Figuring out how many calories is in your homemade juice can be challenging, especially when dealing with more than a few ingredients.
So, how do you determine the calories from your homemade juice? To figure out how many calories your homemade juice is, you can use a calorie tracking app. This method saves you time, and it’s simple to follow. You input the ingredients, and the app provides a complete calorie breakdown. Using a calorie tracking app can also help create portion sizes for your juice.
In this article, you will learn how to determine how many calories your homemade juice has either by manual or automated method. I will also give you tips on modifying your juice according to your goals.
Tracking Calories In Homemade Juice: The Manual Method
The first method of tracking calories in homemade juice is based on using the US Department of Agriculture website. Here you will find an extensive database with the nutritional information of the foods commonly found in the US.
Here is a step-by-step guide on calculating the calories using the manual method.
Step One: Create A Spreadsheet
Before you begin calculating the calories, you need someplace to write down the ingredients and the nutritional content.
You can do this by using pen and paper or creating an excel sheet.
I created an excel spreadsheet to make things easier if you want a copy of the spreadsheet, click on the following link.
Step Two: Measure Everything
To find out how many calories are in your homemade juice, you need to measure all your ingredients.
To get more accurate results, it’s always better if you can get the information in grams. If you don’t have a weight scale to figure out the grams, you can always use measuring cups.
Step Three: Use Website To Determine Calories and Macros
Now that you have a list of all the ingredients you are using with their portion size, it is time to search for their nutritional information. My favorite website to use is the one from the USDA. It has a complete list of all the foods and brands found in the US.
However, other websites can still provide you with valuable information. The Nutrition Data Self website can also give you the information to calculate the calories and macros from your homemade juice.
To search for an ingredient, type the name of the food you are looking for in the search bar, then click enter.
Once you click search, it gives you all the foods related to that keyword. For example, if you search for the work strawberries, this will be displayed.
Click on the food that is the most similar to the one you are using. If it’s cooked, raw, grounded, or any other adjective that best describes it. For example, if you are using cooked beets, grounder ginger, or raw veggies.
In this example, since I am putting raw strawberries into my homemade juice, that is the one I will choose.
Once you click on the food, it will display the nutritional information for 100 g of the food. One of the advantages of this website is that you can modify the portion size. Choose the portion size that is the most similar to the one you are using.
If you are measuring it by grams, you can use the 100 g information as a base, or if you are using it with measuring cups, choose that one.
Repeat the same process with all the ingredients you are using.
Step Four: Add Everything
Once you have the information for all the ingredients, it is time to up them. Get the total of the calories, carbs, fiber, proteins, and fats to get the nutritional content of the juice you are creating.
If you are making juice for your entire family, divide it by the number of servings. For example, if you will serve four people, divide the totality by four to get the nutritional content for each portion.
Tracking Calories In Homemade Juice: The Automated Method
While the manual method is a good option, it might be challenging to look up the ingredients on the website for some people.
If this is the case, you can use a calorie counting app like MacroFactor to help you get nutritional information faster.
Using this link gets you an extra week on your free trial (2 weeks total). Cancel any time before your trial ends without being charged.
One of the benefits of MacroFactor is that it has an extensive database of foods that you can use.
Here is a step-by-step guide on using the app to calculate the calories and macros on your homemade juice.
Step One: Go To Recipes
To create a recipe, click on the “+” at the bottom of the screen. Select “your recipes” to check the recipes you have previously created. Here you can also create new ones.
Step Two: Create New Recipe
If you want to create a new recipe, click on the “+” sign at the top right corner of the screen.
Step Three: Add Ingredients
Now you are ready to create the recipe. You can search for the ingredients manually by typing the ingredient you want to look out for, or you can scan it if it has a barcode.
For this example, I searched for strawberries.
Step Four: Select the Ingredient
Once you type the ingredient and click search, several results will appear. Choose the one that best fits the one that you are using. When you select the ingredient, it will show the nutritional information for said food.
Step Five: Modify The Content
One of the app’s benefits is that you can modify the portion size of the ingredient. This will give you the nutritional information for said portion size, giving you a more accurate result. For example, if the recipe asks for 1 cup of strawberries, modify the serving size to one cup.
Step Six: Add All Ingredients
Repeat the steps with all the ingredients in the entire recipe. Write the recipe’s name at the bottom of the screen and click on the checkmark at the top right corner to save the recipe.
Swipe the recipe’s name and click on the “+” sign whenever you want to log in. Finally, write down how many grams did the entire recipe weigh. For example, if the juice ended up weighing 650 g, write that down.
Note: if you are using water, there is no need to add it to the ingredients, but make sure to weigh in at the end to get the total grams for the drink.
Step Seven: Modify The Servings
If you are creating a juice for your entire family, you need to determine what is going to be the serving size.
If you want to modify the serving portion go to the recipe and change the servings at the bottom of the screen. For example, if you created the juice for four people, place the number “4” where it says “servings.” This will automatically divide the recipe by 4 to give you the information for only one serving.
Other Tips When Tracking Calories In Homemade Juice
Count Every Ingredient
Remember that every ingredient needs to be accounted for. If you decide to use almond milk instead of water as a base, add it to the recipe. Those extra toppings that you are not contemplating can be responsible for not getting the results you are looking for.
How To Increase The Calories?
If you are looking to gain muscle mass, there are some ingredients that you can add that will provide you with those extra calories without adding too much volume to your stomach.
Energy-dense foods (those high in calories in a small amount of food) are ideal for people having difficulty reaching their caloric intake.
The next time you make a homemade fruit juice and want to increase your caloric intake, try adding the following ingredients.
- Almond milk
- Coconut milk
- Oatmilk
- Whole milk or skim milk
- Protein powder
- Chia seeds
- Flax seeds
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Honey
How To Decrease The Calories?
On the other hand, if your goal is to lose weight, add foods low in calories but very high in nutrients and fiber. Fiber increases your fullness levels, preventing you from getting hungry throughout the day.
The best foods that you can add to increase the volume of your juice without adding too many calories are non-starchy veggies.
Add celery, spinach, kale, carrots, zucchini, or cucumber to the juice.
How To Track Other Homemade Foods
- How To Count Calories In Homemade Chili
- How To Count Calories In Homemade Soup
- How To Count Calories In Homemade Bread
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Fruits Lose Calories When Juiced?
No, fruit doesn’t lose calories when juiced, but it can decrease the fiber content. Fiber is essential for fighting constipation, having good gut health, and increasing your fullness levels. Depending on the juicer, the fiber intake could significantly decrease.
About The Author
Brenda Peralta is a Registered Dietitian and certified sports nutritionist. In addition to being an author for FeastGood.com, she fact checks the hundreds of articles published across the website to ensure accuracy and consistency of information.