Can we talk about corn?

BarbieAS
BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
in Food and Nutrition
No, this is not about the after-affects of corn.

I consider myself PRETTY well-versed in the nuances of logging here on MFP after over 2 years of it, but corn has me stumped.

Let's peruse the database for a moment. Search for "corn." You'll see an entry for "Corn - Yellow." Unstarred/USDA entry. 606 calories for 1 cup. The same result comes up if you google "corn calories" (like in the nifty little nutritional info thingy Google now displays).

That seems a little high, yes? So, let's look at some pre-packaged corn. Green Giant frozen Nibblets. No sauce. Verified on the Green Giant website - a 1/2C serving (prepared) is 60 calories.

What the actual heck? Is the generic MFP entry for, like, dried corn or corn meal or something? Does Green Giant use magic GMO corn that is 1/5 of the calories of real corn?

It's summer. I live in Illinois. I'm going to require a definitive way to log the obscene amounts of farm-fresh corn I will begin consuming in the next few weeks.

(Let me add that the entry for "Corn - Sweet, yellow, raw" is much more reasonable. I'm just mystified by the straight up corn entry and it's kind of making me crazy. :laugh: )

Replies

  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    The first two entries that came up for me were 132 calories/cup, which seems reasonable. One was sweet, white, and one sweet, yellow. Now I'm going to try to track down the supercorn and figure it out. Perhaps a mutant product to solve world hunger? ;-)
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Okay, I couldn't find the 606 calorie MFP entry, but I found the google box and the same numbers all over the place and attributed to the USDA. Bizarre.

    For example here http://www.quitehealthy.com/nutrition-facts/corn/203141.html we have that a cup of corn (or "1 serving" or 166 grams) has 606 calories, and nearly 8 grams of fat, but also 15-16 grams of protein. Weird. It's obviously wrong, but I wonder where it's from.
  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
    Google is officially blitzed. I've got a bag of frozen kernels that lists 100 calories for 2/3 cup which is much closer to your 60 for 1/2 cup. Not that either are terribly useful for logging the little 'bonus ears' that I'll dip in ranch and toss down the hatch like fries if I get my hands on 'em. Anyone got a solid figure for those?
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    Ok, this is officially the first time I'm posting a pic, so bear with me. (Edited...ok, I give up on the sizing. Just click on it. :grumble: ) Here's the corn entry:

    t0XK8EV.jpg

    So, I'm not insane, right? Lol. :laugh: I know there's other entries that make sense, but I'm now desperate to figure out where this ridiculous info comes from...also makes me worry about other "unstarred" entries... :huh:
  • myfitnesspale3
    myfitnesspale3 Posts: 276 Member
    There are lots of goofy entries in MFP database - report them as junk, or modify them.

    166 grams = 5+ ounces of corn! You gonna eat that? come oooonnnnn
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    There are lots of goofy entries in MFP database - report them as junk, or modify them.

    166 grams = 5+ ounces of corn! You gonna eat that? come oooonnnnn

    Um, I realize that, which is why I was curious about this particular one - you can't edit the entries without an asterisk (the ones you didn't enter/edit yourself, anyway) - they are supposed to have come directly from the USDA and therefore are supposed to be accurate and not "goofy."

    Also, I don't know why the default serving size is relevant? Most people don't eat exactly the serving size listed in the database. You just enter how much you actually ate. (Not for nothing, but if it was coming directly off the cob and was covered in a bit of butter and a lot of black pepper, I could EASILY pack away 166 grams of corn.)

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