Is it necessary or even smart to include nutrition info with homemade blog recipes? Let’s chat about it!
Hey friends! I wanted to chat about something that I’ve had a hard time with for YEARS as a food blogger. Originally I was going to just do a little disclaimer explaining my feelings at the end of each recipe post, but I realized I had a TON to say. Like wayyyy too much to fit into a little disclaimer.
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Why I am Torn About Including Nutrition Info with Blog Recipes
1. Nutrition Info isn’t Always Accurate.
Fun fact: nutrition labels are allowed to be as far as 20% off. Think about that for a moment. This is negligible for small items, but for things like a meal at a restaurant…that can throw things way off. Think about an “under 600 calories” option: if the meal says it’s 600 calories, it could actually be 720 calories. That’s kind of a lot.
On the same note, the nutrition info generators that we use aren’t necessarily accurate. Like if I type out “a handful of spinach” it will generate some crazy 200 calorie count, but if I do “one ounce” it will give a more accurate reading, like 10 calories. In the same respect, I’ve seen calorie counts that seem way too low. Like wayyyy too low. I don’t want to call out specific names, but one nutrition label generator seems a little misleading. It goes both ways. The nutrition info generator also might not know my exact protein powder I use and will come up with a general number that might not be accurate.
It’s also super hard to make a recipe with exactly the right amount of ingredients. Even with something as precise as baking, there’s no guarantee each cookie you make from my recipe (shout out to Sarah who just made my chocolate chip cookies and shared on Instagram!) will be the same size as I made. Right?
2. Nutrition Info Is Hard for the Average Person to Interpret
Where does the average person get their nutrition info? The internet.
Is the internet always accurate and well researched. Nope. With all of the food trends out there, it’s kind of hard to have a balanced perspective on things. So you could develop a fear of carbs and not make one of my delicious smoothie recipes because of the carbs. Hint: fruit = carbs = fuels your body.
3. Counting Calories can be Addictive and Dangerous
I have such an awareness of how addicting calorie counting or macronutrient tracking can be both from being a part of a healthy living blogger community AND experiencing it myself for a short period of time. Every time I would have to track my food and exercise for school, I would feel the urge to eat less to keep my calorie count below what was recommended OR feel like total crap if I was off of what was recommended.
Obsessing over every morsel you put into your mouth is NOT healthy behavior and I feel bad if I’m perpetuating that.
4. I Advocate Noticing How you FEEL When You Eat
(vs how Many Calories/Fat/Protein is in Your Food)
If the only thing you focus on with foods is the calorie count and/or the macronutrients and/or whatever you fixate on from the nutrition info…you will forget to listen to your body.
You will forget to enjoy your food.
You will forget that food is to fuel your body AND for the fun of eating with friends and family and trying new things.
What’s the point in having a chocolate chip cookie if you don’t take time to enjoy it and are only focusing on the calories or how “awful” it is for you??
Why I Ultimately Decided to Include Nutrition Info WITH MY RECIPES
1. It’s good to have an idea of what you’re putting into your body.
I know that some people are in a place where they are trying to get better about the way they eat. For a certain period of time (and randomly thereafter), it’s perfectly normal to pay attention to the nutrition info. I STILL do this when I’m curious or trying a new packaged food (or trying to compare foods although you should probably just look at ingredients). It’s good to get a general idea while also paying attention to how the food makes you feel.
2. Nutrition information isn’t just calorie counts.
You can find out so many things including vitamin content and macronutrients.
3. I don’t want readers to have to go to a different site to figure out nutrition information.
I like providing helpful resources for readers and if I can use a simple plugin that will give out general nutrition info…why wouldn’t I provide readers with that?
4. I’m curious about how “healthy” my recipes are.
(“healthy” because the word means so many different things to different people)
If I’m making semi-healthy cookies, I want to make sure the sugar content isn’t nuts. I also get super excited when the vitamin content is super high and enjoy highlighting that. I also wonder what a good portion size is and it helps to mess around with my recipe plugin to see exactly how many cookies are a reasonable amount to shove in my face at one time (even if I totally ignore it when I sit down to eat).
Chat with me in the comments…
What are your thoughts on this? Is it really that big of a deal or do I have legit points?
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You are right on.. there really is so much to say about this topic. Blogging can be anything from exchanging recipes with a girlfriend to really informational nutrition for someone who needs to follow a specific diet. With how information is spread these days, I believe that you need to be your own advocate and if having this information is vital to you, than educate yourself. I personally do not care if the information is attached. I know what whole healthy food is and I know what textures and flavors compliment each other. If something sounds good, I’m going to make it, nutritional information or not.
Exactly, Lisa. So many people come to our blogs looking for recipes that it’s hard to only think about the topic in one way (if that even makes sense). I’m totally with you in opting more for whole foods and doing what’s best for me, but not everyone is in that place yet, so I think nutrition info is helpful for some.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment! <3
I am all about carbs. If I Google a recipe that falls under low carbs or keto or Atkins I expect it to adhere!
Especially when the recipe the author is posting is “claiming ” low carbs or low calorie.
It’s saying to me… “Nope absolutely not! How can you make the claim and NOT have the information available?” I have all my blogs bookmarked and I will not use anyone else under any circumstances. If I come across one I am unfamiliar with, I give them a chance, if it’s not there you’re gone and will never be revisited. It’s underhanded and anyone who takes self and health and food seriously would be crazy to take the word of a total stranger. Who for the record is making a serious claim with zero validation.
40 carbs a day is too expensive and too extreme to trust anyone with something so serious like good health and proper eating.
Thanks for speaking to this, you have officially been bookmarked.
‘Counting Calories can be Addictive and Dangerous’ That is probably the biggest reason that I would not be heavily FOR including the calories on the nutrition facts, but I’m open to either. For me it’s better to kind of avoid of the calorie count. 🙂 I’m thankful you shared these thoughts, because could be a divisive issue, but you were gracious and kind and balanced about it!
I’m so glad you agree! Ultimately I did decide to use them although they aren’t as in your face as they were when I last included nutrition info. 🙂
I don’t include nutritional info in my recipes and I probably never will. I think some of my recipes have the nutritional content on there due to the plugin I was using at the time time, but it’s not something I go out of my way to provide. Honestly, I don’t really check that stuff myself, unless I’m buying a new product and even then I look at the ingredient list, not the nutritional info. But another reason I don’t is that I’m reasonably certain it’s a liability. Like if it’s more than the 20% off you mentioned, someone can actually kick up a fuss about it legally. That alone is reason enough for me to leave it out lol.
Okay that is a little terrifying that it could be a liability haha but really I think anything could unless you disclaim it unfortunately. :/ Good reminder to make a disclaimer though!
I like when you find a recipe and someone has told you why a certain ingredient is good or bad or what you could substitute it with. Obviously that is a lot of work but its kind of nice to know if you have no clue about healthy ingredients. I don’t really need that sort of thing now butit kind of reaffirms and reassures that my recipe is somewhat healthier than if I had chose other things.
I totally agree on the calorie thing – I really dislike calorie counting. I think we all need to try our best to become more intuitive with our eating. I have never calorie counted but my sisters have and I could never imagine doing it. It seems like insanity.
Substitutions would definitely come in handy! I have a challenging time with labeling things “healthy” or “unhealthy” but I try to point out the benefits of certain ingredients for sure!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Marie! I’m with you–I could never calorie count for a prolonged period of time. 🙂
From my experience of inputting 3 Day Food Records from my MSc clinical trial even the government databases are inaccurate and missing MANY things. They’re misleading for so many reasons that you included and MORE – i.e. even within the same fruit there are differences based on size, growing season, soil, etc. I don’t think I would put them on my recipes just because they are so inaccurate. Great post!
Oh man those are great points! Thanks for your expert opinion, Melissa! <3
Awesome article Amanda!
I believe giving people evidence, facts and actual proof (even thought it is not always 100% accurate) is always beneficial in some way or another. Everyone should then take those info and combine them with their personal experience to make the ultimate judgement.
I definitely agree. Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!
I don’t include nutritional information in my recipes.
First, calories can be misleading. Just because a food item is high in calories, doesn’t mean it is unhealthy. If we include this and other nutritional information, it may be misleading for readers. For example, avocados have a lot of fat and calories, but they should still be eaten!
Second, it is hard to count. The truth is, I doubt any nutritional information that I calculate myself is accurate. I always feel like there are things that I overestimate and underestimate, or leave out completely because I forget.
I think we should focus on informing readers about the ingredients and general nutritional value of certain meals but detailed nutritional info is a bit too much – it doesn’t have to be important!
This is so true. I wish everyone knew just how misleading they can be…20% off is the amount the FDA allows caloric information to be off!! Insane!
I think this is a tricky situation. I used to have a recipe blog and even if I STILL love food – I don’t think I am qualified to post factual nutritional information on the recipes. Not unless I change my career to studying food nutrition, I don’t ever want to deal with this topic. It has a lot of responsibilities and prone to mistakes, especially for hobbyists/normal food bloggers. So for me, leave the nutrition guide for the pro!
It really is tricky! I do have a disclaimer though and I think the plugin I use is fairly accurate…I go back and forth with wanting to be helpful and wanting people to not obsess over the numbers. :/
What plugin do you use? 🙂 Thanks!
Hello! Sorry replying so late, but I use Recipe Card and love it!
this is the very good article . I loved it and its very informative thank you. 🙂
Eh, I don’t think it’s necessary but I like when it’s included because it does give you an idea of what you’re eating and what to put with it if you’re on a specific diet.
My thoughts exactly! Some people find it useful, and that’s partly what we are trying to do as bloggers, right? 🙂