Nutritional Value of Food and Recipes Guidelines

The breakdown of the nutritional value of food is provided in a food nutrition facts label for all our recipes. Reading a food label and understanding food nutritional values or nutrition facts in food, will help you to choose recipes with lower fat or fewer calories, foods for healthy snacks and those that are acceptable for special diets.

Please note our food nutritional information here is approximate (just like every one else’s) and the total does not include possible substitutions, optional ingredients and ingredients without a measurement (to taste).

How we calculate the food nutritional content: Lose-Weight-With-Us.com uses the USDA nutritional database to compute the total nutritional value of food on our recipes.

The total nutritional value of food is calculated on a per-serving basis including all foods in the ingredients list (simply total the nutrition information for all ingredients in the recipes and then divide by the number of servings).

The following nutritional value of food information is included: calories, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, cholesterol, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, sodium and potassium. Numbers less than 0.5 are rounded down to 0; 0.5 to 0.9 are rounded up to 1.

We use NO ingredients that contain hydrogenated oils. Trans fat content will generally be zero.

Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values might be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Nutritional Value of Food Guidelines

In creating the recipes, we are taking into consideration specific target goals for sodium, saturated fat and calories, which you can see in the chart below.

Type of Meal	Calories^{*, kcal}	Saturated Fat^, g**	Sodium^, mg*
Main course (Entrees)	≤ 500	≤ 5 g	≤ 500 mg
Soups, salads, side dishes, muffins, breads	≤ 250	≤ 3 g	≤ 360 mg
Desserts	≤ 350	≤ 3 g	≤ 360 mg
Per-unit items (e.g., cookies, appetizers)	≤ 120	≤ 2 g	≤ 360 mg
Sauces and dressings (per tablespoon)	≤ 100	≤ 1 g	≤ 140 mg
Combination Meals^****	≤ 600	≤ 7 g	≤ 750 mg
Complete Meals^*****	≤ 750	≤ 7 g	≤ 750 mg

*Calories: Based on 2,000 calories a day, the intake level appropriate for an average person who is trying to maintain a healthy weight. Please note that calorie intake is individual. To calculate your recommended daily calories intake to maintain healthy weight use our BMR Calculator.

**Saturated fat: The American heart Association recommends the daily target of 7 % of all calories from saturated fat. This 7% target applies to an entire day’s intake and is not a limit for each individual food item. The lower the better!

***Sodium: Based on the 2,300 mg per day goal set by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Institute of Medicine).

****Combination Meal: An example would be a meal that includes a serving of meat/poultry/fish plus a starch (rice, wheat, maize, potatoes, peas, beans, etc) side dish.

*****Complete Meal: An example would be a meal that includes a serving of each of the following: meat/poultry/fish, a starch (rice, wheat, maize, potatoes, peas, beans, etc) and a vegetable.

Diabetes Appropriate

Recipes should be low in calories and meet the limits for Carbohydrate Servings.

Type of Meal	Calories, kcal	Carbohydrates Servings 1 serving = 15 g
Main course (Entrees)	≤ 350	≤ 2 ½
Soups, salads, side dishes, muffins, breads	≤ 250	≤ 1 ½
Desserts	≤ 250	≤ 1 ½
Per-unit items (e.g., cookies, appetizers)	≤ 120	≤ 1 ½
Sauces and dressings (per tablespoon)	≤ 40	≤ 1
Combination Meals	≤ 420	≤ 4
Complete Meals	≤ 500	≤ 5

Healthy Weight

Recipe has reduced calories and saturated fat.

Type of Meal	Calories^*, kcal	Saturated Fat, g
Main course (Entrees)	≤ 350	≤ 5 g
Soups, salads, side dishes, muffins, breads	≤ 250	≤ 3 g
Desserts	≤ 250	≤ 5 g
Dips & Salsas (1/4-1/3 cup serving)	≤ 100	≤ 2 g
Combination Meals	≤ 420	≤ 7 g
Complete Meals	≤ 500	≤ 7 g

^*Calories: Based on adults eating 2,000 calories per day, reducing an intake level to 1,500 calories per day, will enable to lose a healthy 1 to 2 pounds per week.

Heart Healthy

Recipe meets defined thresholds for saturated fat.

Type of Meal	Saturated Fat^*, g	Note
Main course (Entrees)	≤ 3	Fish main meal (entrees) can have ≤ 5 grams saturated fat due to the heart-healthy benefits of the omega-3 fats.
Soups, salads, side dishes, muffins, breads	≤ 2 g	-
Desserts	≤ 2 g	-
Dips & Salsas (1/4-1/3 cup serving)	≤ 1 g	-
Combination Meals	≤ 5	Fish main course (entrees) can have ≤ 7 grams.
Complete Meals	≤ 7	Fish main meal (entrees) can have ≤ 7 g

^*The current USDA Food Guide recommendation of 7% calories from saturated fat implies a 15-17 gram daily total for saturated fat. This threshold can be met with the limits listed here.

High Calcium

Recipes that provide ≥200 mg of calcium (20 % the DV).

High Fiber

Main meal (Entrees) that provide ≥ 5 grams of fiber per serving. A food or recipe that contains 5 grams of fiber (20 % the DV) — is excellent source of fiber. Side dishes, muffins, breads, desserts and dips and sauces that provide ≥ 3 g fiber per serving.

High Potassium

Recipe that provide ≥ 940 mg potassium (20 % the DV).

Low Calorie

Recipes that meet Healthy Weight criteria.

Low Carbs

Any recipe with ≤ 15 grams of carbs. This level corresponds to 1 Carbohydrate Serving or less.

Low Cholesterol

Recipes with cholesterol levels that meet the FDA’s definition of "healthy":
≤ 95 mg for Combination and Complete Meals;
≤ 60 mg for all other recipes.

Low Fat

Recipes that are low in saturated fat. See our Heart Healthy guidelines.

Low Sodium

Sodium levels based on the FDA’s definition of "healthy":
≤ 480 mg for Main meals (Entrees) and Combination Meals;
≤ 600 mg for Complete Meals;
≤ 360 mg for Side Dishes and Desserts.

Good Source

When a recipe provides 20% or more of the Daily Value (DV) of nutrient, it is listed as a Good Source. We list Good Source only for nutrients that often are lacking in the American diet: calcium, fiber, folate, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C.

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