How we calculate nutrition values

As of: 15 October 2026. Each recipe page states which date applies to that recipe.

This page was written with the help of AI and published by Easy Keto.

The nutrition values of our recipes are calculated, not measured in a laboratory. We add up the values of the individual ingredients and divide by the number of servings. This page explains where the figures come from and how we calculate them.

The key points

• We count carbohydrates as they appear on a food label in the UK and the EU.
• Net carbs are carbohydrates minus erythritol. On every recipe page they appear in the nutrition table next to the carbohydrates.
• All values are for guidance only. They can differ depending on brand and quantity.

Where the values come from

For each ingredient we use the quantity in grams and nutrition values from a database, stating the source and the date retrieved. If a recipe gives a spoon, millilitre or piece measure, we convert it to grams (see Converting to grams). Sources: Open Food Facts, an open database of the nutrition information on food packaging, for packaged branded products; the Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel (BLS, the German nutrient database) of the Max Rubner-Institut for basic foods such as vegetables, fruit, eggs, cooking oils and juices. For individual ingredients whose package labels cannot be clearly matched to the ingredient in the recipe, such as Parmesan, we use the BLS value. For individual ground spices that the BLS does not list and for which there are not three matching package labels, we use USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy, April 2018, public domain). These are reference values from the USA; products in the shops may differ. We convert the carbohydrates to the EU definition, that is without fibre. This currently applies to: ground cinnamon.

Nutrition values of the ingredients: Contains data from Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), made available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Further values: Max Rubner-Institut (2025): Bundeslebensmittelschlüssel (BLS), Version 4.0 – Deutsche Nährstoffdatenbank (German nutrient database). Karlsruhe. DOI 10.25826/Data20251217-134202-0, licence CC BY 4.0. Nutrition values for the spices named above: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/, public domain (CC0 1.0), retrieved on 11 October 2026. The values are converted to the recipe quantities, summed per serving and rounded.

If an ingredient lacks a value that we need for the calculation, we do not show the recipe here. We do not estimate missing nutrition values. If a recipe names an ingredient without a variety, such as “fresh herbs”, we calculate with a common variety from the BLS and check other common varieties as a test. The recipe then states the variety we calculate with and how far the values with the other varieties differ. Almond flour without a stated variety is calculated the way the app does it: if the app uses at least 30 g of fat per 100 g, we take ground almonds, not defatted, otherwise partially defatted almond flour; the variety is then named in the ingredients list.

One exception without estimating: pure sweeteners such as erythritol do not have to carry a nutrition table. The database then often lacks the figure for polyols. If the package says “100% erythritol”, we take the value from this ingredients list and note this for the ingredient.

For packaged ingredients we compare the package labels of several products in Open Food Facts. We only compare packages whose name matches the ingredient in the recipe, including an equivalent name under food law (such as “cocoa” for cocoa powder). A different variety does not count, nor does a product “in the style of …”: if the recipe calls for Greek yoghurt, “Greek-style yoghurt” does not count. We leave out package labels whose entry, according to the package photo, describes a different product, and labels whose calorie figure does not match the fat, carbohydrates and protein. We never leave out a label just because its values differ from the others. If at least three agree (each value at most 10% from the middle value of all compared labels, or at most 1 g for values below 10 g per 100 g), we calculate with one of these labels. Otherwise we take the middle value (median) of at least five package labels, provided their lowest and highest values are no more than 40% of the median apart (at most 2 g for values below 10 g per 100 g). If the labels are further apart or we find fewer than five comparable package labels, we calculate with the label of the product closest to the median. We only show this if the carbohydrates per serving would differ by at most 1 g or 10% with each of the compared packages. The recipe then states below the nutrition table what we calculate with and how far apart the compared packages are.

Carbohydrates

We give carbohydrates in the same way as the nutrition table on packaging in the EU: fibre is not included, polyols (for example erythritol) are. The legal basis is the EU Regulation on the provision of food information to consumers (Annex I No. 7).

American figures (“Total Carbohydrate”) still include the fibre. So that all ingredients are counted the same way, we first subtract the fibre from such values. After that they are like EU values.

Net carbs

We also show net carbs. This is not a legal term but our own calculated figure:

We only subtract erythritol. We do not subtract other polyols such as maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol or isomalt. In the nutrition table they appear as “of which other polyols”. We do not subtract fibre again here, because it is already excluded from carbohydrates on UK and EU labels. If the origin of a value is unclear, we do not show net carbs.

Worked example

A freely chosen example with round figures, not a recipe from the app:

Carbohydrates: 12 g. Net carbs: 12 g − 10 g = 2.0 g. A package with these ingredients would state 12 g of carbohydrates. That is why our net values differ from the package, and why we show both figures.

Excessive consumption may produce laxative effects. (We show this note if the finished dish contains more than 10 g of polyols per 100 g or 10 g or more of erythritol per serving; for dishes that are not heated, from 9 g per 100 g; for cooked dishes where the serving is given as a share of the recipe, always as soon as a polyol such as erythritol is added; see Serving size.)

Energy (kcal)

We take the energy of each ingredient from the data source (label or nutrient database) and add it up per serving. As a check, we also calculate it from the nutrients using the factors of the EU Regulation on food information to consumers (Annex XIV); if the result differs by more than 5%, we check the ingredient by hand:

On the website we give energy in kcal. The factors are those of the Regulation, which also gives them in kJ.

If our result differs markedly from the energy value in the database, we look at the ingredient individually.

Serving size

For dishes that are not heated and from which nothing is drained, we take the weight of the finished dish to be the sum of the ingredient quantities and divide it by the number of servings. This is a calculation, not a weighing; we do not subtract leftovers in the bowl or blender. That is why we show the note on polyols from 9 g per 100 g. For cooked dishes the weight changes during cooking. Because we do not weigh, we give no gram figure per serving there, but the share of the recipe. If the recipe in the app gives no number of pieces for bakes from a tray, we derive it from the amount of dough. The page then states the assumed number of pieces and the raw dough per piece in grams; the finished bakes have not been weighed.

Converting to grams

We convert spoons and millilitres using the weight per millilitre from USDA FoodData Central. 1 tablespoon is 15 ml, 1 teaspoon is 5 ml, level spoons. If the database gives two values for an ingredient that are more than 5% apart, we take the average. We convert pieces using the weight of the edible part from the same database. Without a size, we take the medium size. We calculate an egg at 50 g without shell (USDA size “large”) and an avocado at 136 g of flesh. This is an assumption; real ones differ. That is why the ingredients list says “about”. We do not count a pinch; exceptions are stated with the recipe and then counted at 0.5 g per pinch. Salt and pepper that a recipe only mentions in a method step without an amount are treated like a pinch. Powdered erythritol for dusting that a recipe only mentions in a method step without an amount is not counted, and the recipe says so; it only raises the carbohydrates, not the kcal and net carbs. For each pinch we do not count, we check for each recipe that even 0.5 g would not change any displayed value by more than 5%. If that does not hold, we count the pinch at 0.5 g and say so in the note on the data source. We do not show salt. We do not publish recipes here with quantities that have no source, for example “a bunch”, “to taste” or erythritol in spoons. We convert vanilla extract in spoons using the label of the product whose nutrition values we use and which states its contents in millilitres and grams. This website recalculates the nutrition values with the sources named; the values for the same recipe may therefore differ in the app.

A vanilla pod of up to 3 g whose seeds go into the recipe, Italian herbs up to 1 teaspoon and flavouring up to 5 drops are not included in our calculation, because there is no suitable source of nutrition values for them. For each recipe we check with upper values that, together with everything else we do not include, they would not change any displayed value by more than 5%: for the vanilla pod with the highest value from the pack labels we found, for the herbs with 1.8 g per teaspoon and the highest value for dried herbs from USDA FoodData Central, for flavouring with 0.1 ml per drop, as if it consisted entirely of sugar or entirely of oil. Where this does not hold for sugars or fibre, we do not show those values; if it does not hold for any other value, we do not show the recipe here.

Weights per spoon, millilitre and piece: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center. FoodData Central, SR Legacy (April 2018). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/, public domain (CC0 1.0), retrieved on 11 October 2026.

Rounding

We only round at the end, for the value per serving, following the European Commission guidance on tolerances for nutrition labelling (December 2012, PDF):

• Energy to whole kcal.
• Fat, carbohydrates, net carbs, erythritol, other polyols, sugars, protein, fibre: from 10 g to whole grams, below that to 0.1 g; up to 0.5 g we show “0 g”.
• Saturates: from 10 g to whole grams, below that to 0.1 g; up to 0.1 g we show “< 0.1 g” (not currently shown on the recipe pages).
• Salt: from 1 g to 0.1 g, below that to 0.01 g; up to 0.0125 g we show “< 0.01 g” (not currently shown on the recipe pages).

We calculate net carbs from the unrounded values and only round the result. The difference between the displayed, rounded figures can therefore differ from the displayed net value, and so can the sum of rounded individual values from the total: by up to 1 g (for example when a small value appears as “0 g”), and by a few kcal for energy.

What the values cannot do

Calculated values for guidance only, not a laboratory analysis and not dietary or medical advice. Real values depend on brand, ripeness, cooking time and exact quantity. This website recalculates the nutrition values with the sources named; the values for the same recipe may therefore differ in the app.

Report an error

Found a wrong value? Email us at support@easyketo.app with the recipe name and the ingredient. We list confirmed corrections below with the date.

Corrections