New food scale, now aggrevated

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  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    One more hint. If you have a specific brand and you need more information than is in the MFP database, you can often find the nutrition label for the item online. For example, google "jif creamy nutrition label" and there are several links that can bring you right to the nutrition label if you don't happen to have the jar to hand.
  • LaRaAnHa
    LaRaAnHa Posts: 14 Member
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    The peanut butter i use is 16g per serving.

    What's a serving though? I may spread it thick on a slice of toast, or thin on a cracker, they can't both be 16g!

    A serving is whatever the company who makes the product decides it should be. In the case of that peanut butter, one serving is always going to be 16g no matter how much you use. If you are spreading it thick on toast you would likely be eating more than one serving, and if you are spreading it thinly it would likely be less than one.
  • rosered93
    rosered93 Posts: 69 Member
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    If you ever have difficulty locating the usda version here on mfp, nutritiondata.self.com is pretty much the usda database, so it's really easy to check it on there. They also have a plug-in for I think Firefox, so you can have a search bar for the site right in your toolbar.
  • pkbryant28
    pkbryant28 Posts: 146 Member
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    Thanks everyone for all the great ideas and tips.
  • youdontknowwhatyousaw
    youdontknowwhatyousaw Posts: 221 Member
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    When you look at the nutrition value on the back of what you're eating it usally has a weight and a dry measurement. For instance my peanut butter says serving sive 2 tbls. (32 grams). I weigh it out in grams and then input it as 2 tbls.
  • LeahT84
    LeahT84 Posts: 202 Member
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    So... get a set of measuring cups as well? I weigh my meats on the food scale, and for things like PB, I use my 4 ounce measuring cup that shows the tablespoons on one side. Measuring cups and measuring spoons are also a good way to measure your food... NOT just by the weight. If it says serving size is 2 tablespoons, then it would make sense to measure out 2 tablespoons, would it not?

    Weight measurement is much more precise than volume, especially for anything that isn't a liquid. Just try to measure a level tablespoon of peanut butter and get it all out on the bread. Not easy and not very precise. Honey is even worse. The true amount of flour in a cup of flour can vary greatly by how firmly it is packed which is why a lot of home bread makers and most professional bakers use weight to measure ingredients.

    But think, for instance about a cup of big strawberries versus a cup of little blueberries. There's far more empty space in the cup of strawberries. The same volume of grated parmesan is a very different amount of cheese depending on which grater I use.

    On the other hand, often cup measurements are very handy. For example, tonight when I divide a large batch of wild and brown rice into single servings for the freezer, I'll just scoop 1/2 cup piles of rice. It's close enough for this purpose. Will some of those "1/2 cups" have a little more rice in them than others? Sure, but it's close enough for this purpose.

    So, I do both, whatever is easier for what I'm doing. And, truth be told, I eyeball a bit when the calorie count is minimal. I mean, who really measures lettuce?

    Well I use PB2, and my measuring cup works perfect for that. I don't use mayo, but for my honey, I spray a tiny bit of nonstick stray on my measuring spoon first, and then use a rubber spatula to scrape it off. I don't get my scale out to measure that stuff because it's too much of a hassle. If it calls for one tablespoon, I use a tablespoon. I don't find it as difficult to do as you do apparently, but I also use my big glass measuring cup to measure my lettuce and spinach so I know exactly what I'm eating. To each their own. I was just trying to offer another alternative to measuring. Although, her problem seems to be more with logging, which I don't have a problem with because I convert the tablespoon/grams instead of getting frustrated and confused. Google is a good way to find out the conversions, and I always find several options to choose from on MFP.

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