Random question... microwave popcorn caloriea

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Brocksterdanza
Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I must be overthinking it. When i need a different snack ill eat a1/2 bag of popcorn... when you goto log it, there are 1 million different options... popped unpopped, etc. The way i read it is if i were to eat a full bag of popcorn which is about 4 cups according to package and my measurements... it says 40 cals per cup... thus about 160 calories a bag... however there are several options in logging that say 500 calories per bag etc... what gives? Why list the unpopped calories? I've never known anyone to eat popcorn kernels... why does the calories change based on cooked or not. Thanks all

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  • canadianvampyregurl
    canadianvampyregurl Posts: 231 Member
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    Well, here's me being a Debbie downer but microwave popcorn is awful for you. I bought an air popper at Value Village, cleaned it out really well and we make popcorn with the air popper :) Much healthier :)
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    I must be overthinking it. When i need a different snack ill eat a1/2 bag of popcorn... when you goto log it, there are 1 million different options... popped unpopped, etc. The way i read it is if i were to eat a full bag of popcorn which is about 4 cups according to package and my measurements... it says 40 cals per cup... thus about 160 calories a bag... however there are several options in logging that say 500 calories per bag etc... what gives? Why list the unpopped calories? I've never known anyone to eat popcorn kernels... why does the calories change based on cooked or not. Thanks all

    I always go by the nutritional information on the package. I like to use the app to scan the barcode and then just double-check that what pops up is accurate. Always use the popped version for the nutritional information, since that's what you're eating.

    I really like microwave popcorn for a snack. It has a lot of volume for not many calories, and there's nothing wrong with microwave popcorn vs. air popping. It's all in what you need to reach your nutritional requirements. I've used microwave popcorn (butter flavor) to hit my fat macro in the past.
  • Pie319
    Pie319 Posts: 129 Member
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    For people who use air poppers, it's easier to measure the kernels pre-popped so you can just make how much you want to eat. The calories change popped vs unpopped because 1/2 cup of kernels will make way more than 1/2 cup popped popcorn. so 1/2 cup unpopped will be more calories than 1/2 cup popped. But if you're using microwave popcorn just go with what's on the nutrition label for that brand. All brands are different,
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    A big bag of microwave popcorn is around 450 calories - those little tiny bags they sell that are 100 calories are very small. I only buy those so I know I am eating (around) 100 calories. If you are logging 160 calories for a big bag you're likely under logging by several hundred calories which will add up if you eat it often enough.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    A big bag of microwave popcorn is around 450 calories - those little tiny bags they sell that are 100 calories are very small. I only buy those so I know I am eating (around) 100 calories. If you are logging 160 calories for a big bag you're likely under logging by several hundred calories which will add up if you eat it often enough.

    It really does depend on the brand. I have some Skinnygirl popcorn that is 160 calories for an entire bag popped. The nutrition label is generally very clear about how much is in a bag once it's popped.
  • Brocksterdanza
    Brocksterdanza Posts: 208 Member
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    According to the package it says each bag has 4 servings... which is 40 calories a serving for a total of 160... i don't think I've ever seen a 500 calorie bag of pop corn
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    According to the package it says each bag has 4 servings... which is 40 calories a serving for a total of 160... i don't think I've ever seen a 500 calorie bag of pop corn

    The big bags of popcorn actually do have quite a few calories in them. Take Orville Redenbacher for example:

    3d4fovesbcqu.png

    Notice that it says a serving size is 4 cups popped but that each container has about 2.5 servings. Since the serving size of 4 cups equals 160 calories that means each bag of popcorn contains 400 calories. I'm curious as to what popcorn brand you're eating. Does the nutrition label actually say that the 40 calories per serving is for the popped amount?
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    According to the package it says each bag has 4 servings... which is 40 calories a serving for a total of 160... i don't think I've ever seen a 500 calorie bag of pop corn

    The high calorie ones usually have extras like double movie butter, caramel, nuts or similar.

    I had a bag of caramel popcorn (not microwave) last week that was 160 cals per serving, 8 servings in the bag. The bag was smaller than the typical large bags of microwave popcorn.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,651 Member
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    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    According to the package it says each bag has 4 servings... which is 40 calories a serving for a total of 160... i don't think I've ever seen a 500 calorie bag of pop corn

    Unless it's a 100 calorie bag of microwave popcorn, I would double check how many cups popped one serving yields because normally one serving isn't going to be only one cup of popcorn. It's usually about 3 or 4 cups.

    Maybe you should post a pic or a link to the label.

    The Skinny Girl popcorn total of 160 is correct because there's only one serving per bag.
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    Sometimes I find it easier to measure unpopped kernels when I make my own, along with the coconut oil I use. Nothing like homemade popcorn - two healthy ingredients and it tastes so good I don't need salt. Other times when I just want 2-3 cups of my husbands batch I measure the cups and I found a good entry for "popcorn popped in coconut oil", so I use whatever entry in the database that works for the situation.

    Every day does not have to be the same!
  • need2belean
    need2belean Posts: 356 Member
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    Brocksterdanza wrote: »
    I must be overthinking it. When i need a different snack ill eat a1/2 bag of popcorn... when you goto log it, there are 1 million different options... popped unpopped, etc. The way i read it is if i were to eat a full bag of popcorn which is about 4 cups according to package and my measurements... it says 40 cals per cup... thus about 160 calories a bag... however there are several options in logging that say 500 calories per bag etc... what gives? Why list the unpopped calories? I've never known anyone to eat popcorn kernels... why does the calories change based on cooked or not. Thanks all

    I weight the unpopped kernels, and put that calorie amount (based on the packaging) in my calorie counter. I pop the kernels and eat everything. Whatever kernels aren't popped, I re-weigh those and subtract it from my log.
  • tugsandpulls760
    tugsandpulls760 Posts: 206 Member
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    read the bag
  • kristinann308
    kristinann308 Posts: 53 Member
    edited June 2016
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    @Ruatine - bagged popcorn is actually very different than air popped kernels because of the ingredients, as well as the bag's ingredients that you are popping the corn in. There are a lot of articles online about it. Of course, you can't trust everything online, but I'd rather err on the side of caution and follow more natural ways.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
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    kristinann308 wrote: »
    @Ruatine - bagged popcorn is actually very different than air popped kernels because of the ingredients, as well as the bag's ingredients that you are popping the corn in. There are a lot of articles online about it. Of course, you can't trust everything online, but I'd rather err on the side of caution and follow more natural ways.


    I never said they aren't different. What I said is
    Ruatine wrote: »
    I really like microwave popcorn for a snack. It has a lot of volume for not many calories, and there's nothing wrong with microwave popcorn vs. air popping. It's all in what you need to reach your nutritional requirements. I've used microwave popcorn (butter flavor) to hit my fat macro in the past.

    By all means do what works for you, but there is nothing in microwave popcorn that is harmful in the context of a balanced diet and for someone who has no allergies to the ingredients.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,651 Member
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    Maybe it's just easier to buy already popped bagged popcorn and weigh out your serving.

    I frequently buy the Trader Joe's no guilt popped popcorn. 110 delicious calories for 28 grams of no prep whatsoever popcorn. :)
  • JinjoJoey
    JinjoJoey Posts: 106 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I eat Act II Light Butter. I've been through TONS of popcorn and this kind tastes the best, to me, for the calories you're eating.

    Serving size - 3 tablespoons-unpopped, which makes 6.5 cups, two servings per bag which makes 13 cups, total. 13 cups X 15 calories per cup = 195 calories per bag. And that usually ends up being a little less for me, cause my damn microwave never pops all the seeds. My apologies for the sideways pic. For some reason, TinyPic flipped it, automatically.

    2cmxd9f.jpg
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited June 2016
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    I buy the box with 2 packs inside. I just eat 1 whole bag instead of portioning it out. Plus I do NOT share my popcorn, which messes up the calories even further lol

    qfvwjdtvvuzy.png

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