Does it ever surprise you how much or little calories a dish has?

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  • LauraInTheWater
    LauraInTheWater Posts: 477 Member
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    OMG yes. That's why I'm trying so many things. Because I want to know if what I have been eating in the past was really as healthy as I thought it was.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
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    RedfootDaddy wrote: »
    One of our go-to meals is egg tacos, which I figured would be pretty decent on calories. It's veg and eggs with cheese and ketchup in a tortilla, pretty basic right? Did the math and three of them set me back almost 1000 cal - ack! So depressed.

    I make them now with corn tortillas and half the amount of ketchup and cheese, but they just aren't the same ;-;

    I've got a version I make for breakfast about once a week for about 350 calories for 2 tacos:

    2 Scrambled Eggs
    1/4 Cup Light Cabot Cheddar Cheese or 2 Lowfat Cheese Sticks
    Salsa...2 tbs but really as much as you want
    Mission Extra Thin Corn Tortillas

  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    I thought pitta bread would be lower in calories than ordinary bread but nope! I'm not bothered (I'm here to gain weight) ; just surprised!
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
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    Peanut butter, ice cream, and beer. I suppose it makes sense that they are some of my favorite things; they are calorie-dense as hayell!
  • badnoodle
    badnoodle Posts: 216 Member
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    I made cauliflower paella tonight, substituting cauliflower for the rice, and smoked turkey sausage for the chorizo (somewhere, a Spaniard is cursing me for defiling their national dish, I know.). It made close to 2kg of food, but was only about 350 kcal for a quarter of the pan. How does that even work??
  • gmstevens37
    gmstevens37 Posts: 30 Member
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    CassondraKennedy wrote: »
    I made a chocolate souffle a couple weeks ago. Thought it would be a better alternative to some of the store bought desserts since souffles are typically "airy". Nope, 450 calories in a tiny little 5oz ramekin! Very disappointing as it was quite a technical and time-consuming bake for an amateur like me...

    I hope you ate some any way! That's a celebration to pull that off. I haven't been brave enough to try a soufflé
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    I ordered a small vanilla shake at McD's then looked up at the board and saw it was 600 calories. Crap. How's that even possible?
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I have three granita recipes in my favorite cookbook (basically scraped ice desserts), orange juice, lemon-lime, and green tea. They're all variations of 'boil equal parts sugar and water together to make a simple syrup, add what you're using for flavors, freeze, and stir every hour until set.

    I'd assumed that the orange granita would be the lowest in calories because it had the least amount of sugar in the simple syrup. BUT I forgot that the orange juice wasn't exactly calorie-free. The orange may be the most nutrient-dense (which isn't saying whole heck of a lot), but despite the green tea version having more sugar, it's still... well... 4 cups of cooled green tea, as opposed to 4 cups of OJ. Lowest-calorie option. (The lemon-lime has way more sugar to balance the tartness and is the highest-calorie option of the three.)
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    Nothing surprises me anymore. But I once was surprised by how little calories were in meringues. Probably because I don't cook so didn't understand there was like no fat in them. Also because I always thought they kinda sucked. I'll eat them now though yes sir.
  • everher
    everher Posts: 909 Member
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    It took me a long time to realize all foods aren't created equal. The calorie differences between a dish you make at home vs the same dish at a restaurant vs the same dish made at another restaurant are often astronomical.

    I also was surprised when I realized I can usually substitute or make reductions in most recipes to lower the calories and don't miss the taste. Desserts are one of the only things I've found you can't really do that with, but with entrees yes. There's always a work around and apparently my taste buds aren't so sophisticated that I can tell the difference.
  • JetJaguar
    JetJaguar Posts: 801 Member
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    I was surprised by how few calories whipped cream has. Makes sense I suppose, since it's mostly air. I was shocked by how much ketchup has - one little packet is like 20 calories. You don't realize how much sugar is in there since it's sweetness is offset by the vinegar.

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