Recording marinade calories??

I'm replying, not because I have a great answer for you, but because I have wondered this myself! Sometimes, I just haven't even logged the marinade, but that's not accurate either.

I was going to post this EXACT question yesterday!
I have been trying to do much of my own cooking as well, but have resorted to using bottled marinades (baby steps!) Although mine have relatively low calorie content the sodium levels are outrageous! (again, I know that if I made my own marinade I could resolve that issue!)
I made grilled lemon pepper chicken last night for dinner, and when I typed the recipe, I only calculated half the bottle of marinade (although I poured out much, MUCH more than that)

So I am bumping this to see the answers, more experienced people give!

To be honest I almost never log marinade. Once in a blue I log something like 1tsp of olive oil. You can do something like this or use quick-add calories. Or do nothing at all. Go with your intuition on this one.

I always count the marinade~it's part of the recipe, isn't it?

I don't bother tracking it a lot of the time either, just be aware of the sodium in it. (I make my own rubs usually and try to keep them low sodium which helps a lot). If I feel like I used a lot, I usually add a tsp or so of olive oil to my meal tracking if I use a marinade or wet rub, but it's mostly to "overestimate" on my calories and to help keep me accountable.

A tasty rub garlic pepper rub I've been using on chicken is:

2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp lemon pepper (this has sodium in it)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper * this is spicy, I cut it to 1/4 tsp or less if I'm making for others who don't like spice as much

I generally add between 1-2 tbsp of olive oil to it. Add the olive oil one tbsp at a time, and judge the consistency of the rub. If it's too gritty then add a bit more. It should "paint" onto the meat nicely. If you have to scrape the brush across it's too thick, and if it's running off the chicken, it's too oily. This makes enough to fully coat at least 2 chicken breasts. I tend to use a spoon to pour onto the meat, and then brush it out from there (makes it go further).

A couple of drops of lemon juice after grilling makes for a really nice complimentary flavor!

You are way overthinking this! The amount of calories the marinade would add that would not be cooked of is like 5. Think about it. Let's say you are marinating flank steak to grill. The acids in the marinade are what is most critical to tenderize the steak. There is a little fat, maybe a tablespoon about 190 calories, spread over the entire amount. The other flavorings have little calories if it's just things like worcestershire or herbs and spices. Then you leave most of the marinade in the bowl or bag you were using. Most of the calories were in the fat. So of the original 190, you have maybe 30% left, again pread over the entire steak. You put it on the grill and the fat get's melted off or renders. So now you have about a tenth of the original calories left or 19. There are about 6 portions to the steak. That gives you 3 left from the marinade! Worth worrying about? Only if your OCD! lol

PS: I am a professional chef.

Thanks for putting it this way! I usually log half the marinade, but what you say makes total sense!

I always count the marinade~it's part of the recipe, isn't it?

It's part of the recipe, but it doesn't all end up in your mouth.

Enter the marinade as a recipe with one serving. Weigh the marinade as prepared (before adding meat). Weigh again after the meat is removed. Calculate the percent of the marinade absorbed by the meat:

(Weight before - weight after) / weight before

You should get a number between 0 and 1. 1 would indicate that all of the marinade was absorbed (never gonna happen) so you will expect a number far lower than one. So, if you get 0.2, you know that the steak absorbed 20% of the marinade. If you ate the whole steak, you would add the weight of the meat and 0.2 servings of marinade.

Happy math!

The after weight also includes water that has been extracted from the meat. So it's not that straightforward...

/overthinking it

I make my own marinades and brush it on rather than soaking it. I count all of it, cuz it all stays on.

And none of it renders off as it's cooked? Are you pan cooking, grilling, baking? It would make a difference in terms of what stays on and what renders off.

One caveat is if you are using sugar based product in your marinades like a bourbon and brown sugar marinade. But if it's sugar free, it's inconsequential. If it makes you feel better, add a teaspoon of Olive Oil. Then divide by number of portions. 100 calories by say 6 portions? 16 calories? Does that realy make a difference?

If you wanted to be precise about it, make your marinade as a recipe in the recipe tab, and measure how much it makes. After marinating, measure how much you have left. Divide that by how many portions, and that is how much is actually in your portion. For example, your marinade recipe makes 1 cup, after marinating, you have 3/4 cup remaining, and you had 4 portions of meat. Each portion absorbed 1/16 of a cup of marinade, so I would take my marinade recipe, say it makes 16 portions, and add one to my meal.

Personally, I'd rather spend my time cooking and enjoying the dinner but if I did what you are saying, how would you account for what is rendered off in the cooking process?? Also, as Taso said, how would you account for the moisture loss from the meat?? I'd rather spend this time chasing my wife around the kitchen! (I hear you can work off a few marinade calories that way! LOL)