Pasta confusion

If the nutritional information on the package is for dry pasta, you'll want to weigh it dry and then prepare it. It will weigh more when it is finishes because it absorbs water while cooking.

Dry ounces means the weight before you cook it. When you cook pasta, it absorbs water so 3.5 ounces dry is not the same as 3.5 ounces boiled.

My suggestion is to measure out 3.5 ounces of dry pasta. Boil it and then weigh it to see how much it weighs. You could also put it in a measuring cup to see how much it is. I did that with spaghetti and found that 2 oz. dry was equal to a slightly rounded 1 cup measuring cup full of boiled pasta. Now I just measure my spaghetti that way (we get the same kind all of the time.)

e_curran15 wrote: »

Ok so this is probably a stupid question but here's the sitch. So last night I made pasta. The serving size on the package said 350 calories per 3.5 dry ounces. After I cooked it I measured out 3.5 ounces to eat..which was like not alot. But as I'm eating some today I'm wondering if I should have measured out like 6 ounces of the cooked pasta to meet the 350 calories of 3.5 ounces dry. ...or maybe I'm just wishing I could eat more lol. Anyone know if I'm right

If the calories is for dry weight, then you were correct in what you did. Thing is recommended servings are always small, I don't know what 3.5ounces are (I use metric) but I know my pasta recommends 75g as a serving and that little pasta makes me want to cry. I have 100/110g and just allow for that many calories.

EDIT - No, I read your post wrong. You didn't measure it dry. You should have measured out the 3.5 dry. It's been a long day!

e_curran15 wrote: »

Ok so this is probably a stupid question but here's the sitch. So last night I made pasta. The serving size on the package said 350 calories per 3.5 dry ounces. After I cooked it I measured out 3.5 ounces to eat..which was like not alot. But as I'm eating some today I'm wondering if I should have measured out like 6 ounces of the cooked pasta to meet the 350 calories of 3.5 ounces dry. ...or maybe I'm just wishing I could eat more lol. Anyone know if I'm right

Yes, when I cook pasta to al dente 2 ounces dry makes a little more than 4 ounces cooked, so you would have been safe using 7 ounces cooked.

Here's the system entry for cooked spags: "Spaghetti, cooked, enriched, with added salt"

No, you weigh the 3.5 ounces dry then eat that after it cooks

e_curran15 wrote: »

Ok so basically I didn't just eat 350 calories of pasta because that was the measurement for dry. To eat the full 350 I should have measured out like 6 ounces of cooked pasta correct? I get confused with uncooked portions

You can't assume that the weight will double once it is cooked. The best way to know how much you're eating is to weigh it dry, cook it, and then eat that amount.

your cooked portion will weigh more than the 3.5 dry portion on the package...3.5 cooked is going to be less than 350 calories as you are consuming less than the actual serving on the package.

doubling the weight would be a reasonable way of estimating, but it would be far more accurate to weigh out a dry serving and then weigh it out again cooked...you only have to do that once so you know for future use how much a cooked serving would accurately weigh.

I weigh it cooked, as that is how the nutrition is printed on the pack. If you are cooking for more than one and you want to weigh it raw, you can use something like this to keep your portion separate in the cooking pot http://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Steps-229476-Portion-Control/dp/B003Y3B8RO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452015160&sr=8-1&keywords=pasta+basket

CurlyCockney wrote: »

I weigh it cooked, as that is how the nutrition is printed on the pack. If you are cooking for more than one and you want to weigh it raw, you can use something like this to keep your portion separate in the cooking pot http://www.amazon.co.uk/Healthy-Steps-229476-Portion-Control/dp/B003Y3B8RO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452015160&sr=8-1&keywords=pasta+basket

That is genius.

malibu927 wrote: »

No, you weigh the 3.5 ounces dry then eat that after it cooks

This. No need to make it more complicated.

Weigh out the serving size dry as instructed.

Cook.

Then eat it.

Same with rice and a few others.

KANGOOJUMPS wrote: »

I just make it all, eat it all, no weigh, and enjoy life!

When i did it that way i found out I was eating 3 servings of pasta (clocking in right around 1,200 calories) in every sitting.

erinc5 wrote: »

callsitlikeiseeit wrote: »

personally, i use entries for cooked versions. yes theres some inaccuracy, but im okay with that lol

I agree, especially for stuff like pasta. I don't eat it very often, and it's too much trouble to try and measure mine and then cook in two pots to keep my measured portion away from my husband's whatever portion. Sometimes I will weigh dry and just count how many "noodles" are in a dry measured portion. and just kind of use that as a guide, knowing I won't get the exact 25 noodles I weighed earlier, but it's close enough for me. Works well for stuff like penne or farfalle that is easy to count.

For multiple servings I make, say, 4 servings and then measure the cooked and take 1/4.

You should have weighed the dry pasta, since that is what you had nutrition info for. If you're only adding water then you don't add calories, but the dry gets heavier as it absorbs the water.

If you were making pasta for more than yourself, then weight your total dry amount. Then after draining, weigh your total cooked amount. Then you can convert.

e_curran15 wrote: »

Ok so this is probably a stupid question but here's the sitch. So last night I made pasta. The serving size on the package said 350 calories per 3.5 dry ounces. After I cooked it I measured out 3.5 ounces to eat..which was like not alot. But as I'm eating some today I'm wondering if I should have measured out like 6 ounces of the cooked pasta to meet the 350 calories of 3.5 ounces dry. ...or maybe I'm just wishing I could eat more lol. Anyone know if I'm right