Do you count spices?

Jakiepaper

I make my own taco seasoning and also use cinnamon a lot. Should I be counting those?

KickboxDiva

I'd say no unless you are watching sodium.

fat2strongbeth

I've started to count them. All the little calories add up.

JPW1990

I count things that I know include salt or carbs - I have to monitor salt for health reasons, but that generally doesn't apply to individual dried spices. If you're mixing your own taco season and not including something like corn starch as a filler, it's probably negligible. If you are using garlic powder, onion powder, store bought blends like taco season, chili kits, or the spice blends like Emeril's, read the labels more closely.

obscuremusicreference

I don't, but I also have a large deficit. I don't count them because I don't measure them and I don't think it would be accurate to put a steaming pan on my scale as I sprinkle spices in.

brower47

Nope. A tablespoon of cinnamon has 17 calories. Seeing as how I use a dash, 1/50th of that, on my oatmeal, I'm not going to start logging that. The moment I start eating them a tablespoon at a time, I'll start logging it.

The exception being the recipe builder, then it's automatically added.

kkimpel

I don't.. never did..

williams969

Nope. What would be the calorie content of, mmm say, 5-10 dashes/pinches of varying spices daily? 5-10 calories? Plus one clove of garlic? Maybe 10-15 calories daily. Not worth the trouble for me. I also don't count Splenda or sugar free gum or other zero calorie sweeteners (*maybe* another 10-20 cal/day).

So, for the most part, I'm not counting at most 25-50 calories a day. I also don't log cleaning or typing or standing as an exercise (and neither should I), so it balances out in the end.

CyberTone

I do if I am creating a Recipe where I use tablespoons. There are plenty non-asterisked entries for spices; search for "spices" and also "spices - seed" to get most commonly used ones.

zeal26

I don't and have had no issues losing weight so I don't see the point.

hesn92

No

missiontofitness

I do; I discovered a while back that some spices do have calories in them, and in the volume I use them, those extra calories add up over time.

Laurend224

Yep. I count them. If I'm going to go throughout the trouble of weighing out my ingredients, I may as well weigh out and log the spices. They do have calories.

cwolfman13

Never have...I seriously doubt the handful of calories that are in your seasonings are going to make or break you. There are bigger fish to fry. Bit over the top if you ask me.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

If it's a sprinkle I don't. If it's in a recipe I usually do, because when I make the recipe again I'll want to know how much I used.

emiraabbas

Spices for me have one rule, the more the better. http://www.m.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/spices-and-herbs-health-benefits

paperpudding

No I don't.

I think the calorie amounts on normal usage are so minimal as to be irrelevant.

They won't add up to more than a few per day unless you are eating very unusually high amounts.

A certain level of accurate logging is neccesary - I think measuring spices is way beyond the level required

areallycoolstory

I haven't been counting them. It's good to see some others agree. I wish I wasn't counting condiments. I miss putting ketchup on everything.

jessbell32

I count them. They count just as much as anything else you eat so you might as well be aware of your actual calorie intake. I also log bites of other people's food that I take, if I'm eating it I need to know how many calories it is. Just because you don't log it doesn't mean you aren't getting the calories (Be it 5 or 55)

chatterbox3110

I tend not to as I use such minimal amounts , but I do if I'm using a made up spice mix, daft as it seems - I'm 114lbs down so it hasn't affected me as yet

jackielou867

I don't log spices or herbs, they are negligible considering I use less than a teaspoon a day. I do log sugar free mints and gum if I have more than 1 or two in a day.
I admit though if I am using something for the first time I do check that there is not a significant calorie content.

amusedmonkey

I don't, but if it bothers you that they have calories, you can just do a 10 calories quick add a day to account for all of your spices.

fevrale

I count them in the recipe builder (for example, when there is a tablespoon of a spice or a few cloves of garlic) but not if I use a bit (like the cinnamon I tap onto the top of my coffee in the morning).

kristen6350

Some spices have more calories than others - I've never bothered with pepper and salt (I don't watch sodium), but if I'm making Chili, I add Cumin and Chili Powder to my recipe because I use so much of it.

JenniDaisy

Sometimes.
Herbs never, but somethings like curry powder or paprika which are about 20cal a tablespoon I will log because I will easily use at least a tablespoon.

PeachyCarol

If I'm using more than just a dash, I log it. I also log Splenda, because it has calories. Every morning, I measure out an amount and log it, and use it sweeten either my tea or my yogurt. I'm working with a tight deficit since I'm older and short, so every calorie counts.

CyberTone

This thread gave me an excuse to add spices to my quick list of non-asterisked entries that I have been putting together.

Just for reference, here is a list of non-asterisked entries for spices in descending order of Calories per tablespoon. I am sure this list is not exhaustive, since different search terms tend to bring up different database entries depending on time, day, and {the phases of the moon}.

Spices, Calories per tablespoon
Spices – Mustard seed, yellow, 53
Spices – Poppy seed, 47
Spices – Nutmeg, ground, 37
Spices – Fenugreek seed, 36
Spices – Garlic powder, 28
Spices – Celery seed, 25
Spices – Mace, ground, 25
Spices – Chili powder, 24
Spices – Cumin, 24
Spices – Onion, powder, 24
Spices – Turmeric, ground, 24
Spices – Anise seed, 23
Spices – Cumin seed, 23
Spices – Caraway seed, 22
Spices – Cloves, ground, 21
Spices – Curry powder, 20
Spices – Dill seed, 20
Spices – Fennel seed, 20
Spices – Paprika, 20
Spices – Ginger, ground, 19
Spices – Pumpkin pie spice, 19
Spices – Cardamom, 18
Spices – Cinnamon, ground, 18
Spices – Oregano, dried, 17
Spices – Pepper, red or cayenne, 17
Spices – Allspice, ground, 16
Spices – Pepper, black, 16
Spices – Coriander seed, 15
Spices – Poultry seasoning, 11
Spices – Rosemary, dried, 11
Spices – Dill weed, dried, 8
Spices – Saffron, 7
Spices – Thyme, dried, 7
Spices – Sage, ground, 6
Spices – Bay leaf, 6
Spices – Basil, dried, 5
Spices – Marjoram, dried, 5
Spices – Spearmint, dried (mint), 5
Spices – Tarragon, dried, 5
Spices – Parsley, dried, 4
Spices – Spearmint, fresh (mint), 3
Spices – Rosemary, fresh, 2
Spices – Thyme, fresh, 2
Spices – Basil, fresh, 1
Spices – Peppermint, fresh (mint), 1
Spices – Pepper, white, < 1

earlnabby

I do when I enter a recipe in the recipe builder, but it is mostly to have a reminder of what spices I used the last time I made it.

I don't log seasonings I use as incidentals in cooking or on the table except cinnamon sugar on my toast and a parmesan/romano cheese seasoning I use on steamed veggies at times (mostly so I can get the carbs and fat logged, repectively).

Susieq_1994

I want them to be counted, because I use so many, but I use so little of each that it's just a pain to add each one to the recipe builder... So I'll pick the highest calorie one of them (cumin, for example) and log roughly the amount of ALL the spices I used as cumin. I'm lazy, but it does the job!

PowerfulHunt

No.

earlnabby

Back when I worked for Penzeys Spices, we did not have to put nutritional labels on most of our herbs, spices, and seasonings because the FDA determined that they had "no nutritional value". The exceptions were the cinnamon sugar, cheese seasonings, taco seasoning (because of the whole wheat flour used as a thickener), and soup bases.

I still think that way when I decide if i am going to log it or not.