How to make recipes in your app.
Every app that you use to track does not look the same but has the same common goal and that is to keep you on track. There are so apps that won’t let you create recipes and you can only select from a list of foods to add to your meals for the day. You can’t always trust the nutritional value that the apps have listed for the food either. The apps can be more trouble than what they are worth if you don’t put in the work in the beginning.
When I first started tracking my food, I noticed that the nutritional value of certain foods did not match the labels on the back of the packaging. That could be due to companies rounding up on calories instead of using the actual value or a complete error in the system. Regardless I never trust using the barcode scan feature or take the nutritional value as truth in the database. If I am going to take the time to track my food, I want to know that it is 100% correct,
I went to the USDA food database and searched for the common foods that I cook with and added them to my custom food list. This took some time to do, but once you have it you know that it will always be right. This isn’t necessary to do to make recipes in your app, but I feel as though if you are going to take the time to weigh out chocolate and peanut butter, it better be correct! I added foods like cooked and drained 80/20 beef that could not be found in the app because that is something I commonly use and really wanted to know what the macros for the cooked meat were. Most of the meat you find in the app are for raw meats and not cooked. For me when the meat has fat/oil is drained out of the meat, it does not have the same macros as raw meat.
Depending on the recipe and food used, dictates how you enter in your recipe. Some recipes are easier to not make an actual recipe in the app for. It can be easier to weigh out foods separately, than add in food separately. For common meals like my breakfast or post-workout shake, I will make recipes to easily add to my daily meals. Another fun fact is you can add people to follow and copy their meals and custom foods!
To make a recipe I click on “recipe” and click the plus button. Here you can title the recipe and create your amount of servings. I like to title my recipes to reflect the title of the recipe I am using or make it very specific; otherwise, after you have several chicken recipes that start with the word chicken, you will get confused and be hunting for the exact recipe you need.
From here you need to add in your ingredients. This is when you will weigh out the ingredients and put exactly the amount you are using. Don’t just scoop out one cup, weigh out the ingredients based on the serving size the nutritional label uses. If you are using Parmesan don’t weigh it out in ounces if the nutritional label serving is weighed out in grams. You don’t want to waste time converting from ounces to grams when you can just weigh it out in grams, to begin with.
After entering in your ingredients you can manipulate your serving sizes depending on what value you want the macros to have. If you see that 4 servings will give you too many carbohydrates per serving, then increase the serving size. For this recipe I only have one serving because I am the only one that eats this dish and make it every morning for my breakfast. Well, technically my husband cooks it every morning for me while I am at the gym and I take it to work with me and eat it there. Thanks babe.
Other meals, like the California bowl I made last week, are in one recipe and have 4 servings. I weigh out the entire dish or even weigh ingredients separately and divide them equally into each container/plate. Not every recipe needs to be put into the app the same. Make sure you aren’t making things more complicated than they need to be. Just start plugging in new foods and double-checking the nutritional information on the back of your package with what you see on the app.
New Food Review
No new food this week. I will have a new pork recipe to review next week!
M E N U
Rosemary, Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Salad
Hawaiian Hula Pork Fajitas with Pineapple Slaw + Coconut Rice
Cabbage Roll-Ups
I haven’t cooked these in a very long time. They seem very difficult to make just because of their presentation, but I promise they are super simple. There are two key players in this dish that can blow your macros out of the water, the rice and hoisin sauce. The hoisin sauce is key though, don’t skip it, but don’t get too happy with it. You have to mix it with water and then cover the cabbage rolls with the diluted sauce. KEY.
In order to make these you will want to break the cabbage leaf about 1 inch from the bottom, fill the top of the leaf with an equal amount of mixture (if tracking), then start rolling from the top to the bottom. The break in the leaf allows the rolls to sit freely. If you are basing your measurements off of the changes I make, keep in mind that I double all of my recipes to have for lunch the following day.
Each roll was 190 calories, 18.7 grams of protein, 9 grams of carbohydrates, 9.2 grams of fat.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola oil *omit 1 teaspoon sesame oil *0.5 tablespoon 2 tablespoons ginger, minced 3 garlic cloves, minced 4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced *8 ounces 1 lb ground pork *around 40 ounces 1 cup cooked jasmine rice *reduce to 3/4 cup if cutting calories 1 large carrot, shredded *4 ounces matchstick carrots 3 scallions, chopped ¼ cup cilantro, chopped pinch of red pepper flakes 1 tablespoon soy sauce *2 tablespoons 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1 large head Napa cabbage, leaves separated and thick white core removed ¼ cup hoisin sauce *3 tablespoons 2 tablespoons water *enough water to thin down, around 1/3 cup
Chicken Salad Wrap
This chicken salad is not like your local chicken salad sandwich with mayo, pecans, and grapes. Honestly, it is boring and very healthy. You MUST season the “mayonnaise” and meat heavily. I always add some hot sauce to the wrap as well, a drizzle of sriracha once I have it wrapped up makes it so much better.
I typically boil the chicken breasts, just because it is easier when meal prepping. If you aren’t worried about macros or meal prepping, a whole rotisserie chicken would be much easier. Since my chicken is pretty bland from boiling I have to season it a lot more than if I was using a rotisserie chicken. I have thought about using the crockpot for my chicken salad because chicken breast cooked in the crockpot are always so tender and juicy.
I love that this meal doesn’t have any actual mayo. You make your own with one egg, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. I don’t use any oil in this mayo and it makes it extra lean and cut friendly. The last time I made this I had 26.4 ounces of cooked chicken breast. It made 6 servings, each at 132 calories, 26.7 grams of protein, 0.3 grams of carbohydrates, and 2.7 grams of fat, without a tortilla.
If you are cutting out carbohydrates, you can skip the tortilla altogether and just eat it with a fork. I have done this when I was in a meeting that happened to be during my lunchtime. I didn’t think anyone would want to see me chewing on a wrap so I just ate it with my fork and skipped the tortilla
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: Chicken Salad 1 whole roasted chicken or 2 pounds of chicken * chicken breast ½ cup finely chopped celery Juice from 1 lemon (about 2-3 Tablespoons) * 2 lemons ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon Creole Seasoning * chili powder, cayene, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme Mayo 1 large egg, at room temperature (very important to be at room temperature) 2 teaspoons lemon juice, at room temperature * 1-2 lemons juiced 1 cup light olive oil * omit oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard, optional * 2-4 tablespoons or to taste *low carb/high fiber tortilla *hot sauce if you are into that
Rosemary, Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Salad
I love a good salad, especially during the summer and one that doesn’t kill my macros but leaves me feeling STUFFED. I loved this salad. It had an amazing dressing…the fresh rosemary on the chicken and the dressing is KEY. I used a TON of rosemary because other than salt and pepper that was the only seasoning used.
I did not use any oil and stuck to the bacon and avocado as the main sources of fat. I didn’t go crazy with the amount of fat, but it was plenty for me. The bacon and avocado in this salad are sure to help me hit my fat. I am not going to go crazy and have an entire plate of bacon, but one slice under one ounce cooked and 2-3 ounces of avocado split into 4 servings won’t break the bank. It is all about moderation and counting those macros.
When I put this salad into my app I only made a recipe for the dressing. I added the actual ingredients for the salad one at a time. This way I can customize how much fat, protein, and carbs are in each salad. My husband doesn’t always need as much fat as I do, so he may have a different amount of bacon and avocado.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 4 slices thick-cut bacon *1 piece per salad, less than 1 ounce cooked 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts salt and pepper 1 tablespoon olive oil *omit, spray olive oil 2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary 6 cups spring greens and/or butter lettuce 1 bunch watercress *arugula if needed 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1 large avocado, thinly sliced ROSEMARY VINAIGRETTE 2 teaspoons dijon mustard 1/4 cup olive oil *lemon juice 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary salt and pepper
Chicken Kabobs
Technically we aren’t going to make kabobs. Putting the chicken and vegetables on skewers sure makes for a great presentation, but can be very time-consuming. We are going to take a few short cuts and still come out with the same results. I linked a basic kabob recipe in case you don’t feel like searching for one.
We are going to grill chicken breasts and use the vegetable basket to grill the vegetables, then throw it all over rice. Simple and easy. Good food doesn’t have to be complicated.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thigh or breast 2 tablespoons olive oil *spray olive oil 2 tablespoons of your favorite whole 30 compliant poultry seasoning 1/3 of each veggie of choice per pound of meat (orange and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, and red onion) *2 green bell peppers, 1 red bell pepper, 2-3 zucchini, yellow onion
Hawaiian Hula pork Fajitas with Pineapple Slaw + Coconut Rice
This is a new dish for me but I am hoping it will be a new go-to recipe for pork tacos. I love the tacos I currently create and honestly they always turn into bowls, not tacos. This already calls for rice, so I will likely skip the tortilla and make it into a bowl as well.
I am going to throw my pork butt in the crockpot so I am not concerned with watching it during my meal prep. I will make a recipe for the slaw and then add the meat and rice to my daily meals on my app. Just to make it more macro-friendly I am going to keep the rice basic.
*Changes I make to meet my macros
Ingredients: HULA PORK 3 pounds pork shoulder roast or butt *pork butt 2 1/2 cups pineapple juice *2 cups in crock pot 2 teaspoons ginger 2 cloves garlic minced or grated 1/2 cup brown sugar lightly packed *1/4 cup 2/3 cup soy sauce 2/3 cup ketchup preferably organic 1/4 cup rice vinegar 2-3 tablespoons sriracha 8-12 flour tortillas warmed *omit 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded *omit 1 avocado diced *1 ounce or less per bowl PINEAPPLE SLAW 3 tablespoons greek yogurt *non-fat greek yogurt 1 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 tablespoon fresh pineapple juice 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1 teaspoon orange zest Pinch of salt and pepper 2 cups shredded cabbage 1/3 cup green onions chopped 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped 1 cup fresh pineapple diced 1 jalapeno seeded + chopped COCONUT RICE 1 cup uncooked jasmine or basmati rice *omit all extras 1 cup light canned coconut milk 3/4 cup coconut water 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut 1 tablespoon coconut oil
E N J O Y !
