Why I needed a kitchen scale!

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  • Minnie_Moo
    Minnie_Moo Posts: 239 Member
    I have used a food scale for many years........I started using one when I had joined Weight Watchers ages ago. It will definately open your eyes, well it surely did mine to portion control especially when measuring food with measuring cups and spoons or by eyeball and you won't believe how much more food you really may be eating by not weighing it. I weigh almost everything I have to eat now.....

    Here is a video to watch ;-) about using a scale vs. measuring cups and spoons........
    http://youtu.be/JVjWPclrWVY

    **** I have the same scale as in the video only mine was made by Kitrics and not Chefmate ****

    The Kitrics Digital Nutrition Scale (I bought mine on QVC a few years ago but have seen it on amazon and some mail order catalogs too) and it has food codes programmed into it and you can add more food codes for your own favorite foods and the scale gives you the nutritional info for the items you are weighing. It has a tare button and you can change between grams and ounces for weighing items.
  • tlroesch72
    tlroesch72 Posts: 21
    I love my scale -- I weigh everything! It works for me
  • natwen
    natwen Posts: 81
    okay, so I need a kichen scale it sounds like. what is the best/cheapest one and where do I get it? and I live in a very small town. so walmart or online are my choices.

    I don't know what the best or cheapest is, but the one I got had good ratings and it looks sexy. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003E7AZQA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
  • magerum
    magerum Posts: 12,589 Member
    Solid foods should be weighed and liquids measured in order to get accurate measurements.

    Some food scales have liquid measuring options, one of my two do. That being said, I still use measuring cups for liquids most of the time.
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
    Solid foods should be weighed and liquids measured in order to get accurate measurements.

    Some food scales have liquid measuring options, one of my two do. That being said, I still use measuring cups for liquids most of the time.

    Oh, that would be awesome! Mine doesn't have the liquids option though.
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    Solid foods should be weighed and liquids measured in order to get accurate measurements.

    Some food scales have liquid measuring options, one of my two do. That being said, I still use measuring cups for liquids most of the time.

    Can you explain how this works? I don't get it. 8 oz. of milk weighs a different amount than 8 oz. of water. Do you input the item being weighed when it is a liquid??
  • photorific
    photorific Posts: 577 Member
    Definitely! Purchasing a food scale proved to be one of the most useful tools when I was shedding my last 10lbs. Realized I sucked bad at eyeballing oz of chicken I was consuming lol

    I have been wondering about chicken. Should I measure raw chicken on the scale or cooked chicken? Which MFP chicken listing do you use when its skinless/boneless breast? There are so many...

    I weigh it raw, and search for "chicken raw".
  • emmeylou
    emmeylou Posts: 175 Member
    [/quote]

    I have been wondering about chicken. Should I measure raw chicken on the scale or cooked chicken? Which MFP chicken listing do you use when its skinless/boneless breast? There are so many...
    [/quote]

    On my package of chicken (just generic from walmart, not the best quality but certainly the cheapest)... it says specifically 4oz raw or 3oz cooked. If it doesn't say either way, I go with whatever the serving size is and assume they mean cooked. I count my protein more than cals, so this way even if it was meant to be amount raw, I'm going over and not under which is very important.
  • birdies13
    birdies13 Posts: 9 Member
    I have good news for you! You are supposed to weigh pasta dry. Pasta absorbs water and weighs more after you cook it.
  • klalaw
    klalaw Posts: 137 Member
    First, I love my digital scale! It weighs in ounces and grams, and I have learned to rely on it over measuring cups because I never knew whether it should be filled to the brim, stuffed, lightly filled, or what. So much more accurate, and I have found that it allows me more of certain foods than I would have given myself using a measuring cup (shredded cheese comes to mind).

    The question about chicken brings another question of mine to mind, however - for frozen shrimp, do you weigh frozen or thawed? With or without tails? Maybe it seems petty, but if I'm entitled to more calories (by thawing and removing tails), I want to enjoy them!
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
    Solid foods should be weighed and liquids measured in order to get accurate measurements.

    Some food scales have liquid measuring options, one of my two do. That being said, I still use measuring cups for liquids most of the time.

    Can you explain how this works? I don't get it. 8 oz. of milk weighs a different amount than 8 oz. of water. Do you input the item being weighed when it is a liquid??

    Yes. When liquids are measured in ounces, that is a measurement of VOLUME, not weight. That's why you see it always called "fluid ounces"--it's not a weight measurement.

    As the two liquids are different densities, they will have different weight at the same volume. Similar to the idea when comparing the same volumes of muscle and fat, muscle weighs more than fat.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I am going to assume that when the box says 1 cup it means 1 measuring cup NOT 8 oz.

    If it meant 8 oz it would say 8 oz.
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
    I am going to assume that when the box says 1 cup it means 1 measuring cup NOT 8 oz.

    If it meant 8 oz it would say 8 oz.

    Right next to the 1 Cup, the number of grams will also be listed. I go by the grams.
  • cristeberga
    cristeberga Posts: 251 Member
    I just bought a food scale tonight. Oh boy, have I miscalculated the amount of cheese I have been eating. I have probably been eating 3 to 4 ounces as opposed to 1 or 2 I have "guessed"......ARGH!!!
  • newmooon56
    newmooon56 Posts: 347 Member
    this thread made me open a new window and go to amazon and buy a new scale. Been fumbling with a lame one so far- and using cups... I knew Id admit what I was doing was bunk eventually...

    Thanks OP!
  • supremewoo
    supremewoo Posts: 4
    We use our kitchen scale for everything we eat! It's so easy to measure food, way easier and accurate than using measuring cups! Now if i just had a small portable scale that would fit in my purse... ;)


    Avon sells one for about $20 that is the size of a small tile and is very thin. You could definately keep one in your purse :smile:
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
    I am going to assume that when the box says 1 cup it means 1 measuring cup NOT 8 oz.

    If it meant 8 oz it would say 8 oz.

    Right next to the 1 Cup, the number of grams will also be listed. I go by the grams.

    Every once in awhile I check it against the number of portions. For instance if a pint of ice cream has a serving size of 1/2 cup, you get 4 servings. If one is over, another will be under. If the box of cereal has 12 servings of 1 cup, measure out 12 cups and see how it works out. (This is much easier if you're not sharing food with a household, but there are advantages to measuring out servings in advance when you're getting used to new serving sizes and portion control.) For instance in the example, you can put each serving of cereal into a sandwich bag and have 12 servings ready.

    And yes, while most liquids will weigh about the same amount -- especially clear, water based liquids -- some like dense soups won't. And I don't think water and oil weight the same per volume. ??
  • DonaA123
    DonaA123 Posts: 337 Member
    bump

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