Custom Measurements: Full Control Over Food Portions and Serving Sizes

Foodzilla's custom measurements feature gives nutrition professionals complete control over how foods and ingredients are measured. Add your own serving sizes, edit existing measurements, and define exactly how portions are displayed and calculated in meal plans and recipes. Whether your clients measure in handfuls, scoops, or region-specific units, Foodzilla adapts to how they actually eat. Available on Pro plans.

What Are Custom Measurements and Why Do They Matter?

Every food database comes with standard measurements - grams, ounces, cups, tablespoons. But real-world eating rarely fits neatly into these units. A client might measure their morning oats by the scoop, snack on almonds by the handful, or use a regional unit like a "dessertspoon" that does not appear in standard databases.

Custom measurements in Foodzilla let you bridge this gap. You can add any measurement name to any food or ingredient in the database, specify its weight equivalent in grams, and the system handles the rest. Nutrition values are automatically calculated based on the defined weight, so your meal plans and recipes stay accurate no matter which measurement your clients prefer.

This matters because precision drives results. When a meal plan says "1 scoop protein powder" instead of "31.2 grams whey protein isolate", clients understand exactly what to do. Measurements that match how people actually prepare and eat food lead to better adherence and more accurate nutrition tracking.

 

How to Add and Edit Custom Measurements

Adding and editing custom measurements in Foodzilla is straightforward. Here is the step-by-step process:

1. 1. Navigate to the Food: Open any food or ingredient in your Foodzilla database. This works for both standard database foods and custom foods you have created.

2. 2. Open the Measurements Section: Click on the measurements tab to view all existing measurements for that food item.

3. 3. Add a New Measurement: Click "Add Measurement" and enter the name (e.g., "1 scoop", "1 handful", "1 small bowl"). Then specify the gram equivalent for that measurement.

4. 4. Edit Existing Measurements: Click on any existing measurement to change its name or adjust its gram equivalent. This is useful when you need to fine-tune portion sizes for specific brands or products.

5. 5. Save and Use: Once saved, the custom measurement is immediately available when adding that food to any recipe or meal plan. All nutrition values calculate automatically.

You can add as many custom measurements as needed for each food. There is no limit, so you can create measurements for every scenario your clients encounter.

 

Custom Measurement Use Cases

Here are common scenarios where custom measurements make a real difference in your nutrition practice:

 

Benefits for Nutrition Professionals

Custom measurements transform how you build and deliver meal plans:

1. 1. Precision Without Complexity: Define exact portion sizes that match your clients' real-world eating habits. No more asking clients to weigh everything on a scale when a scoop or handful is more practical.

2. 2. Consistent Database Across Your Practice: Once you add a custom measurement, it is available across all your meal plans and recipes. Every client benefits from the measurements you define.

3. 3. Faster Meal Plan Creation: Instead of converting between units or adding notes about portion sizes, you select the appropriate custom measurement directly. This speeds up your workflow significantly.

4. 4. Accurate Nutrition Calculations: Every custom measurement ties back to a gram weight, so macronutrient and micronutrient values are always precise. You maintain clinical accuracy while using practical measurements.

5. 5. Professional Presentation: Meal plans that use familiar, client-friendly measurements look more polished and are easier for clients to follow. This reflects well on your practice.

 

Benefits for Clients

Your clients experience the direct impact of custom measurements every time they open their meal plan:

1. 1. Easier to Follow: Seeing "1 scoop" instead of "31.2 grams" makes meal plans feel approachable rather than clinical. Clients are more likely to stick with plans they understand at a glance.

2. 2. No Scale Required: Not every client owns a food scale, and not every meal needs one. Custom measurements like handfuls, scoops, and small bowls let clients portion food using tools they already have.

3. 3. Culturally Relevant Portions: Clients from different backgrounds use different measurement units. Custom measurements ensure their meal plans feel familiar and natural, not foreign.

4. 4. Better Compliance: When a meal plan matches how clients actually cook and eat, adherence improves. Fewer questions, fewer substitutions, and fewer abandoned plans.

5. 5. Accurate Food Logging: When clients log their meals using custom measurements, the nutrition data is accurate because every measurement is tied to a precise gram weight. This gives both the client and the practitioner confidence in the tracking data.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Get Started with Custom Measurements

Custom measurements are available on Foodzilla Pro plans. Start your free trial to take full control of how foods and ingredients are measured in your practice:

1. 1. Sign up for free - No credit card required.

2. 2. Open any food or ingredient - Navigate to the measurements section.

3. 3. Add your custom measurements - Define the name and gram equivalent for each measurement.

4. 4. Build meal plans with precision - Use your custom measurements in recipes and meal plans for accurate, client-friendly nutrition guidance.

Related Features: Learn more about Creating Custom Foods, Recipe Personalization with Custom Labels, and Configurable Base Measurement to see how Foodzilla gives you full control over your nutrition database.