Salad calories

LyndaBSS

Thank you for explaining. ☺

BarbaraHelen2013

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

And for comparisons sake, here’s what people are calling a “regular” cucumber.

Thank you! The picture here is definitely of something I’ve not seen in real life as it were! The first pic is what we get everywhere. Your regular cucumber is quite different. It’s weird and fascinating how the oddest things are just not the same country to country although we never really acknowledge it! Now I’m wondering how many other things that we all refer to are not actually the identical things at all! 😂

lemurcat2

Also I really don't think they are meaningfully different in calories per the same number of grams, for the record.

LyndaBSS

lemurcat2 wrote: »

Also I really don't think they are meaningfully different in calories per the same number of grams, for the record.

I stand corrected. I got those calories from the database when I had just started and didn't realize how many errors it contained. Shame on me.

Slicing (regular) cucumber (peeled): 3.0 calories per ounce

English cucumber (peeled): 2.6 calories per ounce

Thank you @lemurcat2

BarbaraHelen2013

Having done some poking around the database and google, I’d agree. I think the difference might lie in the fact that an English Cucumber appears to be about two thirds bigger than the regular one referred to. Therefore on recipes that state ‘one cucumber, diced’ for example the difference would show if weighed gram for gram. To be honest, if I see this in a recipe and it seems like a silly amount in comparison to the other ingredients I’d probably just use half of what I’d call a cucumber, anyway, 😂

thanos5

i don't log everything for just calories. i like knowing the nutrients too. so i log everything that goes into my salads.
also, i hate cucumbers, they have a weird texture to me.

wilson10102018

Cucumbers can be tamed. Try peeling 2/3 of the green rind off, cut it lengthwise and scrape out the seed and pulp and discard that part. Then cut the cucumber into bite sized pieces. Squirt a bit of balsamic glaze on it and it is finally edible.

Lynzdee18

I log everything. Vegetables add up..... I’m skeptical about the ‘free’ foods one of my Weight Watcher friends speaks of.... nothing is ever free in life, I’ve found.
Not logging consistently is the reason I don’t lose during a week.... need to be mindful of what I put into my body.

dkeofkfbdjsgdvfl

I count my salad stuff if they are high calorie or contain a lot of nutrients, like avocado or beans, or if I'm low for the day. But for low calorie salad stuff, I never take the time to weigh them, just put in a generic 100 grams more to remind me that I have indeed eaten vegetables that day.

geiznekcm

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

knightreader

as a guy who gets close to 2500 calories and never came close, i didn't find the need to weigh out my salads, however i don't use dressing or croutons. can see benefit for people who don't have as much calorie allowance or are more strict on macros.

LyndaBSS

geiznekcm wrote: »

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

I have salads as an entire meal quite often, sometimes with protein, mostly without. My diet is plant based with seafood, eggs and some dairy (pescatarian).

earlnabby

geiznekcm wrote: »

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

I do volume salads at times and it is especially important to log all the fixings when you are doing a larger version. MFP is set up so nothing is "free" except water. Weigh and log your ingredients whether it is a side salad or a large dinner salad.

AnnPT77

geiznekcm wrote: »

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

Sure, sometimes - in what are sold as serving bowls. Or cooked-veggie dishes (with some protein) of similar volume. 800-1100g of veg/fruit daily is pretty normal. Nutritious, tasty : Why not?

GummiMundi

geiznekcm wrote: »

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

You may want to take a look at this thread - it mentions different kinds of volume meals, including salads.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10563959/volume-eaters-thread/p1

lemurcat2

I very often have a big salad for lunch (sometimes for dinner instead). It's my most common lunch.

There's a volume eaters thread you might like.

kshama2001

geiznekcm wrote: »

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

Had this 1.5 quart mixing bowl noodle salad with chicken the other day - yum! Took like two hours to eat, lol.

kshama2001

pontious11349 wrote: »

Weighing lettuce and celery? The world has gone mad

You later clarified that this was tongue-in-cheek, but I'm still going to answer you seriously - I weigh lettuce to encourage me to eat more of it. Previously, I might have had 10 g of lettuce on a sandwich, now I go for 28 g. My entree salads have 90 g of lettuce and side salads 56 g.

Ditto for broccoli - I weigh to hit 100 g. Previously was probably eating less than 70 g.

When I have lots of these high volume, low calorie foods, I eat less high calorie foods.

Lolinloggen

geiznekcm wrote: »

Hello!

I really appreciate all the posts and commentary here. Everyone is so helpful.
I hope it's not inappropriate of me to add a question to the original post.

From what I gathered reading this discussion, most people here are talking about smaller portions of salads -- like a generic "side salad" -- Are there any people who eat in VOLUME here, people who consume very large salads?

Thank you.

My salads are a meal in itself They are large 1.5L lunchbox is squashed full of veggies. I even have a reputation at work due to the shear size of it. But note: No dressing

nooboots

BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »

LyndaBSS wrote: »

You'd be surprised. English Cucumbers have 3 times the calories that regular Cucumbers have, for example. Adds up quickly. That's why I weigh everything.

I figure, if I take a shortcut and don't weigh my salads, what's the next food I'll take a shortcut with?

For me personally, that's a recipe for disaster.

Can I ask what might be a stupid question...I’m English and 58 and until very, very recently I’ve not even heard the term English Cucumber. You’ve said these cucumbers have 3x the calories of a ‘regular’ cucumber. What I’m curious about is what are you referring to as a ‘regular’ cucumber?

The only cucumbers we generally see here, in England, are maybe 12 inches long, and probably 1.5 - 2 inches in diameter. I’ve once or twice seen and bought what are simply called ‘baby cucumber’ which are just mini versions as far as I knew.

So yes...I’m now curious as to what I’ve been eating and logging! I always log using an entry that corresponds to the specific supermarket that I bought it from, but I’m mostly just curious about what you guys mean!

Me too, no such thing as english cucumbers.

nooboots

BarbaraHelen2013 wrote: »

SuzySunshine99 wrote: »

And for comparisons sake, here’s what people are calling a “regular” cucumber.

Thank you! The picture here is definitely of something I’ve not seen in real life as it were! The first pic is what we get everywhere. Your regular cucumber is quite different. It’s weird and fascinating how the oddest things are just not the same country to country although we never really acknowledge it! Now I’m wondering how many other things that we all refer to are not actually the identical things at all! 😂

Those are just what would be called home grown cucumbers, you see those on allotments all the time. Slightly tougher skins and possibly the burp factor.

amusedmonkey

I count everything. I had a salad for breakfast today that had nearly half of what I usually eat, and salad vegetables without the other stuff added up to more than 100 calories, and that's just for one meal. You may be able to get away with it if you're very heavy, but 100 calories can make or break a diet for someone who is lighter and shorter.

ETA:

Re: cucumbers
My "regular" cucumbers are a variety called Persian cucumbers. They're basically the baby brother of an English cucumber. They look similar but are much smaller.

earlnabby

wilson10102018 wrote: »

Cucumbers can be tamed. Try peeling 2/3 of the green rind off, cut it lengthwise and scrape out the seed and pulp and discard that part. Then cut the cucumber into bite sized pieces. Squirt a bit of balsamic glaze on it and it is finally edible.

Or just buy English cucumbers. They are a special variety of hothouse cucumber that is very thin skinned and has tiny (or non existent) seeds. You can tell which ones they are because they are the ones individually wrapped in plastic instead of waxed and left out in the bins.

Not sure why they are called "English" though (although a GIS indicates it is because it is the common type of cucumber found in England and Americans needed to distinguish it from the common type found in the US so they called it "English")

kshama2001

I prefer to eat the skin of cucumbers, but don't want to eat wax (I know the wax is "food grade", but I still don't want to eat wax) so I've been buying English cucumbers while I wait for the cukes in my mom's garden to start popping. I leave the plastic on and peel it back as I go.

Store bought English cucumbers seem to last longer than store bought slicing cucumbers, and they are on sale here this time of year.

wilson10102018

I did the tomato pulp experiment on cucumbers and got the same result.

For those unfamiliar, it was Julia Child, I think, who suggested that persons remove the tomato pulp, seed and liquid to a bowl and taste it with a spoon. The result is not too pleasant, in my opinion (and hers) and her point was that she would recommend removing the pulp in uncooked tomato dishes.

I find the same with cucumber, but, of course, tastes differ.