How do you measure spaghetti?

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  • chelsy0587
    chelsy0587 Posts: 441 Member
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    I think like others have said the food scale would be most accurate, but personally I don't have one. I do plan to get one but I don't think I'll weigh my food forever so for me it would be another tool for me to learn how much is a serving size and then I feel I should be able to limit myself without having to weigh it for the rest of my life...

    Having spaghetti tonight too... guess I'll go with a cup and take my chances!
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    asflatasapancake wrote: »
    1 cup cooked. It's perfect every time. Absolutely no margin for error. Because I stuff as much as I can in that cup. How could it ever be wrong? Sarcasm aside, it does work for me.

    The amount of water absorbed could be different making the amount of actual pasta eaten different. But if you are consistent in your cooking, the difference would likely be very low.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    knra_grl wrote: »
    Since this thread was posted I am reformed - I weigh it before cooking and it is actually a bigger portion than if you try to do it after it's cooked. :ohwell:

    That's because it sucks up the water it's being boiled in, or even better, the sauce it will be served with.
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I once cooked a single weighed out serving of spaghetti, and then put it into one of my measuring cups. It came out to be just shy of a cup. I've gone by that roughly since then. We're having spaghetti noodles tonight and I will be cooking mine and DH's separately as we are both trying to be as accurate as possible (especially DH since he just started logging about 6 weeks ago).

    Bottom line is scale usage is going to be the most accurate. When you're not losing and ask why you will hear "weigh all solid food, measure all liquids" as a response because you're likely over eating.

    ETA: And since you seem to be close to your goal you'll need to be very accurate as you should be working with a much smaller deficit.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    257_Lag wrote: »
    ooclrpm346gc.jpeg

    Love this!
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    rduhlir wrote: »
    Dry with a scale (grams).

    yup

  • flaminica
    flaminica Posts: 304 Member
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    There are some things you can guesstimate. Pasta sadly isn't one of them. Things like pasta, cheese, rice and beans that are both calorie-dense and hard to judge can cause costly errors in logging. A scale is worth it for those items.

    Pasta in a pinch however -- divide the whole package. If the label says 200 calories per 20 gram serving and the box is 100 grams, then manually divide the contents into five equal portions. This is OCD-ish too, but one way or another you have to measure it. Also the box may not actually be 100 grams; it might be 110 and you won't know it. Best to just get a scale.
  • noel2fit
    noel2fit Posts: 235 Member
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    I have measuring cups and do 1/2 a cup cooked and then just do the generic half cup cooked whole wheat pasta on here. Then measure half a cup of sauce and pour on top. Half a cup seems to be the safe portion size, but that's half a cup fitting inside the measuring cup NOT overflowing in any way.
  • catruledquilter
    catruledquilter Posts: 48 Member
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    knra_grl wrote: »
    Don't measure after cooking unless the package gives you a serving size for cooked. You'll eat a lot more than one serving if you do it that way. If you won't get a scale, then do the 1/2 inches think using a measuring tape. A scale really is the way to go for pasta, though.

    155 grams for a cup of cooked pasta seems really, really low. That seems more like the dry value.

    I used what was in the data base - figured it was accurate as how could you measure a cup of spaghetti when it's dry?

    Also I am a carb lover and limited myself to the one cup and use spaghetti squash to offset the extra I would like to have.

    edit - the 155 was for calories for 1 cup cooked whole wheat catelli pasta and it was not mashed into the cup so it was probably less than a cup but still used what was in the data base for that entry - guess I am going to have to start weighing it raw but that's a pain as I am not cooking just for myself and I am not going to subject my 23 yr old fit son to my limitations.

    The easy way to do this measuring for more than one person is how my daughter does it. She cooks for herself and her husband. Example: she will weigh out 3 portions of pasta and cook it...she then puts it on the plates giving him twice as much as she has on her plate. When I'm there, she cooks 4 portions and gives him half while we split the other half. She does that with most foods. It doesn't take any extra time and you will get good at "eyeballing" the 1/3 amount. She used to weigh food before/after cooking but has gotten so good at judging portions, she seldom does this any more...just occasionally to check how she's doing.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    If you're determined to eat pasta, measure it dry. Boil it in water until almost al dente. Then cook it slowly with your sauce so that it will absorb the flavor. Sauce then sticks to the pasta and it tastes a LOT better. To get the exact calories, measure EVERYTHING that goes into the dish, account for the calories, then divide by the number of serving sizes. MFP has a recipe app to help you do just that. Enjoy your pasta!
  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    At the risk of sounding stupid (or asking something which has already been answered), does this work?

    1. Measure out 8 oz of dry pasta (four servings)
    2. Cook pasta.
    3. Weigh the cooked pasta
    4. Divide by four. Each portion is one serving.

    ?

    Otherwise I can't see cooking 2 oz separately from everyone else's.

    I also get tripped up on rice. :( 1 cup rice goes into the cooker...one serving is...how much? I've been avoiding rice for this reason.

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
    edited June 2015
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    For rice, depends somewhat on type.

    3/4 C is an official serving size from the package:

    1eae451f829248c2495ffe57ec4f206d.png

    But I just eat 1/2 C and up the protein and veggies:

    fc1bbebdb9c8c6a91b842db5ac244077.png

    Brown rice:

    cbe2ac756dc7eb03d3bc734d289d7570.png


  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    I'll have to look at my rice package. I think I've had it once in 4 months. I don't know why it's so intimidating!
  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
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    OP asked this question over a year ago....why are people answering it now?
  • GreenValli
    GreenValli Posts: 1,054 Member
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    I measure pasta in a measuring cup, before cooking. I don't use spaghetti though, usually penne, farfalle (bowties), or shells.

    3/4 dry=200 calories So I always have a big salad or plenty of vegetables with it.

    70044776.png

  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
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    purplishblue wrote: »
    I'm afraid of getting to obsessive- past ED.
    But, calorie counting is one of those things that it's good to be obsessive about. I also had an eating disorder when I was younger, and accurate calorie counting does not trigger that at all for me.
    Ok, and that's good it works for you. Personally I feel like weighing my food plus counting calories is just too much. Due to my past I'd prefer to not get that far into things such as measuring, I just don't feel like that would be good for me.

    lol! the two aren't mutually exclusive. you count calories either way - weighing it aids in the counting of calories. your statement is illogical.

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