confused with popcorn serving size

Oompa_Loompa
Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
edited September 26 in Food and Nutrition
Okay I just bought regular popcorn(not the 100 calorie sized bags) and i am so confused with the serving size and how many calories. This is what the box says:
Serving Size 2 tbsp unpopped(makes 3.5 cups popped)
Servings per bag about 3

calories 170 for 2 tbsp unpopped or 1 cup popped =35 calories.
um wth! lol
Say i ate the whole bag...how many calories would that be? Can anybody else figure this out? Am I just stupid? Im so confused and I just wanna know how many calories are in my popcorn! lol Obviously Im not going to be eating un-popped popcorn. And 35 calories for 1 cup of movie theater butter popcorn does not seem right at all. I am so confused.

Help!

Is it correct that in the whole bag there is 7 cups of popped popcorn. And that if I ate the whole bag it would be the 35 calories times 7 which is 245. so 245 calories for the whole bag of popcorn. Is this right??

Replies

  • ambivalence11
    ambivalence11 Posts: 93 Member
    BUMP

    That's what I figure, but I am seriously confused by it too...
  • sharonuk10
    sharonuk10 Posts: 277
    Sounds right to me. I do my own popcorn. air popped and I believe it is 147 for 5 cups.. so if yours is prepared then you have to take that into account of how it was prepared. My calories go up on popcorn because I do add some real melted butter.

    Editing to add it is 153 cals for 5 cups of air popped popcorn and then with my melted butter another 147 calories.
  • aluginbill
    aluginbill Posts: 4 Member
    I think that there would be like 10.5 cups in the entire bag if one serving is 3.5 cups popped and there are about 3 servings. So then the calories would be 10.5 x 35. You could pop a bag and physical measure it out with one cup so you know. Just an idea....
  • b00b0084
    b00b0084 Posts: 729 Member
    If you figure this out let me know, thats the main reason i stick to the 100cal bags.
  • woja9640
    woja9640 Posts: 450 Member
    One bag makes 3.5 cupps popped.... that's 123 calories per bag. The popcorn bags are VERY misleading and hard to understand. You have to multiply the number of calories by number of cups popped.
  • xHelloQuincyx
    xHelloQuincyx Posts: 884 Member
    haha i have seen so many debates about this and have never found a corect answer!
    bumpp
  • PudgeMuffin200
    PudgeMuffin200 Posts: 39
    I believe 3.5 cups popped is one serving. so if theres 35 cals in one cup then ttheres about 122 cals in the 3.5 cups which is one serving. If you eat the whole bag i think it would be about 10.5 cups of popped popcorn- so like 367 cals for the whole bag. And one cup of popped popcorn is really not much so i guess thats why for i cup popped its not that many cals. Easiest way to do it is probably to jsut pop the popcorn and then measure what you plan on eating . SO if you dump 2 cups of popcorn in your bowl then its just 2 times 35. Becuase there is 35 calories in one cup popped.
  • JulieF11
    JulieF11 Posts: 387 Member
    There are about 7 cups of popcorn in the bag, so the whole bag is about 245 calories.
  • 3ur3ka
    3ur3ka Posts: 230 Member
    I eat Kettle corn often.. I can eat a whole bag (5 cups popped) for 100 calories. Go by popped. Unless you like getting your nomnom on with the kernels.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Edited to Redo!

    I read that wrong - 170 calories per serving (not sure where the 35 calories comes from) times 3.5 servings is 595 caloires for the whole bag.
  • scutes
    scutes Posts: 13
    I've always wondered why it's so unclear for popcorn nutrition. There are 3 servings in the bag, so since one serving is 3.5 cups popped, the whole bag has 10.5 cups. The amount of calories in the whole bag is 367.50. Hope this helps!
  • JulieF11
    JulieF11 Posts: 387 Member
    Oh crud.... Forget my last post.. I think that PudgeMuffin is right... I think it pops more than 7 cups. Sorry. Oops.
  • LarryPGH
    LarryPGH Posts: 349 Member
    LOL... I was confused about the exact same thing a coupla months ago and asked about it here! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/175640-confused-about-microwave-popcorn-nutrition-info?hl=popcorn+#posts-2333363

    (Eventually, I just gave up, got a hot-air popper, and now I just measure the amount of popcorn that I make on a scale... lots easier to log it, that way!)
  • sbwood888
    sbwood888 Posts: 953 Member
    Is it correct that in the whole bag there is 7 cups of popped popcorn. And that if I ate the whole bag it would be the 35 calories times 7 which is 245. so 245 calories for the whole bag of popcorn. Is this right??


    Yes--this is right.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    stoopid popcorn. That's why I don't eat it. I can't ever figure out out and when I think I have, I don't trust it.
  • Oompa_Loompa
    Oompa_Loompa Posts: 1,099 Member
    OKAY so I think what I will do is just measure out by cups and then however many cups I eat I will multiply that my 35 calories. So fricken confusing. I want my movie theater butter popcorn and obviously that its not an option they sell in the 100 calorie sized bags lol.
  • Karleyyy
    Karleyyy Posts: 857
    Usually they have a part on the box that tells you how many calories are in a whole bag.
  • LarryPGH
    LarryPGH Posts: 349 Member
    OKAY so I think what I will do is just measure out by cups and then however many cups I eat I will multiply that my 35 calories. So fricken confusing. I want my movie theater butter popcorn and obviously that its not an option they sell in the 100 calorie sized bags lol.

    That sounds about right. I think that, when I was using the microwave stuff I ended up just shrugging and assuming a bag was 350 calories, and figuring it out from there...
  • peteyTwang
    peteyTwang Posts: 250
    i measure calories and kernels using the tablespoon size and then just pop it in an air popper and eat it
    air popping makes the best and healthiest popcorn by far in my opinion

    i threw out my microwave years ago ( do not trust them!) and can't do the traditional popping in oil without disastrous results (e.g. burnt and/or uncooked kernels) besides which those extra oil calories are a waste

    once it's popped you can melt butter, margerine or whatever and add that
    plus they have all those shake toppings available these days e.g. "white cheddar cheese"
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
    35 calories is for plain popcorn kernels air popped no butter or anything, not microwave. If you are using microwave popcorn do not use the plain popcorn kernel calorie count 35.
    Use the calorie count for the serving size from the kind of popcorn you have. If the serving is 3.5 cups popped then measure 3.5 and put that in your diary. If you don't see your brand enter it in create a food.
  • paul977
    paul977 Posts: 11
    Wow that had me too. I was putting the 6 cups popped when in fact a bad severing size was 2 damn them lol.. well 180 isn't that bad of a snack. microwave popcorn from Target Market Pantry 94% Fat Free
  • fsugirl26
    fsugirl26 Posts: 207
    I am SOO relieved that I am not the only person who had a hard time understanding this!! lol I seriously felt like an idiot at the grocery store trying to mentally calculate the calories on a popcorn lable. I've just been buying the 100 calorie bags because it saves me the frustration of trying to figure it out!! :)
  • joysb
    joysb Posts: 5 Member
    How many total calories are in one of the new Pop Up Bowls of Orville Redenbacher Smart Pop 94% fat free? 240?
  • Nelly_J
    Nelly_J Posts: 53
    BUMP...Love popcorn, so I need a clear answer!!!
  • woja9640
    woja9640 Posts: 450 Member
    Microwave popcorn typically gives you the nutritional information before being popped for the entire bag, and then the info for 1 cup of POPPED popcorn. So a typical regular bag of popcorn is 2-4 cups for that's 2-4 servings. You need to muliply the info by 2 if you eat half a bag.
  • tuffytuffy1
    tuffytuffy1 Posts: 920 Member
    Microwave popcorn nutritional information remains one of the great mysteries of life.
  • RunnerPrincess
    RunnerPrincess Posts: 15
    Hmmmm.......anyone else hungry for some popcorn? :happy:
This discussion has been closed.

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