I consume a lot of the same foods on a weekly basis, but I am always looking for ways to enhance variety, and work in specific cravings. \u00a0For example, I was recently overwhelmed with a craving for whole grain\u00a0bread, so I went to the store and got a loaf.<\/p>\n
![\"I](\"http:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/10412015_10154182068760464_7405623055654068282_n.jpg\")
<\/a>I can’t explain it.<\/p><\/div>\n
The first thing I did when I got home: \u00a0Entered in the completed nutrient breakdown into my SparkPeople.com account.<\/p>\n
This is a sort of ritual for me after every shopping trip where I add something new to my nutrition plan– \u00a0The very first thing I do is put it into my tracker. \u00a0I often opt to create my own entry rather than rely on the ones already entered because those already entered usually:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Aren’t entered using the metric system.<\/li>\n
- Aren’t always complete.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tip #2 – Measure individual foods in meals as you go along!<\/strong><\/p>\n
When preparing a meal, it is absolutely imperative that you measure and update each ingredient as you go, otherwise, you will have no way of knowing how much of which ingredients are present in your meal. \u00a0So how do you do that? \u00a0Simple. \u00a0Weigh it all as you go! \u00a0If you’re making spaghetti and chicken:<\/p>\n
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- Weigh the chicken before you prepare it and enter it into your tracker. \u00a0(If it’s frozen chicken, weigh it frozen, if it’s already cooked, weigh it directly out of the bag.)<\/li>\n
- Weigh the pasta dry before cooking.<\/li>\n
- Put the cooked pasta and chicken on a plate on your food scale. \u00a0Turn on the scale, and weigh out the amount of tomato sauce you used.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Now for more involved recipes, the principle is the same. \u00a0Take for example the No Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars<\/a>:<\/p>\n
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- Weigh each individual ingredient as you go, and calculate the nutrient totals for each ingredient.<\/li>\n
- Combine the weight of each ingredient (since they’re all dry) to figure out the total “yield;” combine the nutrient totals for each ingredients to find out the complete nutrition facts for the yield.<\/li>\n
- Enter those nutrition facts into your tracker using your total yield as the serving size.<\/li>\n
- When you want to eat some of the food, weigh out each piece, and input that as the updated serving size.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n