Skinny Girl popcorn - how many calories is it REALLY!??

icanplay3
icanplay3 Posts: 173 Member
edited November 20 in Food and Nutrition
I bought the Skinny Girl lime & salt popcorn (microwavable ind. bags) and the label is confusing! Help!! It says 25 cals per cup popped and allegedly a whole bag is 6 cups popped. But it also says 160 cals unpopped for the whole bag. I measured out 2 measuring cups full for the whole bag - definitely no 6 cups yield per bag unless my microwave didn't pop all the kernels! So I popped 2 bags, measured 4 cups and called it 100 cals. Am I right !? Or should I be going by the 160 cals unpopped number.

Replies

  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    You are unlikely to get an exact calorie count. The difference in calories in microwave popcorn popped vs unpopped is, I think, due to the fat used. If unpopped they count all the fat, if popped, they assume a % will stick to the bag. If less than all the kernels pop, will that mean more fat stuck to the kernels that popped? I don't know.

    I'd probably do it the way you did. Just go by the popped calories, even if the popped corn were from 2 bags.
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    This question gets posted here a lot. Microwave popcorn labels are confusing.

    The difference is because it's a given that some of the kernels are not going to pop and some of the flavoring and oil is going to stay in the bag. So, if you just opened the bag and ate the raw contents and licked the paper clean, it would be 160 calories. If you pop the corn and measure out one cup, it's 25 calories per popped cup, assuming you don't eat the unpopped kernels.

    I love the SkinnyGirl Lime and Salt, but I just eat the whole bag and log 160 calories. If I was going to actually measure it, I'd only do so with a food scale. Putting popcorn into a measuring cup is almost guaranteed to be incorrect.
  • LLduds
    LLduds Posts: 258 Member
    I log 160 for it as well. Better to err on the side of caution and overestimate the calorie count.
  • icanplay3
    icanplay3 Posts: 173 Member
    Thanks for the input, ladies! I was just sitting here thinking, why would they label it that way and make it confusing! I mean who would eat unpopped popcorn kernels. Seriously. Well...you never know. :D
  • icanplay3
    icanplay3 Posts: 173 Member
    On that note! Half-popped popcorn kernels are awesome.
  • mistikal13
    mistikal13 Posts: 1,457 Member
    I would log the whole bag as well
  • HHEHEA
    HHEHEA Posts: 17 Member
    icanplay3 wrote: »
    On that note! Half-popped popcorn kernels are awesome.

    My favorite!!! lol...
  • sunnydays851
    sunnydays851 Posts: 116 Member
    I think it is because when popped it takes up more space then the tiny kernel, so your eating less kernels per cup. Did I get this right? Seems like the theory that makes the most sense.
  • joannenicole451
    joannenicole451 Posts: 31 Member
    Microwaveable popcorn is sooooo bad for you. It's been linked to infertility in women. Air popped popcorn is the way to go! You could even squeeze some lime juice and sprinkle a little lime zest on it to get the same flavor, with out all the chemicals. It's also easier to figure out the calorie count with air popped popcorn.
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    joannenicole451 wrote: »
    Microwaveable popcorn is sooooo bad for you. It's been linked to infertility in women. Air popped popcorn is the way to go! You could even squeeze some lime juice and sprinkle a little lime zest on it to get the same flavor, with out all the chemicals. It's also easier to figure out the calorie count with air popped popcorn.

    What? Do you have a link to this study? I've not heard of that one.
  • joannenicole451
    joannenicole451 Posts: 31 Member
    edited June 2015
    There's a chemical called PFOA in the lining of microwave popcorn bags that the EPA lists as being a probable carcinogen to humans.

    Here's an article explaining some of the health issues with microwave popcorn - http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/fact-or-myth-is-microwave-popcorn-a-health-hazard/#axzz3dH8zRM76

    Here's a link to the study - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2679623/

    And here's the actual EPA report on PFOA's - http://www.epa.gov/oppt/pfoa/
  • PeachyPlum
    PeachyPlum Posts: 1,243 Member
    Okay, those studies say exactly nothing about microwave popcorn.

    They do say there might be a correlation between difficulty conceiving and high blood concentrations of PFOA, a chemical found in "fabrics, carpets, food packaging, shampoo, nonstick cookware, insecticides, fire‐fighting foam, and other household products, as well as in industrial surfactants and emulsifiers."

    Nice try though.
  • icanplay3
    icanplay3 Posts: 173 Member
    joannenicole451 wrote: »
    Microwaveable popcorn is sooooo bad for you. It's been linked to infertility in women. Air popped popcorn is the way to go! You could even squeeze some lime juice and sprinkle a little lime zest on it to get the same flavor, with out all the chemicals. It's also easier to figure out the calorie count with air popped popcorn.

    I like the idea of having an air popper at home...I should research the nutritional contents of air popped vs. skinny girl microwave. I also like the idea of using/cooking with less chemicals but I have 3 children so that microwave popcorn definitely hasn't cause infertility over here! haha

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I'd log the 160 per bag as well.

    We have an air popper here (well, 2). My issue is that it's the toppings that I like, and it needs to be sweet, so I pretty much never have popcorn because it adds on calories too fast.
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