Why do I provide nutrition information?
As a nutritionist I like to know what’s in my food and want to be able to share the nutrition information for my recipes. I hope this information will provide a little insight into what goes into each recipe and will be a helpful guide for what’s healthy and what’s more of a treat.
What nutrition information is displayed?
I’ve worked hard on creating a simple look for how I display nutrition information. This information is made up of 4 sections:
- The amounts of energy and nutrients found in the recipe, including: calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, fibre and salt.
- A simple traffic light guide to the energy and nutrients. This is similar to what is displayed on the front of most UK food packages.
- The amounts of vitamins and minerals found in the recipe.
- Simple logos indicating other useful information about the recipe, such as: length of time to make the dish; if it’s a healthy option meal; if its vegetarian; if its gluten free and how many portions of fruit and veg in a serving.
How do I work out the nutritional content?
For each recipe I work out the amounts of nutrients contained in each ingredient of a recipe. To do this I use the nutrient values from: McCance and Widdowson’s 'composition of foods integrated dataset. This basically just means that I’m using information from an accurate UK database, which can be found on gov.uk. If a particular food isn't listed on this database then I will use the information displayed on the food packaging. I work out amounts of nutrients for 1 serving of the recipe and also for 100 grams of the recipe. Having the information per 100 grams allows for an easy comparison to other recipes and foods.
What are RIs?
Reference intakes (RIs) are a guideline for how much energy and nutrients are a healthy amount for an adult to consume in a day. Actual amounts vary from person to person depending on weight, height, age, gender etc. (see NHS website for further details). I have provided RI information alongside the nutrient content of each recipe. This demonstrates the percentage of energy and nutrients that each particular recipe will contribute towards the recommended RIs.
How do I work out portions of fruit and veg?
For portions of fruit and veg I use the guidance from the British Dietetic Association; this states one portion of fruit or veg to be around 80 grams. Starchy foods, such as potatoes do not count as vegetables and pulses (beans, peas, lentils, chickpeas) can only be counted as one portion no matter how much is consumed in a day. Usually I add up the weight of fruit of veg in one serving of a recipe and then divide by 80 to give me the number of portions of fruit and veg in a serving (If pulses are present in the recipe I only include the weight up to 80 grams, allowing for this food group to only be counted once).
Any other questions?
Please be aware that the nutritional information of individual food items may vary depending on the type of product and how it is prepared or cooked. If you have any further queries about the nutritional content of any of my recipes please leave a comment or contact me.
NB: I am currently updating all my recipes with the new nutrition information system I have created, based on McCance and Widdowson. If you are viewing a recipe that has no nutrition information or has an American style label; please bear with me and this will be uploaded or updated as soon as possible.