Extra Virgin Olive Oil

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thisisbeej
thisisbeej Posts: 6 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey everyone, I had a quick question regarding portioning for extra virgin olive oil, hopefully someone can offer some advice. I often like to make chicken stir fries with veggies, chicken and extra virgin olive oil. The thing is, I'm not entirely sure how to portion the oil for my calorie counts. I mean, some of the oil sort of cooks down as I fry, some is left in the pan and some remains on my dish when I serve it. Its not like I'm eating all of the oil I cook with because of those variables.

I have no idea how many calories I should be counting when using extra virgin olive oil. Is it best to to just measure it out before it goes in the pan and use that as my value?

Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.

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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    thisisbeej wrote: »
    Hey everyone, I had a quick question regarding portioning for extra virgin olive oil, hopefully someone can offer some advice. I often like to make chicken stir fries with veggies, chicken and extra virgin olive oil. The thing is, I'm not entirely sure how to portion the oil for my calorie counts. I mean, some of the oil sort of cooks down as I fry, some is left in the pan and some remains on my dish when I serve it. Its not like I'm eating all of the oil I cook with because of those variables.

    I have no idea how many calories I should be counting when using extra virgin olive oil. Is it best to to just measure it out before it goes in the pan and use that as my value?

    Thanks for any advice anyone can offer.

    Count everything that comes out of the bottle (weighed, not measured). No guesswork involved.
  • thisisbeej
    thisisbeej Posts: 6 Member
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    Thanks for the advice. I always weigh everything when portioning usually in grams. Much appreciated!
  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    I would count it, all of it. The difference in calories is negligible.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,853 Member
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    I put the bottle on the scale, tare (zero) it, put the minimum appropriate amount in the pan, put the bottle back on the scale, and note the negative grams on the scale readout as the amount I took out. Unless there's an amount left in the pan after cooking that I can weigh/measure (and there rarely is), I count all of it. I figure I'm probably undercounting something else, and the trivial difference (even in calorie-dense oil) of what's left on the plate/pan probably doesn't matter much in that context.

    For some uses, the spray versions of real olive oil (or a sprayer you can fill with your own olive oil) can be very helpful. Same routine works - spray can on the scale, tare, spray, put back on scale, note negative grams.

    In the rare scenario, it may work better to put the pan or food on the scale, tare, add the olive oil, and note how much you added.

    YMMV.

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