popcorn

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atlmom
atlmom Posts: 27 Member
in Food and Nutrition
so i've not seen this posted, but i cannot be the only one who doesn't understand popcorn calories. for example, jolly time 100 calorie bags-it's 100 calories unpopped but 20 calories popped. why does everyone log it in at 100? i mean who eats this unpopped? a cow? a squirrel? which is it 100 or 20.

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  • mvl1014
    mvl1014 Posts: 531
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    I don't know about that specific brand, but my favorite is 150 cals for 5 cups popped. licklipsd.gif And yes, I occasionally eat the whole thing myself! bleho.gif
  • stylistchik
    stylistchik Posts: 1,436 Member
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    is the bag one serving? or are there 5 servings in a bag?
  • Happyoceangirl
    Happyoceangirl Posts: 1,993 Member
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    LOL - "Who eats it unpopped? A cow? A squirrel?" I've been wanting to know that too!!!!
    I'm so curious what the answer to the calories question is..... thanks for putting it out there!
  • themetra
    themetra Posts: 174 Member
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    Haha - I noticed this too and I use Orville Reddenbacher 120 unpopped, 15 popped. Why is this?
  • tinap1
    tinap1 Posts: 27
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    Funny I should just see this because I just made popcorn and when I put it in my food diary it came up as 200 calories! I thought I was only eating like 50 at the most!!!!
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    It's because 2 tbsp of popped corn is a lot less corn than 2 tbsp of unpopped corn. I think 2 tbsp of unpopped corn turns into 1 cup of popped corn. (But I haven't got a bag here to check so I could be off.)
  • valleyp
    valleyp Posts: 49
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    I'm guessing that because there is a glob of oil mixed in with the unpopped kernels and when it is popped, much of that oil is spread out over the inside of the bag and not as much is on the popcorn, the unpopped calories are much higher than the popped calories.
  • meokk
    meokk Posts: 787 Member
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    The popcorn I eat is 30 calories per popped cup
    The labels are very confusing though, I had to read through a few times before I got it

    Envision it as a weight measure not a volume measure.
    1 oz of unpopped corn has the same calories as 1oz of popped corn.
    To confuse everyone the popped calories are generally measured by volume, in cups. 1 cup unpopped is probably equivalent to (guessing) about 20 cups popped

    If you are unsure you can always weigh your popped serving
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    I just figure out how many servings the bag has (popped) and multiply the cals by that amount. 1 cup of popcorn isn't very much. The bags I get usually have 10 cups popped.
  • MacMadame
    MacMadame Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Okay I'm home with a box of popcorn. It says:


    Unpopped is 2 Tbsp. - 150 calories
    Popped - 1 cup - 45 calories
    2 Tbsp unpopped makes 3 cups popped. (Not 1 like I thought.)

    So doing some math.... 3 x 45 = 135. 2 Tbsp of unpopped corn has 15 less calories when it's popped.

    Is that because some of the oil sticks to the bag or is it one of those things where the manufacturer is using serving sizes to fudge the numbers.... like when the packages says 0 Trans fats when it still has trans fats but each serving as a small enough amount that they are allowed to say it has 0. Beats me!

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