Weighing vs Measuring: A cautionary tale

velix

So, this morning, I go to have my morning cereal - Corn Flakes .... the box says 1 and 1/4 cup = 110 calories ... in brackets, it says 30g.

I take the measuring cups out and fill up the first cup, then out of curiosity, decide to weigh it instead - 1 level cup = 30g... I never did get that extra 1/4 cup

Somehow, I feel cheated :frown:

Dafrog

must mean a very loose packed cup. gad the same experince this morning with raisins and brown sugar. i am going to stick with grams.

2bFitNTrim

I wonder if it is because of "settling" that occurs as it makes it's way to the store shelf? Broken pieces take less space.....

edryer123

Wow, thanks for posting this. I think I'm gonna start weighing the cereal too. Not to mention probably any snack that has a pre-determined count.

elcyclista

Hmmm... where'd the 7.5 grams come from... maybe its the empty calories they've been talking about.

gdnplnty

That must be that 'contents may settle' thing.

elcyclista

Did you also weigh the measuring cup along with it? Or did you weigh the empty measuring cup, weigh the measuring cup with cereal, then subtract the difference?

velix

that is cereal alone - as my scale has an attached bowl like top...

katschi

When there are two measurements listed on a package, I go by the gram weight.
This actually gets me more veggies and fruits than the cup measurements.

DawnOf1969

I always, always go by the grams on the packages. I did what you did and compared and realized I was eating amost 75% more calories when I went by measuring instead of weighing!

NeuroticVirgo

ya...I did that too with my special k cereal...I felt pretty jipped. lol

Tomhusker

I was just researching this and came across this video. An eye opener, to say the least.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY&feature=player_embedded

wolfchild59

That definitely happens more with flake cereals. Stuff like Kix, Cheerios, original bran, etc all stay much closer to weight vs. volume measurements. I typically try to always do weights if I have the option, but I compare back and forth every now and again, just to see, since sometimes it quicker to just grab the measuring cup, scoop and go. And yeah, I have the same experience with flake cereals, I actually mostly don't buy them anymore and stick with heartier stuff that doesn't break up into little crumbs so easily.

But sometimes it works in your favor to weigh as well. When I weigh Archer Farms crackers, Special K Cracker Chips, Humbles Baked Hummus Chips, Trader Joe's Roasted Plantain Chips and Mr. Krispers Rice Crisps I almost always get one or two more pieces than what the count on the bag says.

stormieweather

Ok, I took a picture of these actual boxes in the store, side by side, last week, but the numbers aren't readable...both products contained a single ingredient - brown rice.

BE CAREFUL!!


Uncle Ben's Boil-In-Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice

http://www.unclebens.com/rice/boil-in-bag-whole-grain-brown-rice.aspx
Serving size - 1/4 dry - 1 cup cooked
170 calories
1.5g fat
36g carbs

Compare it to:

Success Boil in Bag Whole Grain Brown Rice

http://www.successrice.com/en-us/products/40/WholeGrainBrownRice.aspx
Serving size - 1/4 dry - 1 cup cooked
150 calories
1g fat
33g carbs

Now, which one do you suppose I chose??


Uncle Ben's, of course. I want to overestimate my calories, if anything...never underestimate.

eellis2000

don't forget to weigh the cup seperately as it has it's own weight.lol