home cooking

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sunny_Dornoch
sunny_Dornoch Posts: 3
in Introduce Yourself
I like cooking but it's time-consuming to register every single ingredient I use and I can't always find precisely what I've done. Am I the only one who gets frustrated by this???
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  • csc101769
    csc101769 Posts: 53
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    I hear you.....it makes it rough, I end up guesstimating my calories.
  • kychica718
    kychica718 Posts: 7
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    Sometimes, if I am short on time, I will just log the most caloric ingredients.

    For example, if making a pasta, I will log the pasta itself, any olive oil used, cheese, meat, and sauce.

    I will not, however, enter every spice and herb. Things that really do not alter the calorie count much.

    Obviously, this isn't ideal, but maybe it will help when you are time-pressed.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
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    I cook a lot from home, I've stopped bothering with the logging of the tsp of oregano or summer savory that I add to the dish. Up to you how accurate you want to be but I'm not bothered by the 3 calories in a gram of savory, as the gram goes through the whole recipe... it's well within my error margin for logging the stuff that does have a lot of calories.

    Or you log it as a recipe once logging everything and just use it again from recipes next time you log that food item, I eat a lot of the same things over time so entering the recipe once suits me just fine for most of it.
  • kychica718
    kychica718 Posts: 7
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    ALSO, are you using the "recipe tool" or are you talking about logging each ingredient separately?
  • cindybowcut
    cindybowcut Posts: 250 Member
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    It is frustrating but remember this, when you are cooking at home you control what ingredients are in your dishes. Usually that makes them a lot healthier than anything in a can or jar. It make take longer but in the end is worth it.
  • Arperjen
    Arperjen Posts: 108 Member
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    If you make a particular item a lot, try the Recipe tool. I know it's saved me a ton of time, so give it a shot, see if it works for you.
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
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    How many different things do you cook?
    Just keep building up your MFP recipe book, and it gets easier.
    This is an excellent tool, if you take the little extra time required to make it work.
  • beachlover317
    beachlover317 Posts: 2,848 Member
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    The best thing I ever did was to take a rainy afternoon and go to the recipes section. I added the ingredients for our favorite, most used dishes. I even included my lunch salad, so I don't have to enter that every day. It lets you add the ingredients for each dish, gives you the calories, etc and then divides up the recipe by the number of servings you enter. You get the calorie count for 1 serving and for the whole dish. A GREAT time saver. You should try it!
  • flyingwrite
    flyingwrite Posts: 264
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    How many different things do you cook?
    Just keep building up your MFP recipe book, and it gets easier.
    This is an excellent tool, if you take the little extra time required to make it work.

    ^^This. I have 20+ pages of recipes logged. I like knowing exactly what I'm eating so this helps me out a lot.
  • bclj
    bclj Posts: 3
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    I like using the recipe tool. I even use it for things like sandwiches and soft tacos that I make pretty much the same way every time.
    You can also make a separate "recipe" for added ingredients. For example, I use a lot of sauteed peppers and onions, so when I use them, I just add to one the one item to my food diary.



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  • TheArmadillo
    TheArmadillo Posts: 299 Member
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    I agree once you build up your stock of recipes (using the recipe tool) it becomes a lot easier - I don't do exactly the same every time but is easier to alter it than put everything in again.

    Also I don't always log every spice/herb for a total of 10 cal per portion :yawn:
  • Madelinew22
    Madelinew22 Posts: 289
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    That's why i LOVE. The iPhone app cuz has the scan barcode option otherwise it would be a pain
  • ShannonMpls
    ShannonMpls Posts: 1,936 Member
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    It maybe takes 5-10 extra minutes to create a recipe in the recipe creator. And then it's there forever! All I do is edit it if I weighed ingredients and those change. Pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I have tons of recipes created here.
  • jiddu17
    jiddu17 Posts: 187 Member
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    I eat a lot of the same items over and over again, and use a lot of the same ingredient combinations. It is easier to check a box, then scroll looking for the ground turkey I use each time. So, even f you don't use the Recipe Tool, you could still use the Meals Tool. I always use the same Ground Turkey, so I added it. I frequently use the same can of Tomato Sauce or the same amount of Feta Cheese. Add them to your Meals individually and then you can just check each ingredient for one meal. Then when you have time, you can make the Recipe itself. My problem is that I make whatever I have that's around. I create a Recipe ONLY after I've made it 2 or 3 times. Too often, I just make whatever I think will taste good together, then I forget what I used, so it will be totally different the next time I make it.
  • sarahcuddle
    sarahcuddle Posts: 349 Member
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    I have about two pages worth of saved recipes now but I keep on cooking new ones! Wish you could adapt the recipe ingredients like you can adapt entries on your food diary. It would make life easier when you decide to tweak a recipe the next time.
  • byebyeluvhandles
    byebyeluvhandles Posts: 149 Member
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    Right now, I don't log condiments, seasonings, etc., it just seem too time consuming. I will try using the recipe tool a lot more though, it should be easier.
  • KeisterBunny
    KeisterBunny Posts: 33 Member
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    If you make a particular item a lot, try the Recipe tool. I know it's saved me a ton of time, so give it a shot, see if it works for you.

    I used this as well, great for those meals I throw together, then portion out for breakfast or lunches.
  • sunny_Dornoch
    sunny_Dornoch Posts: 3
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    Thank you everyone who took the time to reply. I'm a throw it together cook. Not sure I follow recipes very often - I guess that's my frustration... perhaps I should? But I do quite like opening the fridge/cupboards and seeing what I can make out of what's there - and I try to buy fresh and healthy stuff and do different things with them. It means that even the best stuff I can't repeat because... I just threw everything together!!
  • jiddu17
    jiddu17 Posts: 187 Member
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    Thank you everyone who took the time to reply. I'm a throw it together cook. Not sure I follow recipes very often - I guess that's my frustration... perhaps I should? But I do quite like opening the fridge/cupboards and seeing what I can make out of what's there - and I try to buy fresh and healthy stuff and do different things with them. It means that even the best stuff I can't repeat because... I just threw everything together!!

    I feel your pain lol. But even if you don't make the same things all of the time, you probably buy the same brands and sizes. Even just saving those to your "My Meals" can help you run down the list placing checkmarks and modifying the portion used and can help save quite a bit of time. I had the darndest time finding some of the produce I used in the database. They were there, I just had to go through a ton of them to find mine. Especially since I don't weigh my food. Didn't want to have to do it again.
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
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    when I'm experimenting in the kitchen with spice combos, I keep a white-board near the prep area, jot down what spices were used at least if not the exact amounts, if the result is a big YAY I can at least use the same combination to make it again, if it's a big no I know not to use that combo again.

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