Raw Spinach Vs. Cooked SPinach

MrsChristinaG
MrsChristinaG Posts: 42
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
Okay, So I know to most of you this is probably a really rediculous question. HEalthy eating is new to me (sorry my shift button sticks) and when im cataloging or planning my meals for the day and I see Raw spinach ( having a signifantly lower calorie count than cooked spinach) I sometimes wonder, and this steers me away from cooking spinach. ALTHOUGH I ABOLUTELY LOVE A PILE OF COOKED SPINACH UNDER A SLAB OF FISH!!!! because I'm not quite sure how the spinach is being measured...

Is ONE CUP of COOKED spinach, the amount of spinach in the cup AFTER being cooked, or before you toss it into the pan followed by eggs?

Please, enlighten me. lol. So that I can stop torturing myself and depriving myself and having the spinach wilt in the fridge because I cant stuff enough of it down my throat fast enough. *lol*

Replies

  • Nataliethin81
    Nataliethin81 Posts: 315
    This is a good question! I usually count the cup after its cooked. It shrinks so much but I don't know if this is correct or not.
  • believetoachieve
    believetoachieve Posts: 675 Member
    Calories coming from vegetables are really healthy calories - don't limit yourself! :)
  • Shivaunmn
    Shivaunmn Posts: 1
    The reason for the difference is that there is more spinach in a cup when cooked than when raw. I wouldn't worry about the calorie difference - not only is spinach really good for you, but many nutritionists are now recommending 9-10 servings of fruit & veggies per day - 1 cup raw counts as one serving, 1 cup cooked counts as two. The bigger question is do you need more folate or iron? Your body is able to absorb more iron from cooked spinach, more folate from raw. Hope that this helps!
  • sarglava
    sarglava Posts: 206 Member
    I think (generally) cooked veggies have the same amount of calories than cooked. So when you're using cooked spinach you've shrunk it down way more than if it were fresh. So 1 cup of cooked is more calories than 1 cup fresh because there is more spinach in there.

    And your question... when you're logging "cooked spinach" means measureing the cooked spinach. Not measuring fresh and then cooking it. Though you can do that, just log as raw.
  • CynthiasChoice
    CynthiasChoice Posts: 1,047 Member
    1 cup cooked spinach definitely means if you measure it after it's cooked it's 1 cup. It takes a lot of cups of raw spinach to equal 1 cup cooked. I like it both ways, plus I love it in a smoothie with 1/2 apple, an orange, 1/2 banana, fresh ginger, cilantro and a little agave syrup. If you've never tried it, it sounds yukky, but trust me - it's great! Hope this helps.
  • 1113cw
    1113cw Posts: 830 Member
    I've wondered the same but since it's spinach I think the difference would be minimal unless you're cooking it with a ton of butter or oil or cheese or something like that. I also do spinach with protein but I steam mine with some garlic in those handy steamer bags.
  • ShellyMacchi
    ShellyMacchi Posts: 975 Member
    all calories count *S*

    and yes... when you are measuring by volume, you get far less spinach in a cup of raw than you would in a cup of cooked.
    Spinach cooks downs (wilts) soooo much... it really makes a difference which you use to account for your use.

    i personally always choose the raw amount on my menu as it is the raw spinach that i have measured...
    but if you prefer to measure it once it is cooked, then naturally use the 'cooked' version


    ie: one cup of raw spinach amounts to 'maybe' a 1/4 cup when cooked (or so it seems to me)... so obviously you have a LOT more calories/nutrients in one cup of cooked spinach in comparison *S*
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
    i woulds say cooked if its listed as cooked, especially if it has more caloires list as everyone knows it take a bazilling cups of raw spinich to make a cup of cooked
  • MrsChristinaG
    MrsChristinaG Posts: 42
    oh thank goodness for you all. for a good while I almost thought my PAM spray added a ton of unknown calories and that I was doing this all wrong. I guess it makes sense if you dont think too hard about it. lol. *ditsy moment*
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