Weighing food

Even easier, put the spoon on the scale first, then turn it on so it reads zero with the spoon on top (the tare weight of the spoon). Then scoop out your butter and measure it again. This will give you the weight of the butter.

Unless I can use a measuring spoon, I weigh my food using grams, as I can be more exact (28 possible measurements per oz, whereas my digital scale only displays 4 per oz). I use 2 methods for measuring ingredients (depends on whether I think I'll spill!): I weigh the container that I'm putting the ingredient into, then the container after adding the ingredient. Alternatively, using the package the ingredient comes in, I weigh it before I remove my desired amount, then reweigh it after removal.

Always weight before cooking. The only time to weigh after cooking is to portion. Calorie/nutrition data is always based on raw/uncooked product unless it specifically says "cooked".

Why? Because the cooking method can never be 100% the same every time.

Weigh out 6oz of raw chicken breast, and it will be 6oz of raw chicken breast every time. But maybe tonight you cook it perfectly so it's still moist and juicy inside. But tomorrow you over cook it and now it's sorta dry inside. Those two cooked chicken breasts both have the same calorie/nutrition info, but the overlooked one will weigh less because you have cooked out more of the natural juices (which don't carry away calories).

With dry goods it's the opposite effect. Weigh out 40g of rice and you always have your serving size. But depending on how much water it absorbs on that particular night of cooking, it will weigh different amounts (and even take up different volume) in a cooked state depending on that amount of absorption.

But say you have a family of four and you want to cook four servings of rice, so you weigh out 160g and cook it. Now is when you weigh after cooking. Find the weight of the cooked rice, divide by four, and you have your single serving portion.

It's why any commercial you hear, or any restaurant that has steak on the menu, has a disclaimer that the weight is uncooked weight. Because someone that orders a rare 10oz strip steak is going to end up with a heavier cooked steak than the person that ordered a 10oz medium strip steak. And why if you ever weighed a Quarter Pound burger, it would probably weigh closer to 3oz.

And yes, make sure your scale has a Tare function. That way you can zero out the weight of whatever you're measuring in. Or, can keep weighing items into the same bowl/pot and just keep zeroing out what's already been added.

Since we're on this topic, can somebody help me? I'm new to the site and struggling with grams...

Can you not change the measurement to ounces? I have no idea what a 100 gms looks like. Yes I can use my food scale and change it to grams when I'm at home and preparing meals but sometimes, when I'm out (like today), how do I know what 20 grams of Falafel looks like??? Finding it challenging switching from WW points system to MFP but loving this program and site... any info you can provide, would be greatly helpful! Thanks.

For weighing the nut butter, put the container with the nut butter on the scale (without the lid) and zero the scale.

Take your spoon and scoop out the nut butter until the reading on the scale is the desired (but negative) measurement.

I think this is the most direct method rather than weighing the spoon itself. Using this method you can also lick the spoon.