How to count calories in a multi ingredient dish?

So I want to make my grandma's hungarian goulash tonight but have NO idea HOW to factor in the calories for it.

Can anyone guide me through it?

The base is just water, onion and paprika. Add some chicken and then the dumplings. The dumplings are just flour, water and egg. I have no idea how many dumplings it makes ( I could count them I guess) but that is alot!

Normally when I do this I measure all ingrdients and combine in through fitday then I have say 1200g's or whatever and then I can weigh what I eat. This time around there would be a lot and I don't normally eat much of the chicken just some sauce and a few dumplings.

Thanks for anyone that ventures a try at helping me ;)

I think there might be some websites out there that do the math for you, but ... you might have to seriously take all the ingredients in the recipe, look everything up, add it all together ... go 1 onion = x calories, + 4oz chicken = y calories, + 1 cup of flour = z calories ... then figure out the total, divide it by the number of portions and measure out a precise portion.

you can use the recipe analyzer on CC.  just click on tools and then recipes

This is a job for the recipe analyzer!!!

-insert super hero music here- DUN DUN DUN DUUUUH

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analy sis.php

Thanks!!!

BUT what if the numbers they give me don't match what my ingredients? Can I edit those?

Unfortunately, you can't edit the numbers.

The key is to input the foods you use in the recipe very exactly.

Lets say you used 8 oz of tuna, but it was StarKist Chunk Light Canned Tuna.

Look up the tuna in the Food section of CC. In the address bar of your browser, you should see...

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/85 233.html

In the recipe you type:

8 oz tuna [85233]

The 85223 comes from the numbers shown in the address bar when you look up the tuna. CC will analyze the recipe using the exact ingredient you use, so it will calculate your calories exactly!

Ok thanks. Turns out most of the stuff I am using is not listed so it is making it very inaccurate.

If I do it the long way will it still be accurate?

This is what I have so far:

OIL - 28.47g = 240c

Paprika -2.373g = 0

water - 574.8g = 0

chicken - 905g = 1021

onion - 172.44g = 46

flour - 459.84g = 1600

water - 574.8g = 0

egg - 240g = 280

Total Grams = 2957.723g

Total Calories= 3187c

If I enter in these number and then eat say 500g would that still be correct? If I plug that all into fitday and put in 500g it says that is about 539Cal.

Yes that is correct. Just add it to your food log and make sure to specify that you are eating 500g.

I did the math, and I think it will show 538 or 539 calories in your food log for that serving.

Awesome thanks sooo much!!

I use the recipe maker here (on this site).

:) 

 I am a vegetarian-recently-turned-vegan living in college dorms, so I cook almost all of my own food using a ricemaker, a blender, and a microwave. On CC, I literally put all of my ingredients in my food log. It's not so bad once you get used to it, although it can add up to a food log with 50 or so items in it. :P

personally, i would eat the chicken, no dumplings and a little sauce.

 

the dumplings are just empty calories imho. garbage carbs. tally it all up and add it as a new food! this way you can use it with one-click in the future, and so can other CC users~ 

Just for your information, there are software programs that you can purchase as well, if you love to cook a lot like I do. I currently use Living Cookbook (www.livingcookbook.com). It lets you add all of your ingredients, pictures of the recipe, directions, and also analyzes the nutritional content based on ingredients and the USDA. If your ingredient is not listed in the database, don't worry, you can add it in based on the nutrition information on the ingredient's package.

 

It does cost about $30.00, but it's been a great tool for me!