Pasta.... calories, I am confused

What does the packet give the values as? You should always aim to use the values for the specific food you're using, rather than a generic one in the database.

If the values on the packet are only given raw, one accurate way you could calculate the calories when cooked is to weigh out 100g of pasta, for example, then see how much it weighs once cooked. Once you've worked out the relationship between the two (my pasta suggests that 100g raw pasta makes 220g cooked) you can use that to work out the nutritional value of what you're eating.

For example:


Raw weight: 100g

Cooked weight: 220g

Cooked weight / cooked weight = 2.2

Now you have the 'constant' that determines the relationship between cooked and uncooked pasta. If you have 150g of cooked pasta, divide that by 2.2 to give you the raw weight, then enter that into MFP.

You might find it easier to add the cooked pasta as your own food into MFP - from the example above you would just enter the values from the packet divided by 2.2, then you can enter the cooked weight without having to do the maths every time.

Hope that wasn't overly complicated!!

TL;DR - divide the cooked weight of the pasta by 2.2 and enter this value as the raw weight.

P.S.

As a personal preference, and I guess this won't be possible for you, I always weigh my pasta out raw, since the cooked weight will vary how long I cook it for, but not the calorific value.

OP is in the UK, and whilst I don't know which brand she's using every pack I've used shows the data for cooked.

CaptainJoy wrote: »

I also cook for more than just myself. It's sometimes hard to accurately calculate the calories so I checked out a 2011 post on the same subject. Mplanek said this on a mfp forum post:

"I did a test to figure out how much dry pasta becomes cooked pasta... I took 2 ounces (56 grams), I weighed it, and cooked just that. After cooking it weighed 5 ounces. I tried it with a bunch of different pastas and the results were pretty much the same. I don't know about measuring it in cups, the scale is easier for me."

This accurately describes how my pasta weighs after cooking.

I find mine to be a little less - generally closer to double, which is about 20% different from what you use and could be significant calories if someone estimates incorrectly. It really depends A LOT on how you cook it, what brand/shape, etc. However, if someone cooks the same brand of pasta the same way with some frequency and finds that the conversion is pretty consistent, I don't see the harm in making that assumption for future pasta dishes they cook at home using that same kind/method.

BarbieAS wrote: »

CaptainJoy wrote: »

I also cook for more than just myself. It's sometimes hard to accurately calculate the calories so I checked out a 2011 post on the same subject. Mplanek said this on a mfp forum post:

"I did a test to figure out how much dry pasta becomes cooked pasta... I took 2 ounces (56 grams), I weighed it, and cooked just that. After cooking it weighed 5 ounces. I tried it with a bunch of different pastas and the results were pretty much the same. I don't know about measuring it in cups, the scale is easier for me."

This accurately describes how my pasta weighs after cooking.

I find mine to be a little less - generally closer to double, which is about 20% different from what you use and could be significant calories if someone estimates incorrectly. It really depends A LOT on how you cook it, what brand/shape, etc. However, if someone cooks the same brand of pasta the same way with some frequency and finds that the conversion is pretty consistent, I don't see the harm in making that assumption for future pasta dishes they cook at home using that same kind/method.

Agreed. I always use the same brand (Ronzoni whole wheat) and the medium minute 'setting' for firm pasta and it's pretty much always 130g cooked for one serving. I still weigh it dry 90% of the time, but when I made extra for the kids and I have some leftover, I just use that number.

BarbieAS wrote: »

If you don't want to cook in two pots at once, you can also weigh the dry amount of pasta, then weigh the entire portion after it's cooked, and then weigh your cooked portion to find how much of the total you ate (I frequently do this with pasta and rice).

Example: You weigh out 200g of dry pasta and cook it. When you're done cooking it, it now weighs 360g. You measure out 90g of cooked pasta for yourself. Therefore, your portion was 1/4 of the total you made. 1/4 of 200 is 50g, so you can log 50g of dry pasta.

This is the best and easiest way. I make pasta for 3 all the time. Any other way is just making things more difficult.

I'm Italian...we eat a lot of pasta. The normal 2oz portion that's about 200 calories is about the size of your fist. Yea...not enough...I tend to eat 4oz lol