When measuring meat, is it cooked or raw?

demsky_04

I was measuring my pasta for dinner tonight, box said 2oz uncooked or 2/3 cup. Well I finished dinner and started making the plates, I measured the food on the scale and put 2oz of cooked pasta in it, dumped it on the plate and realized it's only like maybe 1/4 or so. I started thinking that doesn't look near enough. I then start second guessing this whole over eating thing. Then it donned on me that it said 2oz uncooked. So I got on the computer and searched how much cooked pasta is a serving (about 3.5-4oz). I then started thinking about everything else cooked vs. raw measurements and nutrional value, etc. Especially the meat since meat tends to lose moisture and shrink. From what I've read it's after it's cooked unless specified on the box and it still contains the same nutrional value. This is all so confusing me. Do any of you guys have any trouble or opinions with this? Leave your comments below.

Here are a few websites:

http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programsServices/lifestageHealth/Nutrition/Pages/ServingSizes.aspx

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/weight/servingsize.aspx

http://www.skinny-bits.com/2010/04/weighing-your-food-raw-vs-cooked.html

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Replenish/WhatisaServing/What-is-a-Serving_UCM_301838_Article.jsp

Here are some links to help with a visual incase you don't have a food scale:

http://www.mealsmatter.org/articles-and-resources/healthy-living-articles/Portion-Sizes.aspx

http://www.pre-diabetes.com/lifestyle/how-to-measure-food-portions.html

http://www.mynetdiary.com/estimating-portions-for-food-diary.html

Mokey41

Meat is generally weighed raw because the amount of loss will depend on whether you like your steak still mooing or like shoe leather.

WendyTerry420

I always use the raw measurement.

demsky_04

And that's what I thought at first, but then I started looking into it and the majority of the sites say cooked, because you serve meat cooked. As for the Steak, I can see that now. I like mine like leather.

CkepiJinx

I measure my meat cooked.

endlesoul

I try to measure raw but many times its not practical and I'm fortunate to find on MFP cooked info.

Mokey41

And that's what I thought at first, but then I started looking into it and the majority of the sites say cooked, because you serve meat cooked. As for the Steak, I can see that now. I like mine like leather.

I don't see how they can give a measurement cooked, there's just too many variables and that's a lot of calories when it comes to meat products if you happen to be using a raw weight on a cooked product or vice versa.

AmyzNewGroove

^^ yes this. Also, the new USDA/FSIS regulations requiring single ingredient meat products to be labeled indicates the nutrition information should be for the raw product. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_030112_01/index.asp

MichelleLaree13

I like to measure all the ingredients raw. For a soup I weigh all the ingrediants and toss them in. When it is done cooking I measure the total volume in oz and divide it by eight (eight oz is a serving). However many calories are in the total recipe I divide by the number of servings I have to equal the calories per eight oz serving.

katevarner

Has anyone seen these new labels? I have not yet. I have the USDA site saved to my favorites, tho, because there is so much nutritional info there. And they list raw and cooked.

I measure my meat cooked for the most part because I cook a lot of roasts and it's not worth it to me to cook tiny roasts several nights a week (I live alone). It hasn't affected my weight loss. I am very particular about measuring the rest of my food (to the gram) but just not worth it to me on the meat, altho I'm overeating protein, so I should probably care more.

Cupcakehippiemommy

Maybe I am weird but I use the old stand by of using my hand and plate to see how much of something I should have like veggies should be half my plate protein about a small fist.It's worked for me so far otherwise I think I'd go crazy carrying around a scale lol but to ea their own ^u^ Good luck doll!

needamulligan

I measure it cooked because that's the way I eat it!

zyxst

Maybe I am weird but I use the old stand by of using my hand and plate to see how much of something I should have like veggies should be half my plate protein about a small fist.It's worked for me so far otherwise I think I'd go crazy carrying around a scale lol but to ea their own ^u^ Good luck doll!

Some of us aren't just weighing to calculate calories. Your small fist of protein could be more than what I have as a weighed portion.

I weigh/measure raw foods.

jdforshort

I always measure it cooked, separately total up raw marinades (oil, onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger etc) and then divide according to total number of servings. Rice and pasta cooked, Oats dry uncooked. I even weigh berries/fruit/yogurt as cup measurements can be deceptive.

SunnyAndrsn

The RD's I work with say cooked for meats. A rule of thumb is that 4oz uncooked is about 3oz cooked.

theNurseNancy

Chicken I weigh cooked.

Steak I weigh raw (I like it med-rare).

demsky_04

Update: After contacting various companies, I have an straight answer, I qoute:

"Regulations require that Serving Size and Nutritional values be calculated "as packaged."

So fresh meat is measured raw whereas pre-cooked is after, since it's "packaged" as cooked.

AmbyrJayde

Update: After contacting various companies, I have an straight answer, I qoute:

"Regulations require that Serving Size and Nutritional values be calculated "as packaged."

So fresh meat is measured raw whereas pre-cooked is after, since it's "packaged" as cooked.

Awesome thats very good to know!!

lgmorgansb

Cooked vs. uncooked…that is the question. However, standard serving sizes are always listed in a ready to eat state. When you are dishing the food item onto your plate, this is when the measuring and weighing begins. These standard portions are perfect examples:
Meat: 3 ounces, cooked
Vegetables: 1 cup, raw
Vegetables: ½ cup cooked
Pasta, Noodles, Rice, Oatmeal: ½ cup cooked
But many times recipes do not use these standard portion sizes. Here are a few tips to help determine how much is being used:

MEAT
Meat contains 7 grams of protein per cooked ounce.
Example: If the nutrient analysis for a pork chop recipe indicates 35 grams of protein/serving, you can estimate that approximately 5 ounces of cooked meat is used for the serving.

GRAIN PRODUCTS
Grain products contain about 15-17 grams of carbohydrate, 3-4 grams of protein, 0-1 grams of fat; for a total of 80-90 calories per ½ cup cooked portion.
Example: If a pasta salad contains 24 grams of carbohydrates per serving, you could estimate that approximately 3/4 cup of cooked pasta is being used for the serving.

This makes the most sense to me ????

lgmorgansb

Most will say at "Prepared" which would indicate cooked.

JoRocka

I weigh my chicken out cooked- because I cook in batches- and I'm way to lazy to weigh it all as a big batch in advance.

I accept the risk- I usually add oils separately- but I account for them. Spices I don't care about.

contingencyplan

How much cooked meat weighs depends on how it was cooked and how long it was cooked for. For that reason weights are always raw.

jtotyler

I had the same question so I contacted foster farms who sells boneless skinless chicken breasts at costco. The rep who emailed me back stated the norm for nutritional values are based on how the product is sold unless it states otherwise. So if you buy raw chicken you weigh it raw. If you buy cooked meat it is of course is the weight cooked. Hope this helps sorry if you now have to cut the protein intake back a little.