adding to a recipe do I put whole can or just the serving size?

[runningonmtt]

Probably a dumb question but when creating a recipe for my food tracker - do I just add the serving size of an item or put in the info for the whole can I used.  example if a serving size is 1/2 cup and it's 120 calories but I added the whole can to the recipe and the can represents 3 1/2 servings do I indicate that in my recipe.

My problem is I made Chili and it says it's over 6000 calories.  Umm...that's a bit extreme since my recipe is quite healthy but I was adding the whole serving sizes of 3 1/2 and indicating those calories.  Of course, as I ate my recipe I did not eat the whole pot.  But how do you reflect your whole recipe in calories/fat.  

Thanks - I swear its been a long day and Im clearing losing it today!

[DorothyP · Accepted solution]

If you put the contents of the whole can, then you multiply the calories per serving for the amount of servings in the can, So 3.5 x 120.  After you add all the ingredients, you figure out how many servings you will have from the batch (say 20)  so divide the calories in the pot by the number of servings to get 6000/20 = 300

[runningonmtt]

Thanks~I was thinking that was the answer but I could not figure out how to do that...like I said it was a LONG day when I posted and Im really trying to be mindful of calories in/out since I workout but am not moving the scale and Im thinking my eating may be the culprit since I dont always chose the best choices.....this is making me accountable so I really am trying to keep up with it and saving recipes I make so it's easy to input!

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question!!!!  Have a Great day!

[DarleneM · Accepted solution]

I live alone and often make recipes that serve 6-8 people. I'm certainly not going to eat the entire thing so I use the "Create a meal" feature and add all the ingredients to the "meal" and then designate that the meal is "6 or 8 servings". I normally eat at least one serving that day and freeze the others.  So when I enter my "Dinner", I select that meal and only ONE serving. The Fitbit tool should calculate 1/6th or 1/8th of the total calories for you. This is very helpful to me because it's much easier than trying to do the math.  Also, watch certain processed ingredients; often the container will say "200 calories per serving" but the container holds multiple servings.... such as Progresso Soups being more than one serving per can.

I hope this helps you as much as it did me. I kinda discovered it on my own.

Darlene

NC

[runningonmtt]

Thanks for your post Darlene....I appreciate you taking the time to answer it .

Def makes sense and you are right, you have to look at serving sizes since a can can have more servings etc.,  Im getting the hang of the food journal and its helped me stay on track!

[Abouttime67]

Darlene... how did you designate a meal as 6-8 servings? When I entered a recipe for a meal, I could see no place to indicate the number of serving. Any help would be appreciated!

[mnot]

I'm having the same issues. The website sure doesn't make it helpful. You have to be a math wizzard! I still don't know what I'm doing. I just made a tuna salad (canned tuna, egg, mayo, onion, etc). I put down the whole can, a whole egg, the quantity of mayo, etc. The calorie count was 585. But then when you log the food, which I only measured 4.1 oz, which was the size of two ice cream scoops, it said I ate 380*something*. All the measurements came up to different oz.....yikes. I do not like the food database at all. Before I changed to Fitbit, I used Body Media. That database was better. When you made a recipe and then logged it, only one line came up and you entered how many grams or oz you ate. Fitbit lists each and every ingredient. It's really dumb.

[Jimmylijn]

I'm having the same issues. After I create a meal, how do I enter a serving size?