My Nutrition Calculations Recipe

How to make it

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• Because of dietary sensitivities, and our health consciousness, I felt it was very important for me to provide nutritional information for as many of my recipes. How do I calculate that information?
• I use the USDA nutritional information database. The USDA classifies thousands of foods and gives their nutritional analysis. I have used their data to compute the nutritional totals on most of my recipes.
• Nutritional totals are figured on a per-serving basis including all foods in the ingredients list. I simply total the nutritional information for all foods in the ingredients of a recipe, and then divide by the number of servings it makes to arrive at the per-serving nutritional information. For many recipes servings information is unknown, in which case I simply provide the nutritional information for the entire recipe. This, of course, often results in enormous numbers.
• I use the lower number when a range is given. If a recipe makes from 2-4 servings, we calculate nutritional analysis as if the recipe makes 2, i.e. half of the dish. Likewise, if a recipe calls for 1-2 cups of cheese, I assume you only use 1.
• Ingredient sizing can vary. Some recipes specify an ingredient size as simple "1 can", "1 package", etc. Obviously, the size of the can or package you use may differ from the size the recipe used. In this case, I assumes a standard size for the ingredient (10 3/4 oz for a can of soup, for example) and use this size to compute nutritional data.
• Some ingredients are included in the nutritional data, even though they do not make it into the final product. At this time, I am unable to distinguish between ingredients in the dish, and those that are only used in preparation and then disposed, for example, marinade ingredients or deep-frying oil. Thus, be aware the nutritional facts may be inflated as a result of including these ingredients.
• Optional ingredients or ingredients without discrete measurements are not included in the nutritional information. When an ingredient in a recipe does not have an explicit measurement, I cannot calculate nutritional data for it. I don't know if "salt, to taste" or "sour cream, to taste" means a teaspoon, a tablespoon, or none to you. Therefore, I omit these ingredients from the nutritional computation. Likewise, if the ingredient is marked "optional," it is not included in the nutritional information.
• I don't claim to be perfect. My nutritional information is approximate (just like everyone ease's). My nutritional database is not complete and serving size information for many recipes is unknown, which leads to incomplete nutritional data. Thus, I encourage any one that finds or knows information to submit corrections or add information as an addition.

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