Pasta confustion

Chrissieneave
Chrissieneave Posts: 99 Member
edited September 25 in Food and Nutrition
I'm having trouble getting my head around the whole pasta calories and weight of it etc etc,

I weigh my meals, and i'm confused with the different pasta weights (dry/cooked) when it comes to serving!

What calories do i go by?? Say i weigh out 200gram of dry pasta and cooked it, it then would weigh more as it has expanded in size and got heavier so the calories go up!!

So, do i weigh it out after it's cooked and work the calories out, or do i use the calorie content of it before cooking it?

Many Thanks :)

Replies

  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    It should say on the package whether the nutrition info provided is for dry or cooked. Usually dry. If so, weigh it before you cook it and use the nutrition info accordingly. The water doesn't add any calories of course.
  • Smurph241
    Smurph241 Posts: 24
    Always weigh once cooked, and yes it does got heavier but you will get truer reading calorie wise
  • justleeanne
    justleeanne Posts: 251 Member
    I always go off the packet, so if it says calories before cooked I weigh before cooked, If it says calories after cooked, I weight it after cooked. I always follow the instructions! :)
  • sexy_chula
    sexy_chula Posts: 5
    I feel ya..i always weigh my food..and like most food its the precooked weight you go by..2oz of dry pasta cant double it weight when being cooked but it also matters how long you cook it.. so wat i like to do is put my serving size to in a smaller pot and cook it so i dont over eat
  • Chrissieneave
    Chrissieneave Posts: 99 Member
    I feel ya..i always weigh my food..and like most food its the precooked weight you go by..2oz of dry pasta cant double it weight when being cooked but it also matters how long you cook it.. so wat i like to do is put my serving size to in a smaller pot and cook it so i dont over eat

    Thanks guys :) that has helped a lot. I will make sure i read the packaging before cooking pasta :)

    I too am going to start to cook mine seperate from my other half when i do pasta, i always end up doing too much and then eat more :( its' ok for him, he has a fast metabolism lol.
  • Maidei
    Maidei Posts: 114 Member
    Keep in mind that pasta weighs more after you cook it because it soaks up water, water has 0 calories so the caloric value doesn't change whether it's cooked or not. So the calories for 2oz dry has the same amount of calories as when it is cooked. The best thing for you to do is to weigh how much 2oz dry weighs after it's cooked so you don't have to worry about cooking in two separate pots. It's the same thing as when you weigh other foods before you cook them, like meat for example, because they get dehydrated after cooking (lose water) it weighs less after it's cooked, but the caloric value doesn't change because all that is being lost is water.

    So just follow the instructions on the box. Calories for 2oz stays the same as whatever weight it will be when cooked. The value only changes if you cook the pasta in something else other than water that does have calories, for example if you add butter etc then you have to account for that. Otherwise the 210 calories doesn't change no matter how much those 2oz weigh after they are cooked. The only thing you don't want to do is to over cook it (esp if it's whole wheat pasta) because then it starts to loose it's nutritional value not caloric value.

    Not an expert but I am a Nutrition Major in my final year of Varsity. Hope that helps.
  • Chrissieneave
    Chrissieneave Posts: 99 Member
    Keep in mind that pasta weighs more after you cook it because it soaks up water, water has 0 calories so the caloric value doesn't change whether it's cooked or not. So the calories for 2oz dry has the same amount of calories as when it is cooked. The best thing for you to do is to weigh how much 2oz dry weighs after it's cooked so you don't have to worry about cooking in two separate pots. It's the same thing as when you weigh other foods before you cook them, like meat for example, because they get dehydrated after cooking (lose water) it weighs less after it's cooked, but the caloric value doesn't change because all that is being lost is water.

    So just follow the instructions on the box. Calories for 2oz stays the same as whatever weight it will be when cooked. The value only changes if you cook the pasta in something else other than water that does have calories, for example if you add butter etc then you have to account for that. Otherwise the 210 calories doesn't change no matter how much those 2oz weigh after they are cooked. The only thing you don't want to do is to over cook it (esp if it's whole wheat pasta) because then it starts to loose it's nutritional value not caloric value.

    Not an expert but I am a Nutrition Major in my final year of Varsity. Hope that helps.

    Thank you for that :)
  • sexy_chula
    sexy_chula Posts: 5
    Sorry meant to say it CAN double it weight..gotta love t9..lol
  • Maidei
    Maidei Posts: 114 Member
    You're very welcome :) I also weigh everything I eat so I understand your dilemma when it comes to understanding food labels if you are trying to do everything right.
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