Processed foods - when to weigh?

hollyberrybunny

Ok so i have seen loads of posts about whether to weigh fresh meat or fresh veg etc before or after cooking..... But my question is about processed foods... For example if i had a microwave meal that was shown as 500g on the packet... And the calorie info said 100 calories per 100g 'when cooked'.. Do i assume that there are 500 calories in the meal or do i weigh it after cooking and log less calories if the weight is less than 500g after cooking? ... I have been weighing stuff after cooking but then the thought occurred to me that the manufacturer might mean that the 500g is that many calories when cooked even if it ends up being less weight... If thats the case i have not been logging enough calories on many things! Help! Lol

kommodevaran

There is, as you have noticed, a calorie difference between before and after cooking. The info typically specifies "typical values per 100 grams" of prepared food (that you prepare yourself). This is because the manufacturer has control over their product as it leaves the favilites, but not over what you do with it in your kitchen. It also states the total amount of calories per package, or calories per serving and number of servings per pack. You should be confident that the amount of calories in a certain fraction of a pack, doesn't change much with heating, unless of course you add oil or butter (or other things that have calories). But if you weigh out the prepared food, you should use the calories for "per 100 grams".

hollyberrybunny

Thank you so much for that helpful reply, it has helped put things straight in my mind!