Learning how to cook "real" food

[Swuzz]

I am hoping we can share recipes as well as answer nutrition questions in this thread.  I'll start (since I began this thread  )

Recently I have been making soups (butternut squash - poblano; pea soup; turkey and vegetable) as well as slow cooking chicken and other healthy options.  My question is how do you find, or estimate, the nutritional value of such homemade foods?

For example, one of my favorite things is a roasted turkey breast in the oven (whole breast w/ skin and bones then sliced into breast slices w/o skin after cooked) or chicken in the slow cooker.

I've been trying to find "accurate" nutrition information on slow cooked homemade chicken vs. rotisserie or other sorts.  

How do you all calculate the nutrition?  And also, I am more than happy to share recipes!

[Taurus21]

Check out the recipe book called Michael Simon's Five Ingredients in Five Minutes. On some occasions, I just get inspiration from a recipe and use things that are already in the fridge. 

[apriltom]

I use myfitnesspals recipe calculator.

[Swuzz]

I typically look at the ingredients that I am putting into a recipe then guess the serving amount.  It's not science but when I use low calorie items (chicken broth, poblano peppers, spinach) it's not too big of a deal if I under-estimate.  It's more like the slow cooked chicken and the olive oil in the dish I am making that I don't know how to account for in my tracker.  I've never been one to weigh my food and after all these years tracking food I have a pretty good idea of the nutritional content of most things that I eat.  Just curious what you all do in those situations.

[emili]

Please check out the What's Cooking discussion board for recipes, ideas and food talks. Lots of good ideas and discussion threads...

[emili]

I took the liberty of moving your post over to get you in touch with "foodies" faster. Have fun!!

[rosscountymom]

I have a great cookbook written by a friend of 45 years. She uses a lot of turkey but she seasons it so it isnt so bad. "Supper in the Burg" $4.99 available at AMAZON. Looking forward to gaining some new friends and losing some more weights ( 85 pounds)

[Tave]

I calculate the calories and nutritional value of 90 to 95% of what I eat.  I have a food scale, so I measure nearly everything I cook.  I also log my most common foods in Fitbit so I have access to them.  I buy all of my produce and meats fresh from farmers, so they don't have labels on them.  To get it, I go to the supermarket and note the calories and other info from the same foods there and log them.  

It is time consuming initially.  But in the end you get used to it, and it helps with being honest with yourself with consumption.

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@Swuzz wrote:

I am hoping we can share recipes as well as answer nutrition questions in this thread.  I'll start (since I began this thread  )

Recently I have been making soups (butternut squash - poblano; pea soup; turkey and vegetable) as well as slow cooking chicken and other healthy options.  My question is how do you find, or estimate, the nutritional value of such homemade foods?

For example, one of my favorite things is a roasted turkey breast in the oven (whole breast w/ skin and bones then sliced into breast slices w/o skin after cooked) or chicken in the slow cooker.

I've been trying to find "accurate" nutrition information on slow cooked homemade chicken vs. rotisserie or other sorts.  

How do you all calculate the nutrition?  And also, I am more than happy to share recipes!

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[Dominique]

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@Tave wrote:

I buy all of my produce and meats fresh from farmers, so they don't have labels on them.  To get it, I go to the supermarket and note the calories and other info from the same foods there and log them.  

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This is my favorite diet, the "no barcode" diet 😉

Also, Google is your friend: just enter "food name + nutrition", and you’ll get everything there is to know about that particular food.