Calories and spices

MelanieCN77

For the disagree-er...



Cumin 22cals tbsp
Turmeric 29 cals tbsp
etc.

lynn_glenmont

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

For the disagree-er...



Cumin 22cals tbsp
Turmeric 29 cals tbsp
etc.

I'm not the disagreer, but I'm not putting 3 Tbsp of turmeric in a pot of food with multiple servings, much less in a single serving of food, so no, it's no adding 100 cals quite easily. I might put 5 Tbsp of cumin in a large pot of chili, and thus add 100 cals to the whole pot, but then I would be including it in the recipe. I use a lot of spices when cooking, but seldom in the amounts that it would take to add significant calories to a single serving.

MelanieCN77

Well I wouldn't use ONLY turmeric either. I might however use turmeric, cumin, coriander, garam masala, mustard seeds and other like things in a single dish. If someone is accustomed to not tracking the things that have calories, there are likely going to be other things they are overlooking too. I don't know about you, but 200 cals a day is the difference for me.

kristen8000

I don't add calories from most spices to my recipes. Including hot sauces, mustard, etc. If the container says "0 Calories", I don't bother adding it. I do add calories for Garlic (each clove is an average of 5 calories, and if you use 3-4 that adds up).

Now, some spices do have calories. If I'm making tacos for example, you use a ton of spice and when you are using that much there will be calories. I'll add them.

For me it depends on if that 10 - 50 calories will make a difference in my day.

Other things I don't count: Gum & Pickles.

xxzenabxx

I don’t bother logging my garlic and onion granules, cinnamon, turmeric, paprika etc. Life’s too short to log spices! I already find tracking calories so hard because I live with my family so I don’t need another headache.

ploomka

I personally do not add spices to my diary because I figure the calorie count of spices is generally within the margin of error window for imprecise measuring (I don't use a food scale) and ingredient label errors, especially since MFP seems to round down on macros (at least it looks that way). Since I have a tendency toward being obsessive, I try to relax on my logging, going more for overall trends rather than the nitty gritty.

All that said, if I hit a time where the data I am tracking and my progress don't seem to gel, I may get more precise with my logging to spot trouble areas. I can see how this would be helpful to someone trying to pinpoint an issue they are experiencing. More data FTW!