How Do I Calculate Nutritional Information?

Packaged foods usually have nutrition labeling that tells you their nutritional information. For whole foods (fruits, vegetables and others without nutritional information provided), you can find the calorie and nutrient content of single ingredients and individual foods in the USDA’s National Nutrient Database.

Nutritional information usually refers to nutritional values of foods. People often look for nutritional information to determine which foods are healthy for them, or which foods fit into a specific diet plan they are following. 

The nutritional value of foods is based on a chemical analysis and it may include such information as calories, fat, carbohydrates, sugars, and protein, as well as vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. 

Much of the time, packaged foods have nutrition labeling which includes nutritional information. It’s often easy to gather nutritional information just by reading labels. 

When you buy whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables and foods that don’t come in a package with nutritional information, the calorie and nutrient content of single ingredients and individual foods can usually be found in the USDA’s National Nutrient Database

To calculate the nutritional information for a single item: 

• Go to the USDA National Nutrient Database 
• Search for the food item 
• Select the specific item you are looking for
  • There may be multiple options (e.g., chicken breast with and without skin; roasted, fried, etc.) 
  • Choose the option that is the best match for the food you are using
  • Select the portion size 

To calculate the nutritional information for recipes:

• Perform an individual search for each item, as outlined above
• Create a spreadsheet either in MS Excel or manually, and enter the nutrition information into columns
• An Excel spreadsheet will calculate all the values for you and you can divide the total recipe by the number of servings