Serving Size Confusion

sarahslayer
sarahslayer Posts: 32 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Last night I made Trader Joe's Shiitake Mushroom Chicken. The nutrition label says that the serving size is 1 cup and that there are 4 servings per container. I measured out two cups and ate that for dinner. Today, I went to serve myself another cup and after I served that cup, there was maybe 1/4 cup left. So according to my measurements, there were 3.25 cups of the dish (after I cooked it). I don't know if I should go by the cup measure or divide into 4 servings after I make the whole thing, which by my measure would be less than a cup/serving. Does anyone know which way most accurately reflects the calorie count?

Replies

  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    It's probably more accurate to divide the total contents into four servings rather than using the cup.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    There's usually a weight measurement...use that...using cups and whatnot can be pretty inaccurate due to how exactly you fill that cup.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited August 2016
    You are not using a food scale?? If you are, total weight of the dish divided by four.
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    The weight measurement is usually before cooking, and I find it hard to cook one serving separate from the rest of the box.

    If you go on the premise that the total number of calories in the container is X and there are four servings per container, you could go from there.

    If it's rice or pasta, the amount of water absorbed will affect the final product weight and measurement, but the number of calories in the container doesn't change.
  • tahxirez
    tahxirez Posts: 270 Member
    I don't know what kind of product this is (prepackaged with you adding ingredients, frozen heat and eat dinner etc) but it's not usually very accurate to use a measuring cup to measure anything that's not liquid and even then I use my scale. For the most accurate and consistent results measure by mass (grams or ml vs. ounces) and not by volume.
  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
    like another poster said, always use the WEIGHT shown as the serving size, not the cups.. those are always inaccurate (as you found out).
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    edited August 2016
    Yeah, since it isn't weighed out, just take the total you have measured out and divide it by 4, or you could have 3 servings and make one of those servings with an extra quarter cup. That's up to you, I guess.
    But weighing is the most accurate.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    Weigh the total weight of the final product - divide but 4. That's your serving amount.
  • sarahslayer
    sarahslayer Posts: 32 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    There's usually a weight measurement...use that...using cups and whatnot can be pretty inaccurate due to how exactly you fill that cup.

    ah yes. 150 grams. I'll use that next time
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Weigh the total weight of the final product - divide but 4. That's your serving amount.

    Not really. You're assuming that the container has 4 full servings... it probably doesn't.

    Go by weight. Most products give a gram serving size as well as volume. But yeah, most soup containers have less soup than what the package says.
  • sarahslayer
    sarahslayer Posts: 32 Member
    Now I'm wondering if 150 grams was pre or post cooking. This particular product is frozen. It has frozen pieces of chicken, green beans, mushrooms and sauce that you combine together. It also calls for 1 TBS of oil. I would hope that is figured into the total calories.

    http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2388

    I also opted to use a canola cooking spray instead of the TBS of oil it calls for so that will affect as well I would think.

    after all of this. still not sure if I should weigh or just divide something into four after I cook it and go by that. Maybe I'll do an experiment next time and see what the weight is once it's divided into four.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    unless noted, serving sizes on food labels are "as packaged". A few things have a cooked or as prepared column, but not many. Things like meats, soups, or other fatty or liquid items change in volume AND weight quite a bit when cooked due to evaporation or fat drippings.
    Weigh the total weight of the final product - divide but 4. That's your serving amount.
    This is probably the most practical thing. In your case, you probably just evaporated some water off, so the soup is a little more dense than before.
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Ready2Rock206 wrote: »
    Weigh the total weight of the final product - divide but 4. That's your serving amount.

    Not really. You're assuming that the container has 4 full servings... it probably doesn't.

    Go by weight. Most products give a gram serving size as well as volume. But yeah, most soup containers have less soup than what the package says.

    I'd disagree here. I'd say it is fairly close, if not MORE than the label. Food companies really try not to shortchange you because they can be sued for false advertising. They also don't want to give you too much because it eats into profits. There is some variation because it is a mechanical process to load the containers, but they are reasonably close most of the time. However, technically, you are correct that to be THE MOST ACCURATE, you would weigh before and after to nail down the exact number of servings and the percent weight loss.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    sarahslayer wrote: »
    Now I'm wondering if 150 grams was pre or post cooking. This particular product is frozen. It has frozen pieces of chicken, green beans, mushrooms and sauce that you combine together. It also calls for 1 TBS of oil. I would hope that is figured into the total calories.

    http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2388

    I also opted to use a canola cooking spray instead of the TBS of oil it calls for so that will affect as well I would think.

    after all of this. still not sure if I should weigh or just divide something into four after I cook it and go by that. Maybe I'll do an experiment next time and see what the weight is once it's divided into four.

    no, they do not usually include anything that you add. This is an example of as packaged unless specifically noted "as prepared"
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    In my experience with measuring food I have never seen the "servings per container" be correct. I would ignore than number and go by "weight per serving" listed on the nutrition label as your most accurate number.
  • mrs_sjlarsen
    mrs_sjlarsen Posts: 76 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    There's usually a weight measurement...use that...using cups and whatnot can be pretty inaccurate due to how exactly you fill that cup.

    This... I always opt to use grams instead of ounces as well (more accurate). And ml for liquids. I have a digital scale where I can toggle the units.... Definetely get a good digital kitchen scale.... worth its weight in gold :)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    edited September 2016
    Y'know what? Since you ate all the servings (albeit over the course of 2 days), I'm thinking it may not matter too much, as long as you eat all of the package eventually, and log all of the calories eventually. Whether it's one day or the next is immaterial.

    Yes, if you weigh it, you can guess that the calories per gram on the package are semi-correct . . . but - especially for a prepared food like that - it really kinda is a guess.

    In general, weighing is more accurate (and easier/quicker) than other methods of calorie estimating, but in this kind of case there are a lot of potential sources of estimating error no matter how you do it. I vote "don't stress about it".

    (edited to fix typo)

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