Canned Vegetables

TangledThread
TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
in Food and Nutrition
How to log canned vegetables and beans?

The juice is part of the serving size but I don't eat the juice. However, logging the weight without the juice can't be 100% accurate either since the vegetables must have lots more calories that the juice.

Case in point.

From the back of the can
1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas 425g approximately 3.5 servings at 130g each
(my math says that 3.27 servings)

Actual amount in the can that I'm willing to eat is 240g the rest washed down the drain.

My thought it might be best to log canned vegetables by serving and not grams and that 68g is a serving... but that's a lot of mental math for on the go and I'm not keen to keep a calculator by the scale too.

For greenbeans and corn I can wing it but beans are more calorie dense and I only have a deficit of 250 to work with. It's easy to wipe that out with a math error.

Replies

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,738 Member
    I'd say drain the can, portion out how much you are going to eat and weigh it on the scale. The math involved isn't fun, but I either use the calculator on my phone or on a piece of scratch paper. I'm not a fan of keeping my phone on the kitchen counter top while making my food, so I just use scrap paper from my junk / coupon drawer in the kitchen.
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    Yeah I think that will be best. On the days I'm going to eat the whole can over the course of the day I can log it all at once. But the rest of the time I'll just do the math to figure out servings minus the water. It's been an eye opener how much is water. I now wonder if the name brands have less water and if the cost savings on the house brand is less than I though. I have some experimenting to do.
  • MelaniaTrump
    MelaniaTrump Posts: 2,694 Member
    edited June 2016
    Many entries include the words
    "drained and rinsed".
    Even if you don't find your brand of chickpeas w/ drained and rinsed, you can use another brand.
    Ex: Great Value - Garbanzo Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
    I'm not sure how they come up with the numbers, but at least it's something.

    Most, I wonder if anyone uses the liquid that comes in the cans.
    I have also read that rinsing cuts down ~40% of the sodium.
  • billglitch
    billglitch Posts: 538 Member
    just a thought...the serving size is relatively small and the amount of juice in serving is small. I would not sweat it, or get fresh, but thats me
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Unless it is canned fruit, just go by what the can says and don't sweat the slight difference after you pour out the juice. The calories contained in the liquid are minimal and not enough to worry about. Fruit, even that packed in its own juice, is different because of the amount of sugar in the liquid.
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    I'm not worried about the calories in the lost juice but the weight of it. When I was entering the weight I was going to eat I was not thinking of the lost water I would have been underestimating by 80 calories. That's a lot.

    I'll look for the drained entry.
  • kellyw0624
    kellyw0624 Posts: 18 Member
    I'm new here - could someone explain to me the benefit of weighing the food item vs. measuring the quantity? If it says serving size is 1/2 cup, why would I not just measure that out as my serving? Just trying to learn. Thanks!
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    measuring cups vary and we can fill them loosely or cram them full but the scale is always accurate. Also the scale is easier, faster, and with no extra dishes to wash.
  • kellyw0624
    kellyw0624 Posts: 18 Member
    Thanks....I have just seen a lot of people that weigh their foods and I just wanted clarification. Makes sense. Now to find an inexpensive kitchen scale.
  • TangledThread
    TangledThread Posts: 312 Member
    edited June 2016
    If you can't decide between two get the one that will weigh the most. Mine will weigh up to 5lbs so it easily handles my plate as I dish my food onto it but I can't weigh my food in the cooking pot and there have been days I wanted to. I won't replace this one, but I do wish it weight up to 10 or 15lb.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    TangledThread wrote: »
    I'm not worried about the calories in the lost juice but the weight of it. When I was entering the weight I was going to eat I was not thinking of the lost water I would have been underestimating by 80 calories. That's a lot.

    I'll look for the drained entry.

    If there are 4 servings in a can, weigh out the entire thing without the juice and divide by 4. That will give you the weight per serving of drained veggies.

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