Calories and spices
zuzanao
Posts: 28 Member
Maybe a silly question,but are there calories in spices?when making a meal from scratch,do you add ur spices into mfp receipies?thanks.
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Replies
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I add spices only so that I can refer back to them if it was an experiment that I liked. Unless you eat a lot of spices, the impact to your diary is so minimal that it really isn't necessary to record them. For instance, one tablespoon of black pepper has 17 calories. The amount of pepper you actually eat in a portion, is probably less than half a teaspoon or about 3 calories.
Editing to add this link. https://www.calories.info/food/herbs-spices4 -
I add spices. It's not huge calories but adds up.3
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Never bothered with that kind of minutia...the calories in spices are negligent. Like what...maybe 5-10 calories per day or something? I can guarantee you that your logging in general is off way more than that due to inherent inaccuracies in logging, labels, etc. A few calories isn't going to make or break anything.14
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I have never added them other than packet spices like for taco or chili seasoning to a recipe.4
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In general no, if extracts yes.2
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If I'm really dosing up on the cinnamon or cumin (favorites of mine) I'll log them, bu otherwise I don't bother.1
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I add spices. It's not huge calories but adds up.
Another vote for this. But I also often use 4-10 spices/seasonings in a recipe. And while they don’t have a lot of calories, they do add often 100-200 to the whole recipe. And often a good chunk of sodium if you’re using any kind of a blend.
I also frequently remake a lot of the same recipes and having them logged in the recipe builder makes it easier to recreate.
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What the hell spices are people using that is adding 100-200 calories or a 1/4 or 1/3 of a dishes entire calorie count? I cook with a lot of spices, and there's no way in hell it's adding that many calories to something.22
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I made a spiced black beans and cauliflower dish that had a total of 258 calories (out of a total 1848) from spices. Roughly 20 cal of each serving.
Turmeric: 35 cal
Cumin:29 cal
Smoked paprika: 6 cal
Garlic: 81 cal
Crushed red pepper: 11 cal
Black pepper (I have this as 0 cal)
Asofoetida (Hing): 96 cal
I don’t use Hing much but the rest is pretty par for the course. Also use a lot of rosemary, thyme, sage, varieties of paprika, sumac, various types of pepper, coriander, and on and on and on.
It’s not a lot. But it does add up. I don’t know if I could get to 1/3 of the calories total. Maybe for a broth?5 -
I put them in recipes I enter in the recipe builder, but that’s for my info only, for when I’m making the recipe again. The calories are negligible, and really don’t add up to much at all. Most of my recipes are for multiple servings.2
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Also-a packet of taco or chili seasoning rolls in about 120 calories. Granted, there’s stuff in there other than spices, but 100-200 for an entire recipe of spices is really not that crazy.
It’s not a big amount. But neither is mustard or ketchup and people log those.2 -
Spicy Garlic Flounder (for 4 servings) - 106 total (of 444 for the recipe), 26 (of 111) per serving:
Cilantro - 13 cal
Garlic - 53 cal
Lemongrass - 40 cal
This doesn’t include the chili paste, soy sauce, or mirin.
Again-not a huge amount but 100-200 is really not a crazy amount.
I don’t think everyone needs to go logging every dash of salt and pepper. But I will add them to my recipes because they do add up. And because now I can make this fish again without having to find the recipe.2 -
I went to a dietician years ago who suggested that we all eat about 50 calories or a few less each day that we don’t account for. She suggested to me that I might eat about 100 or less, including spices, vitamins, supplements, and 4 almonds.
I also put spices in the recipe builder, so I know which spices to use next time, not for calories.0 -
When trying to minimize errors in logging I was definitely adding them (and probably still do most of the time).
Same as yellow mustard not being zero calories especially in the quantities used, or oil spray not being zero calories after you add 10g of oil to your pot... they add up.
Many pots I've made end up with 5% plus of their calories from spices. Even more so if you consider things such as garlic as spice instead of ingredient
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It depends on the specific spices and quantities, as others have said. I log some of mine (cinnamon, cumin, turmeric are common) for memory reasons, and those run around 7-8 calories per teaspoon. If you use things like sesame seeds (oily), those can add up a little faster.
Look up a few of the things you use frequently, and decide if the calorie levels are meaningful for your desired level of logging meticulousness, in the amounts you use, then it'll be pretty easy to decide whether it's important for you to log them, or not1 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »What the hell spices are people using that is adding 100-200 calories or a 1/4 or 1/3 of a dishes entire calorie count? I cook with a lot of spices, and there's no way in hell it's adding that many calories to something.
Here’s a couple of examples of dinner recipes from my Recipe builder.
Roasted carrots which I cook with a spice rub (loads of cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and dukkah - no oil). I’ll eat that with a dip of watered down Skyr with Za’atar, Sumac and Harissa and a handful of salad greens.
There’s also a tomato and onion curry that actually has more calories from the spice paste than from the vegetables themselves! That one uses 3tbsp of a Kashmiri blend curry paste, which alone has 30 cals/tbsp. Plus a few other spices (cardamom, fenugreek, garam masala). That curry I eat on a bed of lightly steamed white cabbage.
So it’s not necessarily how much spice per se, it’s what you’re using them with that changes the percentage of your calories that come from those spices.5 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »Also-a packet of taco or chili seasoning rolls in about 120 calories. Granted, there’s stuff in there other than spices, but 100-200 for an entire recipe of spices is really not that crazy.
It’s not a big amount. But neither is mustard or ketchup and people log those.
Yeah, never logged those either...never saw any reason to be that exact with things and I cook with plenty of spices, just not copious amounts of them I guess...I figure in most cases, a little goes a long way.
IDK...I don't log anything anymore and haven't in like 6+ years so I figure I was relatively lose with things other than calorie dense things.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Duck_Puddle wrote: »Also-a packet of taco or chili seasoning rolls in about 120 calories. Granted, there’s stuff in there other than spices, but 100-200 for an entire recipe of spices is really not that crazy.
It’s not a big amount. But neither is mustard or ketchup and people log those.
Yeah, never logged those either...never saw any reason to be that exact with things and I cook with plenty of spices, just not copious amounts of them I guess...I figure in most cases, a little goes a long way.
IDK...I don't log anything anymore and haven't in like 6+ years so I figure I was relatively lose with things other than calorie dense things.
We all have our level of looseness that works for us.
You asked what people were doing to come up to 100-200 cal/recipe in spices. That’s all I was responding to.
I bulk cook and despise bland food, and enjoy the depth of flavor from additional perhaps unnecessary spices. Does savory food NEED cinnamon and cocoa? No, but it adds something very nice. Like espresso in chocolate cake.
I’m not telling anyone to log or not log spices. I put them in because they do add up and I can remake a dish without searching my 28859506066 Pinterest boards to see where I saved it.
What anyone else does falls under “you do you, boo”.
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Duck_Puddle wrote: »Spicy Garlic Flounder (for 4 servings) - 106 total (of 444 for the recipe), 26 (of 111) per serving:
Cilantro - 13 cal
Garlic - 53 cal
Lemongrass - 40 cal
This doesn’t include the chili paste, soy sauce, or mirin.
Again-not a huge amount but 100-200 is really not a crazy amount.
I don’t think everyone needs to go logging every dash of salt and pepper. But I will add them to my recipes because they do add up. And because now I can make this fish again without having to find the recipe.
I consider some of the things you refer to as condiments, not spices. Chili paste, soy sauce. Garlic is a vegetable.
Spices are extremely low in calories.
OP asked about spices, not condiments. Condiments can have additional ingredients (sugars for one). I make my own spice mixes. I never get prepackaged ones.
I do log condiments I use, they do add up.6 -
missysippy930 wrote: »Duck_Puddle wrote: »Spicy Garlic Flounder (for 4 servings) - 106 total (of 444 for the recipe), 26 (of 111) per serving:
Cilantro - 13 cal
Garlic - 53 cal
Lemongrass - 40 cal
This doesn’t include the chili paste, soy sauce, or mirin.
Again-not a huge amount but 100-200 is really not a crazy amount.
I don’t think everyone needs to go logging every dash of salt and pepper. But I will add them to my recipes because they do add up. And because now I can make this fish again without having to find the recipe.
I consider some of the things you refer to as condiments, not spices. Chili paste, soy sauce. Garlic is a vegetable.
Spices are extremely low in calories.
OP asked about spices, not condiments. Condiments can have additional ingredients (sugars for one). I make my own spice mixes. I never get prepackaged ones.
I do log condiments I use, they do add up.
I didn’t include the condiments in my total - those were listed as additional ingredients in the recipe but not the spice part. I log everything in my recipes.
I would consider garlic a spice rather than vegetable but I guess that’s up to you. They are all seeds/fruits/plants/leaves/etc. before they are dried and ground.
Again-you do you.
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Honestly-all of my responses were because the 100-200 calories per recipe was considered absurd. So I was giving examples of recipes where that happens. And brought up seasoning mix because they are also in that range.
A tsp of a dried seasoning is not high in calories. A recipe using maybe 1-2 TB of some spices (or dried, ground vegetables) and lesser amounts of many others will have a less negligible (for me) amount.
What everyone else chooses to log/do/eat/cook is up to them.
OP asked if they have calories. Simple answer-yes. In small amounts they are negligible. In larger amounts-that’s your call.5 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »Honestly-all of my responses were because the 100-200 calories per recipe was considered absurd. So I was giving examples of recipes where that happens. And brought up seasoning mix because they are also in that range.
A tsp of a dried seasoning is not high in calories. A recipe using maybe 1-2 TB of some spices (or dried, ground vegetables) and lesser amounts of many others will have a less negligible (for me) amount.
What everyone else chooses to log/do/eat/cook is up to them.
OP asked if they have calories. Simple answer-yes. In small amounts they are negligible. In larger amounts-that’s your call.
Nobody said absurd. I was thinking more on the lines of how I cook in most cases which is dinner for two (wife and I). If I make a big stew or something then yeah...it might be more in the neighborhood of 100-200 calories total in an entire recipe. So maybe it's 200 and serves 6...that's only like 33 calories in a serving.
I guess maybe also calorie targets come into play...I eat 3000 calories per day...I'm not going to bat an eye at 33 calories.6 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Duck_Puddle wrote: »Honestly-all of my responses were because the 100-200 calories per recipe was considered absurd. So I was giving examples of recipes where that happens. And brought up seasoning mix because they are also in that range.
A tsp of a dried seasoning is not high in calories. A recipe using maybe 1-2 TB of some spices (or dried, ground vegetables) and lesser amounts of many others will have a less negligible (for me) amount.
What everyone else chooses to log/do/eat/cook is up to them.
OP asked if they have calories. Simple answer-yes. In small amounts they are negligible. In larger amounts-that’s your call.
Nobody said absurd. I was thinking more on the lines of how I cook in most cases which is dinner for two (wife and I). If I make a big stew or something then yeah...it might be more in the neighborhood of 100-200 calories total in an entire recipe. So maybe it's 200 and serves 6...that's only like 33 calories in a serving.
I guess maybe also calorie targets come into play...I eat 3000 calories per day...I'm not going to bat an eye at 33 calories.
And I think that’s a lot of it. I cook in bulk-rarely less than 6-8 servings at a time (hence the higher totals).
And I eat about half that (1600) if I’m at a normal/non-injured level of activity. I also cook nearly everything that I eat. So 20 calories per serving per item that I eat does add up to a non-negligible (to me) level.
I really only started adding them to my recipes because it made it so much easier to re-cook the things that I make often (because I would already be in the recipe to swap out a brand or amount of something). Then I saw how much they added and decided they were no longer negligible (again-for me).
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Duck_Puddle wrote: »Also-a packet of taco or chili seasoning rolls in about 120 calories. Granted, there’s stuff in there other than spices, but 100-200 for an entire recipe of spices is really not that crazy.
It’s not a big amount. But neither is mustard or ketchup and people log those.
Wellllllll . . . some of us (read: me) eat that stuff in volume, if we eat it at all. I think I logged 1/2C catsup yesterday, which might have lowballed the actual amount (eyeballed: restaurant). IIRC, it was 160 calories
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At that point, it's neither a spice nor a condiment: It's a prepared vegetable.
That's why each person is gonna need to decide whether to log the seasonings they personally eat, given how much they eat of them. :drinker:
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Duck_Puddle wrote: »cwolfman13 wrote: »Duck_Puddle wrote: »Honestly-all of my responses were because the 100-200 calories per recipe was considered absurd. So I was giving examples of recipes where that happens. And brought up seasoning mix because they are also in that range.
A tsp of a dried seasoning is not high in calories. A recipe using maybe 1-2 TB of some spices (or dried, ground vegetables) and lesser amounts of many others will have a less negligible (for me) amount.
What everyone else chooses to log/do/eat/cook is up to them.
OP asked if they have calories. Simple answer-yes. In small amounts they are negligible. In larger amounts-that’s your call.
Nobody said absurd. I was thinking more on the lines of how I cook in most cases which is dinner for two (wife and I). If I make a big stew or something then yeah...it might be more in the neighborhood of 100-200 calories total in an entire recipe. So maybe it's 200 and serves 6...that's only like 33 calories in a serving.
I guess maybe also calorie targets come into play...I eat 3000 calories per day...I'm not going to bat an eye at 33 calories.
And I think that’s a lot of it. I cook in bulk-rarely less than 6-8 servings at a time (hence the higher totals).
And I eat about half that (1600) if I’m at a normal/non-injured level of activity. I also cook nearly everything that I eat. So 20 calories per serving per item that I eat does add up to a non-negligible (to me) level.
I really only started adding them to my recipes because it made it so much easier to re-cook the things that I make often (because I would already be in the recipe to swap out a brand or amount of something). Then I saw how much they added and decided they were no longer negligible (again-for me).
Yes, because I rarely follow recipes exactly, I find it useful to log the spices so next time I can see what I did.
The old recipe builder starts to flake out and lose everything about the time I get to the spices so I now use @CyberTone's method: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10471173/how-to-use-my-foods-and-my-meals-in-a-recipe-a-workaround0 -
If you track your macros, specifically carbs you should be paying attention to your spices. I tend to be aware even if I don’t actually track them.0
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I use a lot of spices and herbs and don’t add them to my food diary. Just a personal choice I made at the beginning in order to keep my sanity.
I typically leave myself extra calories every day to cover things like this.1 -
You learn to watch some - blends like curry powder and chili powder can add 100 cals quite easily.1
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Never bothered with that kind of minutia...the calories in spices are negligent. Like what...maybe 5-10 calories per day or something? I can guarantee you that your logging in general is off way more than that due to inherent inaccuracies in logging, labels, etc. A few calories isn't going to make or break anything.
This is my take as well.2
This discussion has been closed.
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