate rather than put it into the recipe calculator

Crockpot Whole Chicken:
1 onion
1 whole chicken
1 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic

I have never made this before, saw it posted and it looks yummy :) I am not sure how to count the cals. The onions and garlic will be flavoring, but I am not going to actually eat them. And I should account for the oil. I am thinking that I should weigh the chicken and go from there, but what about the skin? Help! What do you guys think, have you come across this problem before?

Thanks!

Replies

  • GlassslippersAndFairyDust
    GlassslippersAndFairyDust Posts: 518 Member
    Sorry, I just read the part about the recipe section.
  • bigislandgrrl
    bigislandgrrl Posts: 196 Member
    I ALWAYS make my homeade meals into Recipes on MFP. When my meal is finished cooking I measure out equal size servings for my boyfriend and I and several leftover/lunch containers. Depending on how much I deem a serving to be the Recipe function will tell me exactly what Im eating. I cant imagine trying to figure it out any other way.
  • msjamartin
    msjamartin Posts: 148
    I usually enter the whole recipe and determine the servings based on how many containers I get for the freezer (I make a lot of crockpot recipes and freeze tons for lunches). So if I made the crockpot chicken, I woud enter the whole thing and then divide into X number of containers/servings. Put that number in the servings section of the recipe builder. It will then divide your calories for you. Some soups and chilis I do by measured cups for servings. You determine your serving size but you need to know how many servings total in your meal to get the calories per serving.

    Hope that helps.
  • juliapurpletoes
    juliapurpletoes Posts: 951 Member
    I have this problem too. what I do is get my kitchen scale and measure out each thing separately AFTER it is all cooked.

    So, I guess that means pulling chicken off the bone (minus skin) and weighing it. then going into the food database and looking for "Chicken - cooked, stewed meat only" and then entering the amount it weighs. I'd do the same for any veggies. the soup or sauce is probably more of a guesstimate......since you used condensed soups, try to figure it by what the can label says not prepared. As far as oil, I usually think about whatever the total amount I added to the recipe and then give myself a portion of that in my diary.

    So in the end, when i enter it all in my food diary it is a long list of each cooked ingredient rather than a recipe serving. It is a longer process BUT it is helping LEARN about portions and calories. One day I'll be able to look at a plate of food and just know, but for now, I'll measure!

    Best of Luck~~~ the recipe sounds delish too!
  • amy_marie
    amy_marie Posts: 130 Member
    I see what you guys are saying, that it is easier to count cals with the recipe calculator. My problem is that my servings aren't proportionate. I used 2 cans of soup and 2 chicken breasts. I ate 1 chicken breast, but I did not eat half of the liquid from the crockpot. So if I divided the whole recipe by 2, it would not be accurate.

    Julia, thanks for the advice. That is probably what I will do.:happy:
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