Olive Oil--Count all the calories?

Yes.

ETA: Unless you're using so much oil that some is left in the pan. In which case you would need to account for that leftover amount.

Yes. Absolutely, if it passes your mouth, it counts as whatever calories it has.

Sub in any other word for olive oil... "Is it really necessary to count all the calories from __________ that I use?"

Words: olive oil, sugar, bacon, soda, etc...

You'd never ask that about bacon and it's LOWER calorie than olive oil.

I tend to use a spritzer for oils, they're too high calorie for too low flavor/filling value... much less painful to use 1/2tsp oil vs 1tbsp.

i agree... i use as little olive oil as i can to get my cooking done... olive oil is a good fat to have, and its so much bette to cook with, but it is high in calories... just use as little as you can. 1/2 tsp usually serves me well for a pan full of veggies or meat.

I think it's logical to have to count some of them, but I question counting ALL of them. I mean, I put a tablespoon in the pan, swirl it around until it's just a sheen on the pan. How much of that oil is actually getting soaked into my little piece of chicken? In this case, doesn't at least some of it evaporate or stay on the pan?

It won't ruin my calorie limit if I count all of them, I'm just curious :laugh:

I think it's logical to have to count some of them, but I question counting ALL of them. I mean, I put a tablespoon in the pan, swirl it around until it's just a sheen on the pan. How much of that oil is actually getting soaked into my little piece of chicken? In this case, doesn't at least some of it evaporate or stay on the pan?

It won't ruin my calorie limit if I count all of them, I'm just curious :laugh:

Not enough of it evaporates in the time you're cooking to make that big of a difference.

Ok, it doesn't evaporate, but why does all the oil go into MY chicken and not any of the other 5 pieces I'm cooking?

You didn't say that you were cooking multiple pieces of chicken. Oy.

My bad. I think I'm confused (so very tired). Forgive me!!

I guess dividing it amongst the other food would be logical :embarassed:

Yeah, that would be my first inclination.

Or cooking my piece in a separate pan for the most accurate result.

You should count all of the calories because there is just absolutely no way to determine how much is left in the pan, etc. Also, the difference in how many calories may or may not have been left behind are going to be so nominal that it won't really matter. You're going to drive yourself batty trying to visually calculate fractions of teaspoons.

MFP recipes are great for this. Let's say you're cooking 4 4-oz. chicken breasts in 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Create a recipe, tell MFP how many servings it makes, add the ingredients, and save. Now instead of entering the ingredients each time you sauté chicken breasts, use the recipe. Obviously, sautéed chicken breast is really simple, but I have about 100 recipes I've created in the last 8 months (I cook a lot of different foods), and each time I make the same thing again, or have leftovers, I've got the food all ready to enter. It helps to review and edit ingredients if you make changes.

Just be honest about the quantities. If a serving for you is 2 of those 4-oz chicken breasts, then say that the recipe serves 2, not 4! Or if you set it up for 4 servings, and you eat 2, record 2.