Low-carb granola? Don't believe everything you read!
The other day, a Nutrition Data user emailed me a granola recipe she'd found on a website dedicated to low-carb dieting. The granola was supposed to contain only 6 grams of carbohydrates per 1/2 cup serving. Although she said the granola was delicious, she was skeptical about the carb count and wanted me to check it out.
She was right to be skeptical. Here's my analysis of the recipe she forwarded. According to my figures, this recipe contains 26 grams of carbohydrates per serving! Even if you subtract the 8 grams of fiber (which is the indigestible portion), you still have 18 grams per serving, or three times what the author claimed. That's a pretty big error!
I guess one lesson here is that you need to take what you find on the web with a grain of salt. However, unreliable recipe analysis is not limited to amateurs. I have seen recipes published in major magazines with extremely questionable nutrition information.
Most professional recipe analysis is done using software that works just like Nutrition Data's recipe analysis tool. A dietitian or other food professional selects the proper ingredients and quantities from a large database of foods and the software crunches the figures. But the analysis will only be as accurate as the ingredients and quantities selected by the analyst.
Fortunately, you can use Nutrition Data's recipe analysis tools to do your own analysis. Here are some of the most common mistakes made (even by professionals) in recipe analysis. You can use these tips to improve the accuracy of your own recipe analysis here on Nutrition Data.com.
Inaccurately converting volume to weight
Most recipes give ingredients in volume measurements (cups, teaspoons, etc.) but most ingredients are analyzed by weight (ounces or grams). In order to get an accurate analysis, you have to be able to accurately convert volume to weight, and the equation changes from food to food. One cup of water weighs almost twice as much (237g) as one cup of flour (125g).
For example, I was recently reviewing a professional analysis of a recipe calling for 1/4 cup of chopped peanuts. One cup equals 8 fluid ounces, so the analyst calculated that 1/4 cup of peanuts would equal 2 ounces. But peanuts are not fluid and, in fact, a quarter cup of peanuts weighs only 1 ounce. As a result of this error, the analysis significantly overstated the fat and calorie content of the recipe.
All of the nutrient info here on Nutrition Data is based on weight measures, but volume equivalents are provided for many ingredients. A good kitchen scale is also a big help.
Choosing the wrong quantity
There's lots of variations on this one. Let's say your recipe calls for a 15-ounce can of kidney beans, drained. So you find the listing for kidney beans and click "15 ounces." But if you take a 15-ounce can of kidney beans and drain it, you only have 10 ounces of beans. Your analysis will be overstating the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fiber, and calories in the dish.
Choosing the wrong ingredient
A recipe calls for 1 pound of ground beef. The meat is browned, the fat is drained off, and the meat is added to the recipe. For your analysis, should you input one pound of raw ground beef or one pound of cooked ground beef? Neither.
Selecting one pound of raw ground beef will overestimate the fat content of the recipe because it includes the fat which is drained off and not consumed. But entering one pound of browned beef will overestimate the amount of protein in the finished recipe. Why? Because one pound of raw ground beef only yields 2/3 of a pound of cooked beef. The most accurate entry for this example would be 2/3 of a pound (280g) of browned beef.
For more tips on improving the accuracy of your recipe analysis, see this related post.
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Posted by: Brad Boustead | Jul 25, 2008 7:28:35 PM
Wow!
Love your site.
At BodyGard Health & Sports Nutrition we promote a low glycemic index diet along with our supplement programs. It's great to find info like yours to refer to. Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Sheena Lawrence | Jun 3, 2008 8:04:54 AM
I understand beans and rice combined make a complete protein. Does this give them a higher protein count than the sum of their individual amounts or is it just a better quality protein? Also what quantity of beans to rice provides the most protein?
Posted by: Gwen Campbell | Jun 2, 2008 11:26:47 AM
I am a former Home Economics teacher who now must balance the carbs I eat with insulin. Lately I have been wondering why some of my sugar levels don't read like they should. ND was recommended to me by Dr. Chet Zelasko of the Better Life Institute and after seeing some of your posts I now understand why. I'm going to put some of my own recipes in the pantry of ND and get better at calculations because my life and health depend on it. The errors on packages of today's foods as far as carbs are concerned are enough to make me want to prepare everything myself. That's a real shame given the busy lives most people lead. How I wish more schools still taught Home Ec - more people could cook at home and not look to fast food for "nutrition".
Posted by: Samuel Hartman | May 26, 2008 1:21:46 PM
Drop the honey and replace it with Stevia and you have a fairly low-carb granola! The honey is adding a ridiculous amount of carbs in the form of sugar - totally unnecessary.
Posted by: MizFit | May 21, 2008 6:00:38 AM
I view so much out there now with a SHAKER of salt.
sad, but true.
and I dont even think --as you intimated---it's that people are trying to dupe us :) but ALL the variables which can change a good thing.
I echo PJ's last sentence above.
Posted by: PJ | May 21, 2008 5:39:38 AM
Hi Monica,
We have only had yr book, Inflammation Free Diet Plan, for about 10 days but already we are all soooo impressed with the wonderfully refreshing recipes. Not only do they taste great but the recipes are also foolproof.
We are following yr menu plan almost exclusively so as to assist in "retraining" ourselves. I have been so pleased with the facility here on ND with tracking everything. However, I am wondering if it could be possible to include the recipes from yr book in the pantry items. So if I was cooking & eating Spinach Spread I could just find it listed as such & add it in. It would save soooo much time than entering each individual ingredient.
Just a thought & thankyou for all the research you have put into this most logical way to eat,
PJ
