How do I track calories in hommade/restaurant meals?

Options
I am constantly making meals for my boyfriend and myself and it gets tedious trying to keep track of the calories in all the ingredients I use. Is there a quick trick to use, or am I stuck being extra meticulous with calorie tracking and serving intake? Same especially goes for meals eaten out. Without a calorie count on the menu, it seems impossible...
Thanks everyone!

Replies

  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    Options
    I use the recipe builder for homemade meals....love it!
  • serentity78
    serentity78 Posts: 89 Member
    Options
    i just plug them into the recipe calculator...I generally make the same items so once its in its there
  • rose313
    rose313 Posts: 1,146 Member
    Options
    Recipe builder, and the barcode scanner for all of the ingredients makes it faster than looking it up.
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 8,048 Member
    Options
    The recipe is great, but it does get tiresome entering everything as a recipe. After you have been doing this a while all your favorite dishes will be in your recipes folder. If you have already eaten and tracked the meal, just go back to the last time and either copy the meal forward to today or save it as a meal.

    For restaurants, check the website of the restaurant. Sometimes they have nutritional information, especially if they are part of a chain. If you can't get the exact numbers, try looking up like items in the database and just picking the one that seems closest to what you had.

    After a time you will get pretty good at eyeballing things, and you will be addicted to weighing and measuring. Is it bad manners to take your food scale to a wedding reception?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

    Good luck. You will figure it out! :flowerforyou:
  • rachelkern
    Options
    Thanks for the advice, everyone - looks like I'll have to set aside sommme time, but not as much as I thought.