Correct nutritional info for frozen foods?

susie3g
susie3g Posts: 267
in Food and Nutrition
I'm trying to be as accurate as possible with my calorie counts, and I've taken to weighing many of my food items. I'm stumped about how to accurately account for frozen foods. If a bag of frozen chicken states a serving size is 4 oz., is that 4 oz. of frozen chicken or thawed? Same question for frozen veggies. Is the serving size for frozen, thawed, or cooked?

Replies

  • snazzyjazzy21
    snazzyjazzy21 Posts: 1,298 Member
    Unless otherwise stated, I go by the way it is in the packet. So, frozen chicken, frozen veges, dry pasta, etc.
  • jwhackers84
    jwhackers84 Posts: 43 Member
    I don't know if it's right or not, but I always thaw my chicken and then weigh it out. As for frozen veggies, I will generally measure those cooked, just for ease.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    It shouldn't be significantly different in weight between frozen and non (it might lose a little moisture), so either way ought to be okay.
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
    Well when I thaw the chicken, I squeeze out all the excess liquid I can because I know it's loaded with sodium.
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  • AwesomeGuy37
    AwesomeGuy37 Posts: 436 Member
    Frozen or raw is always best.

    Cooking reduces the weight significantly, but not the calories. Cooking doesn't always end with the same result, so judging calories of cooked meat is a gamble.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    I've wondered about this as well, except for me it's about frozen berries. But there shouldn't be a huge difference in weight if frozen or thawed, and I figure it's better to slightly overestimate, so I go by frozen weight.
  • LividMuffin
    LividMuffin Posts: 47 Member
    Frozen veggies are no problem, MFP have them in the database.. It's worse with chicken though as it contains a lot of water (especially the cheaper ones). Try to weigh the chicken in a frozen state, cook it and weigh it again. Then calculate the percentage of weight lost and log in the cooked weight (MFP has cooked/grilled chicken in database). If you keep buying the same chicken you can always weigh it frozen and log in the % of weight when cooked. For example I found out that the chicken we buy (cheap *kitten* because we rarely eat it) loses about 45% of its frozen weight when cooked! I hope this makes sense..:)
  • susie3g
    susie3g Posts: 267
    Thanks for all the responses!

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