THIS is what a serving of pasta looks like...

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Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,925 Member
    What's interesting is how the same company varies serving sizes depending on the market. In the USA, a standard serving of pasta is 2 oz dry (56 grams). In western Europe, the standard serving size on the box is 85 grams - or just over 3 oz - if there's even a serving size listed. I wonder why they change up serving size depending on the market?

    Often the food labels in Europe only give info per 100 grams, so you don't know what a "recommended" serving size is. However, at least that makes tracking very easy because it's all metric and if you weigh your food in grams it's easy to figure out how much you're consuming.

    Here are two images of a very popular pasta brand as an example

    USA:
    barilla-pasta-food-label-world-of-label-with-regard-to-barilla-with-regard-to-barilla-pasta-food-label.jpg

    Europe:
    51CecOvyxfL.jpg

    Also notice that in the USA they measure in milligrams of sodium, whereas in western Europe they use grams of salt. The RDA for salt in Europe is higher than in the US. A gram of salt contains about 413 mg of sodium.

    For us, in Italy a serving size of pasta is 100g. Then you add your sauce, vegetables, seafood, meat, legumes, etc. I cook for 3 men everyday and almost always make pasta (I've learned a million ways--without meat, because my husband doesn't eat meat, except for fish). I prefer a half portion for myself--50g. Everyone in the family is a normal weight or thin. Pasta is a staple here, and I always chuckle at the pasta threads on MFP. They are so alarming. Pasta in the correct proportions does not make you fat. There...I finally said it.

    Om nom nom! Pasta made with love! I wish I could get the right ingredients here. Actually, I might cook pasta alla gricia tomorrow, even though the quality of pecorino here is a bit sad, and I can't get ceropegia. I'll improvise with what I can get <3
  • WilmaValley
    WilmaValley Posts: 1,092 Member
    Great info!!!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    A serving is just whatever the manufacturer decided to put on the label. I would only eat 210 calories of pasta as a side...210 calories of pasta wouldn't constitute a meal for me.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    @ecjim I like the way you think! But it could get me in trouble.... LOL
  • sheloves89
    sheloves89 Posts: 88 Member
    Yes! It's crazy how little some things end up being!

    I always load up my pasta dishes with lots and lots and lots of veggies (one of my favorites is a mediterranean pasta dish - roast zucchini, onion, garlic, tomato, +/- broccoli; some feta cheese, some black olives, a dash of olive oil, some fresh chopped basil or cilantro, some salt; you could easily add in some chicken, canned tuna, or baked fish of your preference!), which helps.

    Sometimes it's so much that I end up splitting it in half and saving some for lunch the next day, so that single serving of pasta goes a long way!

    I've also got a spiralizer, and with zucchini coming back into season shortly (hooray!), I'm looking forward to all the zuke pasta dishes. Zucchini + marinara and veggie meatballs, or alfredo sauce, or cheese sauce with onion and garlic.... mmm, I can't wait. =] You can eat oodles of that stuff for a fraction of the calories!
  • rheddmobile
    rheddmobile Posts: 6,840 Member
    Yep, when I was first diagnosed with diabetes learning the size of a serving of pasta was very depressing! Especially since when I was growing up my family always ate about three times what a typical American would put on a plate. Like, a whole package of spaghetti per person. My husband was legit horrified the first time he ate with my folks, asked for half the amount my mother served us, and then used to sneakily throw most of it away.

    With diabetes I’m limited by the number of carbs so I can’t just solve the problem by having two or three servings. One serving of wheat pasta is about as much as I can tolerate without spiking my glucose levels, and i can’t have anything like garlic bread as a side. And some places put a lot of sugar in marinara sauce which can also be a problem. However, I’ve learned to have a large salad and a side of spinach, sometimes a side of cottage cheese if I’m really hungry, and extra meatballs! These days I feel quite satisfied with a portion of pasta which would have made me cry two years ago.
  • strongwouldbenice
    strongwouldbenice Posts: 153 Member
    What's interesting is how the same company varies serving sizes depending on the market. In the USA, a standard serving of pasta is 2 oz dry (56 grams). In western Europe, the standard serving size on the box is 85 grams - or just over 3 oz - if there's even a serving size listed. I wonder why they change up serving size depending on the market?

    Often the food labels in Europe only give info per 100 grams, so you don't know what a "recommended" serving size is. However, at least that makes tracking very easy because it's all metric and if you weigh your food in grams it's easy to figure out how much you're consuming.

    Here are two images of a very popular pasta brand as an example

    USA:
    barilla-pasta-food-label-world-of-label-with-regard-to-barilla-with-regard-to-barilla-pasta-food-label.jpg

    Europe:
    51CecOvyxfL.jpg

    Also notice that in the USA they measure in milligrams of sodium, whereas in western Europe they use grams of salt. The RDA for salt in Europe is higher than in the US. A gram of salt contains about 413 mg of sodium.

    In Australia most of our pasta packets list 125g as the serving size. I checked my Barilla though and it's 85g here too. Such a difference!
    I usually just eat 50g-75g and add it to a big bowl of beans and vegetables in sauce.
  • Keto_Vampire
    Keto_Vampire Posts: 1,670 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    Never been a fan of grains for this reason - very calorie dense food.
    Would opt for higher volume yet still satisfying carbs like rice & potatoes

    ...but rice is a grain... :/
    Bleh, sorry typed grain, meant wheat
  • lalawaterlala
    lalawaterlala Posts: 56 Member
    Once you start regularly eating the recommended serving size you'll either adjust to feeling full and satisfied after the 2 oz or you can have 3 oz to feel satisfied and have the extra cals. You'll find what works for you :)
    Keep it up!!
  • GummiMundi
    GummiMundi Posts: 396 Member
    What's interesting is how the same company varies serving sizes depending on the market. In the USA, a standard serving of pasta is 2 oz dry (56 grams). In western Europe, the standard serving size on the box is 85 grams - or just over 3 oz - if there's even a serving size listed. I wonder why they change up serving size depending on the market?

    Often the food labels in Europe only give info per 100 grams, so you don't know what a "recommended" serving size is. However, at least that makes tracking very easy because it's all metric and if you weigh your food in grams it's easy to figure out how much you're consuming.

    Having lived all my life in Europe, my mindset has always been on the 100g nutritional information. That allows me to do a transparent and straightforward comparison.
    Here, "serving sizes" from manufacturers are optional information that they sometimes print on their labels/boxes, but I disregard them. Personally, I never cared about those suggestions, not even now that I'm watching my caloric intake and weighting food.
    I'm a grown woman, I can decide on a daily basis what quantity of a given food I'm going to eat. ;)
  • rubyslipperss1
    rubyslipperss1 Posts: 31 Member
    I have retired my Philips Pasta Maker indefinitely.