How do you measure spaghetti?

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  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
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    1/2 cup of cooked spaghetti is one serving. Is that what you mean? Or do you mean uncooked?

    Really?! OMG, I've been using one cup cooked as 2oz dry.

    I cook the whole box (and sometimes dump in whatever left over pasta is sitting in the fridge) when I make it but then doing one serving from that giant bowl does my head in. I suppose I could weigh it all. My meals are so dang busy and pasta is always done on a busy night because it is easy. I know - wah wah. ;) I'm going to actually cook 2oz today and then put it in a measuring cup to see. I've always used the one cup but if it is just half a cup - damn. That is hardly worth it. How do normal human beings find 1/2 cup of pasta a serving? lol
  • MetilHed
    MetilHed Posts: 101 Member
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    One serving of pasta, is what you can fit into the cup of your hand (a handful). Contrary, to what you'd be served in a restaurant.

    But who's hand ?
  • Mygsds
    Mygsds Posts: 1,564 Member
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    I too love my scale. I found when I was eye balling it, I was underestimating especially when it came to meat. Takes seconds and so much time is saved. I now am losing so much better, and I think it's because I wasn't eating enough. Good luck..
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
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    Oh, I don't have a scale. I'd rather not get one though.

    How are you going to weigh your food ?
    No matter what you do, get a scale...the cheapest one you can find. It's the #1 " slimming down " aid !
    When I had no scale I used to eyeball fish & chicken. I knew that the size of my palm would be a serving size of appr. 3oz. When I had a scale I found out that my average amount were 6oz, because I did not take the thickness of the meat/fish into consideration.
  • LozPenguin
    LozPenguin Posts: 139 Member
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    I'm afraid of getting to obsessive- past ED.
    But, calorie counting is one of those things that it's good to be obsessive about. I also had an eating disorder when I was younger, and accurate calorie counting does not trigger that at all for me.
    Ok, and that's good it works for you. Personally I feel like weighing my food plus counting calories is just too much. Due to my past I'd prefer to not get that far into things such as measuring, I just don't feel like that would be good for me.

    If you aren't comfortable with a scale, if you think you'll regress to past dangerous habits, don't let anyone badger you into getting one. Eating disorders are complicated, you know yourself, no-one else in this forum does. Perhaps one day you'll reach a point where you think you can handle it without becoming obsessive; but til then, just do what you feel. Best of luck to you!
  • awebster2
    awebster2 Posts: 40 Member
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    Spaghetti is one of the few times I use a cup instead of a scale. I do that because the serving size on the box is for dry pasta. I cook for 4 people, and I am not going to cook my 2 oz separately. That just seems incredibly silly to me, and completely unnecessary.

    I lost 53 pounds in 2013 (this is a new account), so it obviously worked.

    I usually just weigh out 2 oz. if I'm cooking for myself. However, after doing a lot of samples, I find that 2 oz. dry usually comes out to 5 oz. cooked. Run some after-cooking tests on your 2 oz. pasta and see where it comes out for you. Probably varies depending upon type of pasta and cooking length. Just get to know your pasta. At least that way I can cook spaghetti for more than one and just measure out my 5 oz..
  • awebster2
    awebster2 Posts: 40 Member
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    Also I am a carb lover and limited myself to the one cup and use spaghetti squash to offset the extra I would like to have.

    Mixing spaghetti squash and spaghetti is a good trick that really gives you a big plateful without too many added calories. You can also use bean sprouts! I used to use a bag of fresh bean sprouts (cooked a bit so they weren't crunchy). Can't find those often any more but canned bean sprouts work.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    It seems easiest for me just to cook the package and divide the cooked weight by the number of servings in the package to determine how much a cooked serving weighs.

    When multiple people are eating it and serving themselves, it's not very feasible to worry about dry weights.
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
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  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
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  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    I use a scale, but measure in ounces. I don't measure a lot of my food, but I can't seem to get the hang of eyeballing pasta. I always underestimate.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
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    Well, I still see pasta in the stores, so I don't think the question really has a time limit.
  • dcorcion
    dcorcion Posts: 5 Member
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    Buy a scale. You can get one on Amazon for about 15 bucks. Will make your life much easier. Will add a lot of confidence in what you're doing. You'll know, pretty exactly, how many cals you're actually eating.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    purplishblue wrote: »
    I'm afraid of getting to obsessive- past ED.

    Then don't do it! Geez, I don't why people are so insistent that everyone do things just like they do. You know yourself best. Do you what is best for you.
  • wmeyerbill455
    wmeyerbill455 Posts: 49 Member
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    I finally gave it up, too many calories. If I want spagettii now I use Spagetti Squash instead. You should try it, it is really good and no where near the number of calories.
  • MsJulesRenee
    MsJulesRenee Posts: 1,180 Member
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    2oz uncooked = 5oz cooked, food scale :)
  • johnnylakis
    johnnylakis Posts: 812 Member
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    SLLRunner wrote: »
    Go get one at Kmart. $20 and a whole lot of accuracy.
    like

  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,952 Member
    edited June 2015
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    You could also estimate based on your hand size... I think a serving is supposed to be approx. the diameter of a woman's thumb (for long pasta). But that's inaccurate. But it's a simple place to start. That's if it's the main course though (use half for a side dish). Or I've heard you can make a circle with your index finger and your thumb - but place your index finger at the base of your thumb where it joins your hand.... that is one portion.

    Now whether a portion is the same as a serving, IDK, but maybe someone else has tips.

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