When measuring meat, is it cooked or raw?

demsky_04
demsky_04 Posts: 16
in Food and Nutrition
I was measuring my pasta for dinner tonight, box said 2oz uncooked or 2/3 cup. Well I finished dinner and started making the plates, I measured the food on the scale and put 2oz of cooked pasta in it, dumped it on the plate and realized it's only like maybe 1/4 or so. I started thinking that doesn't look near enough. I then start second guessing this whole over eating thing. Then it donned on me that it said 2oz uncooked. So I got on the computer and searched how much cooked pasta is a serving (about 3.5-4oz). I then started thinking about everything else cooked vs. raw measurements and nutrional value, etc. Especially the meat since meat tends to lose moisture and shrink. From what I've read it's after it's cooked unless specified on the box and it still contains the same nutrional value. This is all so confusing me. Do any of you guys have any trouble or opinions with this? Leave your comments below.

Here are a few websites:

http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programsServices/lifestageHealth/Nutrition/Pages/ServingSizes.aspx

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/weight/servingsize.aspx

http://www.skinny-bits.com/2010/04/weighing-your-food-raw-vs-cooked.html

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Caregiver/Replenish/WhatisaServing/What-is-a-Serving_UCM_301838_Article.jsp

Here are some links to help with a visual incase you don't have a food scale:

http://www.mealsmatter.org/articles-and-resources/healthy-living-articles/Portion-Sizes.aspx

http://www.pre-diabetes.com/lifestyle/how-to-measure-food-portions.html

http://www.mynetdiary.com/estimating-portions-for-food-diary.html

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Meat is generally weighed raw because the amount of loss will depend on whether you like your steak still mooing or like shoe leather.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I always use the raw measurement.
  • demsky_04
    demsky_04 Posts: 16
    And that's what I thought at first, but then I started looking into it and the majority of the sites say cooked, because you serve meat cooked. As for the Steak, I can see that now. I like mine like leather.
  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    I measure my meat cooked.
  • endlesoul
    endlesoul Posts: 98 Member
    I try to measure raw but many times its not practical and I'm fortunate to find on MFP cooked info.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    And that's what I thought at first, but then I started looking into it and the majority of the sites say cooked, because you serve meat cooked. As for the Steak, I can see that now. I like mine like leather.

    I don't see how they can give a measurement cooked, there's just too many variables and that's a lot of calories when it comes to meat products if you happen to be using a raw weight on a cooked product or vice versa.
  • AmyzNewGroove
    AmyzNewGroove Posts: 142 Member
    ^^ yes this. Also, the new USDA/FSIS regulations requiring single ingredient meat products to be labeled indicates the nutrition information should be for the raw product. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_030112_01/index.asp
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    I like to measure all the ingredients raw. For a soup I weigh all the ingrediants and toss them in. When it is done cooking I measure the total volume in oz and divide it by eight (eight oz is a serving). However many calories are in the total recipe I divide by the number of servings I have to equal the calories per eight oz serving.
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    Has anyone seen these new labels? I have not yet. I have the USDA site saved to my favorites, tho, because there is so much nutritional info there. And they list raw and cooked.

    I measure my meat cooked for the most part because I cook a lot of roasts and it's not worth it to me to cook tiny roasts several nights a week (I live alone). It hasn't affected my weight loss. I am very particular about measuring the rest of my food (to the gram) but just not worth it to me on the meat, altho I'm overeating protein, so I should probably care more.
  • Cupcakehippiemommy
    Cupcakehippiemommy Posts: 457 Member
    Maybe I am weird but I use the old stand by of using my hand and plate to see how much of something I should have like veggies should be half my plate protein about a small fist.It's worked for me so far otherwise I think I'd go crazy carrying around a scale lol but to ea their own ^u^ Good luck doll!
  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
    I measure it cooked because that's the way I eat it!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,148 Member
    Maybe I am weird but I use the old stand by of using my hand and plate to see how much of something I should have like veggies should be half my plate protein about a small fist.It's worked for me so far otherwise I think I'd go crazy carrying around a scale lol but to ea their own ^u^ Good luck doll!

    Some of us aren't just weighing to calculate calories. Your small fist of protein could be more than what I have as a weighed portion.

    I weigh/measure raw foods.
  • jdforshort
    jdforshort Posts: 269 Member
    I always measure it cooked, separately total up raw marinades (oil, onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger etc) and then divide according to total number of servings. Rice and pasta cooked, Oats dry uncooked. I even weigh berries/fruit/yogurt as cup measurements can be deceptive.
  • SunnyAndrsn
    SunnyAndrsn Posts: 369 Member
    The RD's I work with say cooked for meats. A rule of thumb is that 4oz uncooked is about 3oz cooked.
  • theNurseNancy
    theNurseNancy Posts: 149
    Chicken I weigh cooked.

    Steak I weigh raw (I like it med-rare).
  • demsky_04
    demsky_04 Posts: 16
    Update: After contacting various companies, I have an straight answer, I qoute:

    "Regulations require that Serving Size and Nutritional values be calculated "as packaged."

    So fresh meat is measured raw whereas pre-cooked is after, since it's "packaged" as cooked.
  • AmbyrJayde
    AmbyrJayde Posts: 257 Member
    Update: After contacting various companies, I have an straight answer, I qoute:

    "Regulations require that Serving Size and Nutritional values be calculated "as packaged."

    So fresh meat is measured raw whereas pre-cooked is after, since it's "packaged" as cooked.

    Awesome thats very good to know!!
  • lgmorgansb
    lgmorgansb Posts: 27 Member
    Cooked vs. uncooked…that is the question. However, standard serving sizes are always listed in a ready to eat state. When you are dishing the food item onto your plate, this is when the measuring and weighing begins. These standard portions are perfect examples:
    Meat: 3 ounces, cooked
    Vegetables: 1 cup, raw
    Vegetables: ½ cup cooked
    Pasta, Noodles, Rice, Oatmeal: ½ cup cooked
    But many times recipes do not use these standard portion sizes. Here are a few tips to help determine how much is being used:

    MEAT
    Meat contains 7 grams of protein per cooked ounce.
    Example: If the nutrient analysis for a pork chop recipe indicates 35 grams of protein/serving, you can estimate that approximately 5 ounces of cooked meat is used for the serving.

    GRAIN PRODUCTS
    Grain products contain about 15-17 grams of carbohydrate, 3-4 grams of protein, 0-1 grams of fat; for a total of 80-90 calories per ½ cup cooked portion.
    Example: If a pasta salad contains 24 grams of carbohydrates per serving, you could estimate that approximately 3/4 cup of cooked pasta is being used for the serving.

    This makes the most sense to me ????
  • lgmorgansb
    lgmorgansb Posts: 27 Member
    Most will say at "Prepared" which would indicate cooked.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I weigh my chicken out cooked- because I cook in batches- and I'm way to lazy to weigh it all as a big batch in advance.

    I accept the risk- I usually add oils separately- but I account for them. Spices I don't care about.
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    How much cooked meat weighs depends on how it was cooked and how long it was cooked for. For that reason weights are always raw.
  • jtotyler
    jtotyler Posts: 5
    I had the same question so I contacted foster farms who sells boneless skinless chicken breasts at costco. The rep who emailed me back stated the norm for nutritional values are based on how the product is sold unless it states otherwise. So if you buy raw chicken you weigh it raw. If you buy cooked meat it is of course is the weight cooked. Hope this helps sorry if you now have to cut the protein intake back a little.

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