A little anxiety over eating foods I don't know the EXACT ca

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kimber607
kimber607 Posts: 7,128 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi

Anyone else have this problem?
I leat lots of kashi products, cereal, waffles, luna bars, whole grain bread, etc etc
Packaged baked purdue chicken...so I have a pretty cut and dry idea of how many cals I'm consuming
I am NOT a big cook..never have been...
Latley, I've been dabbling in the idea of cooking and feel a little anxious about calculation cals (I know there are a lot of websities with great recipes/cal counts)
Do you find these sites pretty accurate...any tips etc?

Kim

Replies

  • kimber607
    kimber607 Posts: 7,128 Member
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    Hi

    Anyone else have this problem?
    I leat lots of kashi products, cereal, waffles, luna bars, whole grain bread, etc etc
    Packaged baked purdue chicken...so I have a pretty cut and dry idea of how many cals I'm consuming
    I am NOT a big cook..never have been...
    Latley, I've been dabbling in the idea of cooking and feel a little anxious about calculation cals (I know there are a lot of websities with great recipes/cal counts)
    Do you find these sites pretty accurate...any tips etc?

    Kim
  • abbychelle07
    abbychelle07 Posts: 656 Member
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    I know what you mean, but eating foods that you make yourself is going to be healthier for you in the long run! A lot of foods at the grocery store, while having the exact calories, are going to have more processing, more salt, more "who-knows-what" ingredients and preservatives. Kashi products are better, of course, but it is still best to make your own!

    My husband cooks a lot, and it is a little stressful knowing how much oil he is using, how much butter, etc. He made lasagna last week. I looked up "lasagna" in the Betty Crocker (or Home and Garden) cookbook we have, and used the calories and other nutritional facts it listed. When my husband makes pizza, I look at MFP and figure it probably has more calories than a frozen pizza (because it is really thick) but a lot less calories than a Pizza Hut pizza (because it is much less greasy!)

    I wish I could be more help, other than to look up each individual ingredient. If I go this route, I include measurement for meat, cheese, oil and butter, but I don't put in each veggie such as celery, onion, etc. that might be in a casserole because they are pretty small and it would be annoying to measure everything.

    Remember to round up if you are nervous, and you will be fine! 100 calories up or down isn't going to kill your diet.
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
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    I cook alot, so I take the empty packages into the computer room with me, and fill in the new food category completely, food by food. For things like meat and veggies, i search them online since the packaging dosent say.

    Then, i take everything i put into the recipe and ad the total amounts together, calories, then fat then carbs etc. After i have my total for each category, Then i divide by how many pieces that i cut it into to get the information per serving. (or how many servings i made total) This way, you can figure out how many oz of your recipe to eat to stay within the calorie limits, no matter how many servings you portion it out to.

    This way you have saved the information for the future. I can always pull up my casserole or meatloaf for the next time i use it, and then ad any additional ingredients per serving.

    does that make any sense? its a bit of work, but well worth it to know exactly what you are eating.
  • winwin
    winwin Posts: 134 Member
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    I just made homemade veggie burgers and went on this site to calculate the nutritional information. It is so much faster, easier, and yes I find it pretty accurate.

    http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

    good luck. I just spent the day cutting and cooking all my veggies and measuring them and putting them into baggies for the freezer or containers for the fridge. Very handy when cooking supper when you are stressed for time, also fast and handy when throwing together a veggie lasagna or veggie burgers.
  • kimber607
    kimber607 Posts: 7,128 Member
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    Thanks for the advice/tips!

    Kim
  • lovesdaisies
    lovesdaisies Posts: 66
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    I laughed when I read the header for your post. I am the same way! This is especially true when you eat out. You have NO idea how much oil someone uses in grilling, marinades, etc. so it's really tough to calculate. It stinks that we have to be so anal, doesn't it????

    Anyway, I say just be as accurate as you possibly can, but don't sweat it. If we start getting anxious over preparing meals, it's going to make sticking to plan a lot more difficult.

    :-)

    You're not alone!!

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