Too many opposite calorie numbers!!!

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:So today for lunch I went to one little bistro, I ate 1 plate: spaghetti with tomato basil sauce. Ok I know spaghetti are like 300 kcal, but what about sauce?
Wanted to log it, but then I see so many different numbers, one says that 1 cup of that sauce has like 350 kcal which I consider too many for just a tomato, and then the other one says that it's 100 kcal. Which one do I trust? Must log something. Couldn't do the measure since it's daily menu from that restaurant.

And that happens to me with lots of stuff here. So many different numbers like 100 people use 100 different kinds of tomatoes for example:laugh: :laugh:
I just hope this meal isn't over 500 kcal's...it shouldn't be, it's light:tongue:

Replies

  • WBB55
    WBB55 Posts: 4,131 Member
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    Depends on what's in the sauce. Some sauces have A LOT of sugar added. That can raise the calories higher than you think. If they didn't add fat and sugar to the sauce, depending on the amount of sauce, it could be as low as 75 calories.
  • gypsy_spirit
    gypsy_spirit Posts: 2,107 Member
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    There is really no accurate way to know the calories in spaghetti sauce at a restaurant, unless they have a nutritional guide on line/on the menu. If you have to go the route of estimating, then just get as close as you can and know that you are probably off a little.

    As far as the database, look for user confirmations on the nutritional info of each entry. The more confirmations usually means people have checked out the numbers and they are close.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,020 Member
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    I doubt there's anywhere near a cup of sauce.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    I doubt there's anywhere near a cup of sauce.

    This, it may look like a lot of sauce but I have found in home cooking that a little sauce LOOKS like way more than it actually is. What I used to estimate as 1 cup, when I started actually measuring turned out closer to 1/2 cup! It spreads out over the noodles and thins out with the steam and any leftover water on the plate and really looks like a lot more though!
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
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    If I go out to a restaurant that has no calorie information, I'll use the info for a similar dish at a chain restaurant--they usually have the info on their websites. Olive Garden has pretty much every typical Itialian-ish dish. With pizza, I usually use the Pizza Hut listings since there is an entry for pretty much every ingredient combo in the MFP database WITH pizza sizes. It's important to know the pie size, since a slice from an 18" pizza is way bigger than a slice from a 14" pizza.