How should I log the calories in this kind of thing?

ajc1309
ajc1309 Posts: 255 Member
edited December 2 in Food and Nutrition
So say I have a packet of ramen noodles (not the healthiest I know) and the packet says the whole 100g dry packet is 87 cals but when you cook it it goes up to 500g. MFP has it as 100g and then as 500g but it multiplies the calories. So instead of 87 it says that it's 435. How much is actually in the packet?

Replies

  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    The packet Nutrition Facts tells you how many servings are in the package. The dry packs I've got are 2 servings. If you're cooking it with plain old water, it's not adding calories.
  • Mitramonday
    Mitramonday Posts: 48 Member
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....

    This is incorrect.
  • shinycrazy
    shinycrazy Posts: 1,081 Member
    It's likely the packet is showing the nutrition per 100g and then also the per the whole package or a serving size. if you didn't weight out exactly 100g and ate the whole thing, I would put down the 500.
  • Mitramonday
    Mitramonday Posts: 48 Member
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....

    This is incorrect.

    So please correct me????!! I'm willing to learn ;) !

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....

    This is incorrect.

    So please correct me????!! I'm willing to learn ;) !

    Cooking noodles adds weight, but it's just water. And the water added can vary by how cooked the noodles are. So the most accurate way to weigh pasta is always dry.
  • Mitramonday
    Mitramonday Posts: 48 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....

    This is incorrect.

    So please correct me????!! I'm willing to learn ;) !

    Cooking noodles adds weight, but it's just water. And the water added can vary by how cooked the noodles are. So the most accurate way to weigh pasta is always dry.

    Ah! Thank you for educating me! I always thought I should go by the packet (IF I was eating packet food....which I tend not to).

  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....

    This is incorrect.

    So please correct me????!! I'm willing to learn ;) !

    Cooking noodles adds weight, but it's just water. And the water added can vary by how cooked the noodles are. So the most accurate way to weigh pasta is always dry.

    Ah! Thank you for educating me! I always thought I should go by the packet (IF I was eating packet food....which I tend not to).

    Many packets (like the OP's) will include the dry weight of the pasta (or rice or grain) in question. This way you can weigh it before cooking and understand how much you're actually eating.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Mitramonday wrote: »
    Depends if you're going to eat them raw, straight out of the packet?! The cooked weight (500g) is what you have to go by. Then, if you only eat half the packet of cooked noodles, you put 0.5 of the 500g.....

    This is incorrect.

    So please correct me????!! I'm willing to learn ;) !

    The nutritional label was based on the weight in the package - with no water. Because they have no idea how much it'll retain depending on how you cook it.

    You added water to cook them - unless using special water with calories in it - you increased weight but NOT calories.

    Almost always you go by dry volume, or that's what the label is talking about anyway.

    Same as many frozen items say the serving size is by frozen weight in grams, then they give convenience measurement also for cooked product.

    For accuracy you go by the weight, not the measurement, anyway.

    So that frozen item or pasta type with added water, if eating it all, is simple.
    Measure the bag, pour out into skillet, bowl, ect - weigh the empty bag. Note how incorrect or correct the bag said the total weight was. If correct, won't need to do that again next time, probably.
    Total weight / serving size stated weight = servings you are eating. (which could be far removed from the "about 2 servings per package" stated).
    Log that using database entry - even if the database entry says cups from the convenience measurement, as long as it matches the label - you are good to log by the weighted servings you got.

    If not eating that whole frozen item - not so simple until you get used to it.
    Same process to weigh and calculate how many servings actually in the bag ("about 2" I've seen from 1.58 to 2.45 which could be a lot of calorie difference).
    Cook the product and weigh the container it's going to end up being served out of.
    Weigh container with food in it, subtract container-only weight = the weight of the total food with added water, or lost water for that matter.
    Weigh out what you are going to eat.
    Eaten weight / total food weight = % eaten x however many servings you came up with.
    Log those servings again.

    Example on that part since confusing perhaps.

    Bag says weight of product is 600 g, and indeed that works out in frozen state.
    Servings says "about 4 per package" for the 1 cup/serving estimate - but actually works out to 3.53 by weighted math. So 170 g per serving for say 400 cal/serving.

    You cook with added water, you weigh as above 706 g total - you take 200 g worth.
    200 / 706 = 28.3% of total.
    28.3% x 3.53 = 0.999 servings - call it 1 serving.

    Database entry has the 1 cup serving at correct 400 cal and other stats. You say 1 serving eaten.

    Was it 1 cup? doesn't matter, and mostly likely not anyway.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Weigh things dry or raw. This means that water reduction or increase caused by cooking methods dont need accounting for
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