I use the
recipe calculator at SparkPeople a lot. It's helpful for things that use known quantities, but admittedly less so for "a pinch of this, a dab of that" recipes. For those, I admit I estimate a bit on less calorie-dense ingredients, but still carefully measure the heavier ones like butter or cheese.
That way, I might wind up eating an extra ounce of broccoli, but let's face it--I didn't gain this weight by eating extra broccoli.
I rarely make my own separate meal. I have a somewhat easier job as I'm cooking for two and not five, but a lot of meals are just as good for me as they would be for my husband or for any number of guests--everyone else at the table just eats different sides. Any roasted meat or poultry works well; those who are working on weight loss can eat meat trimmed of fat or skin plus lean side dishes while those who aren't can eat it with more caloric sides.
Main dishes with more ingredients like meat loaf I weigh out once cooked to get my own portion of it. The first time I made meat loaf after starting on my weight loss plan, I plugged everything into that recipe calculator; now I know that 1/6 of my meat loaf (about 4 ounces) is 235 calories, so my dinner portion is easy. Enter that stuff once and you'll be able to record your meat loaf (or spaghetti or chicken vegetable curry) with a click.