how do you measure "bulky" fruit?

brennamathis
brennamathis Posts: 23
in Food and Nutrition
Example--cantaloupe or watermelon balls. If I look it up, it'll say 1 cup. Do you actually measure like a measuring cup level with one cup? Or do you weigh out 8 oz? Because it's a biiiiig difference in amount, at least the way I'm cutting it?

Replies

  • daniellemm1
    daniellemm1 Posts: 465 Member
    bump. I started using the measuring cup method and then switched to weighing it. I'd like to hear what more knowledgable people have to say about this.
  • brennamathis
    brennamathis Posts: 23
    I've been using the measuring cup method, but I almost wonder if I'm making myself miss out on some of my fruit and/or logging more calories than I'm actually eating because of the way I'm measuring.
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
    I measure cantaloupe by the slice - the USDA entry has info for a slice (1/8th of a cantaloupe).
  • tackie8383
    tackie8383 Posts: 59 Member
    I use a food scale and find the nutrition information based on grams or ounces.
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    I cut mine up into pieces and measure 1 cup
  • psykins
    psykins Posts: 76
    I'd get a food scale, honestly. I LOVE mine, and I feel so much more confident that I'm accurate with my calories consumed. I used to just estimate, which can be fine, but I want to be honest with myself and make sure I don't go over, and it was really easy for me to say "oh, seems like a little over half a cup, but a half cup would be just fine!" Do that for long enough and it all catches up :\

    Since I've had the food scale, it has been easier to portion, too! Ex: I eat a lot of yogurt, now that I measure it with a food scale I can just put as much as I want and record the g/oz, not worry about whether I got the right portion of a cup.
  • brennamathis
    brennamathis Posts: 23
    I have a scale, that's my issue though. One cup of melon balls put in a measuring cup vs. 8 oz (one cup) measured on the scale are two VERY different amounts when you put them next to each other. Just went through to do a comparison--putting cantaloupe balls in the 1 cup measuring cup gives me 12-13 melon balls. Weighing out 8 oz (still one cup!) of melon balls gives me 25-26 melon balls. That's twice as much if I'm weighing by ounces vs. filled cup, but they're both *technically* one cup, kwim?
  • tross0924
    tross0924 Posts: 909 Member
    I have a scale, that's my issue though. One cup of melon balls put in a measuring cup vs. 8 oz (one cup) measured on the scale are two VERY different amounts when you put them next to each other. Just went through to do a comparison--putting cantaloupe balls in the 1 cup measuring cup gives me 12-13 melon balls. Weighing out 8 oz (still one cup!) of melon balls gives me 25-26 melon balls. That's twice as much if I'm weighing by ounces vs. filled cup, but they're both *technically* one cup, kwim?

    A cup is not a unit of weight.

    If it says one cup of melon balls it's talking about volume and the 12 - 13 balls in a measuring cup. If it says 8 oz it's talking about the weight and the 25 - 26 balls on a scale.
  • brennamathis
    brennamathis Posts: 23
    Thank you! I think what threw me is there was one fruit I pulled up one day...can't remember what, strawberries, or melon, or something like that--and it had BOTH measurements, 1 cup (8 oz). It really threw me off when I saw that, and I ended up searching for another version of it that had it listed how I was measuring (by an actual cup, not in oz)....just made me wonder what everyone else did.
  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member
    Ask it ihow much it lifts.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    I use a food scale and find the nutrition information based on grams or ounces.

    This for sure.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    I just weigh it. I don't understand the obsession you Americans have with ******* "cups" !
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I use the food scale, in grams, for almost everything. The only exception to that is that I still weigh meat in ounces.

    And liquids I obviously use a liquid measuring cup.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I measure cantaloupe by the slice - the USDA entry has info for a slice (1/8th of a cantaloupe).

    1/8th of what size cantaloupe? I've bought cantaloupes that are only a little larger than a softball and others that are almost as big as a honeydew. They aren't both the same amount of calories for 1/8th of each.
  • UrbanLotus
    UrbanLotus Posts: 1,163 Member
    I measure cantaloupe by the slice - the USDA entry has info for a slice (1/8th of a cantaloupe).

    1/8th of what size cantaloupe? I've bought cantaloupes that are only a little larger than a softball and others that are almost as big as a honeydew. They aren't both the same amount of calories for 1/8th of each.

    There are measurements involved, I don't remember off the top of my head. You can log it however you want, I'm ok with being like 5 calories off for a piece of fruit.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Weigh them if you want to be precise, and check against the USDA database entries in the MFP database that give 100 g as the unit.

    Though, cantaloupe and similar fruit are so low cal that it isn't as crucial to log them precisely. Unless you are a raw foodist or something and munch on the stuff all day long.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    I use a food scale and find the nutrition information based on grams or ounces.

    This for sure.
    yup.
  • GormanGhaste
    GormanGhaste Posts: 430 Member
    I measure fruit by fractions of the whole fruit. That's what I'm doing with the half watermelon I bought for the 4th of July.
  • PamShebamm
    PamShebamm Posts: 54
    Weigh it. 100g of something will always be the same amount. But depending on how you cut/slice something, it can vary a lot.
  • kerstinelaine
    kerstinelaine Posts: 11 Member
    Everyone has their own way, no need to be rude about it.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
    I have a scale, that's my issue though. One cup of melon balls put in a measuring cup vs. 8 oz (one cup) measured on the scale are two VERY different amounts when you put them next to each other. Just went through to do a comparison--putting cantaloupe balls in the 1 cup measuring cup gives me 12-13 melon balls. Weighing out 8 oz (still one cup!) of melon balls gives me 25-26 melon balls. That's twice as much if I'm weighing by ounces vs. filled cup, but they're both *technically* one cup, kwim?

    A cup is not a unit of weight.

    If it says one cup of melon balls it's talking about volume and the 12 - 13 balls in a measuring cup. If it says 8 oz it's talking about the weight and the 25 - 26 balls on a scale.

    THIS! 1 cup is NOT necessarily 8 oz. (Fluid, yes, most are 8 ounces... food is usually about half about that!)
  • houlenberg
    houlenberg Posts: 107 Member
    I weigh it in grams. It's the most accurate measurement.
  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,584 Member
    Everyone has their own way, no need to be rude about it.
    ...and weight is only measure that is going to be accurate. I'd rather someone be rude and tell me how I'm doing it wrong than to pat me on the head and tell me it's okay to go ahead and just estimate.
  • GormanGhaste
    GormanGhaste Posts: 430 Member
    Of course a food scale will be most accurate. But this is something I plan on doing the rest of my life, and I'm pretty sure a food scale isn't going to be available every time I eat. I'd rather put some effort into learning how to estimate food portions as accurately as possible without a scale. But if you enjoy it, by all means use a scale.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    I've found that the longer I've used a food scale at home the better I've gotten at estimating weights in general. Because I become so accustomed to what the amount looks like while I'm weighing it that it becomes more of a second nature. Last night I was portioning a big pile of fresh chicken breast that I'd diced for easy prep after unfreezing into 5oz servings. Every portion I placed on the scale was within 1/2-1/4 of an ounce of the 5oz. The first time I did it was putting on anywhere from 3 1/2 to 6 1/2 ounces at a time.

    So relying on a food scale at home has actually made me much more confident in the estimates I've had to make while away from it.
  • LongIsland27itl
    LongIsland27itl Posts: 365 Member
    Find the nutrition in weight not volume

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