measuring a serving of peanut butter

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  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    crazyravr wrote: »
    sardelsa wrote: »
    crazyravr wrote: »
    I refuse to get a scale/weigh my food. I use a tbsp measuring spoon and level it off with a knife.

    You should never measure solids by spoons or cups. Get a scale. It all adds up in the end. It really really adds up.

    Never?

    While I do agree using a good scale is a great tool, I don't see anything wrong with someone using spoons/cups as their tool of choice if they prefer it that way and they are reaching their goals (obviously if there are complaints of not losing then yes, I would recommend a scale to help increase accuracy). I don't use a scale or measuring cups.. I don't even log my food in here. I eyeball my peanut butter portion every morning unless I am baking. Different things work for different people

    If YOU dont measure anything and dont care, then this does not apply for sure. But for people who want to control their portions properly be it because of weight loss/gain/maint, yes it applies. See the video posted above.

    The user you questioned (not OP) doesn't seem to mind using measuring cups either. Not sure why she must use a food scale.
  • allisonlane161
    allisonlane161 Posts: 269 Member
    Imagine my shock when I discovered barely over my TBSP was the 30 grams. If you're good with underestimating, don't use the scale. Same with my cup measures--they are way off.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    So I'll say the answer is actually to split the difference. OP wants to know whether a TBSP is a big spoon or a little spoon, and if it's leveled or heaping. And I'd say the only way to accurately find out is to put the jar on the scale, grab a spoon, and see what it looks like when you manage to get 30g or whatever on the scale. If OP feels confident they can replicate that by eyeballing and loses weight as expected, they don't need to worry about using the scale. If OP is asking because they aren't losing as expected and they are afraid they are eating way more PB calories than they are logging, the only way to be sure is to weigh it out.

    OP, something I haven't seen addressed yet - Some people do call the big spoon and the little spoon in a typical place setting a teaspoon and a tablespoon, but I don't believe there is any reason to think they actually hold that amount. A true tsp and TBSP would be in a set of measuring spoons labeled as such. I think the more proper names for the two place setting spoons are a tea spoon and a soup spoon, but that is describing what use they are meant for, not an exact measurement. But it has admittedly been a long time since I learned my table manners :drinker:

    Yes, I've had several housemates who incorrectly thought a soup spoon was a tablespoon. Every soup spoon I've ever had in a normal place setting was smaller than a tablespoon.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I refuse to get a scale/weigh my food. I use a tbsp measuring spoon and level it off with a knife.

    OK.

    A scale takes less time, dirties fewer dishes, and is more accurate. Decent ones are cheap. I see no practical down-side (other than the peanut-butter-serving sadness thing).

    Some people find that using a scale, along with certain other common weight-loss practices, can risk reawakening past eating disorders. They should probably avoid using a food scale, unless they have proper professional support.

    But using a food scale doesn't normally provoke compulsions or dysfunctions in otherwise psychologically even-keel people, any more than cups/spoons do. It's just a tool, not a demon.

    But feel free to do you, for sure.

    Great post!

    I will add that using measuring cups used to make me anxious, as I never knew how tightly to pack them. Now, not only do I no longer have this uncertainty, I don't have to wash the cups either.
  • PloddingTurtle
    PloddingTurtle Posts: 284 Member
    Forget the spoon. (cleaning PB out of a measuring spoon is a pain)

    Weigh your knife, tare the scale to zero, run your knife through the PB to pull out the amount you think looks like a tablespoon, and weigh the knife and PB. Adjust portion as needed and weigh again. :)
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,143 Member
    ecjim wrote: »
    Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question

    And that is exactly why you weigh it, not measure it.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,757 Member
    musicfan68 wrote: »
    ecjim wrote: »
    Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question

    And that is exactly why you weigh it, not measure it.

    *mic drop*
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 849 Member
    After I properly weighed my peanut butter. I have not eaten it again. It is there for emergency, but no longer an everyday item. As so little.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    ecjim wrote: »
    Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question

    @ecjim
    Here you go, welcome to the club of sadness upon finding out what a serving of peanut butter actually is.....
    zajnk1n9w02s.jpg
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Imagine my shock when I discovered barely over my TBSP was the 30 grams. If you're good with underestimating, don't use the scale. Same with my cup measures--they are way off.

    1 TBSP ~ 15g, not 30. Sorry.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited September 2018
    I refuse to get a scale/weigh my food. I use a tbsp measuring spoon and level it off with a knife.

    Nothing wrong with that as long as it's working for you. If/when you hit a stall/plateau, at least you'll know exactly where you should look first as the source of it and how to fix it.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 813 Member
    A tablespoon is the bigger spoon. A set of measuring spoons is really helpful if you want to get one.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited September 2018
    ecjim wrote: »
    Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question

    Yes, I hardly every have peanut butter banana smoothies since I got a digital food scale and had to stop lying to myself about what was 2 T.

    Right-Now-I-Am-Feeling-Funny-Sad-Meme.jpg
  • ecjim
    ecjim Posts: 1,001 Member
    VUA21 wrote: »
    ecjim wrote: »
    Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question

    @ecjim
    Here you go, welcome to the club of sadness upon finding out what a serving of peanut butter actually is.....
    zajnk1n9w02s.jpg

    Thanks- I will be needing those - then I will go & have me 6 or 7 servings of PB - which should be a couple of spoonful's
  • vegmebuff
    vegmebuff Posts: 31,389 Member
    ecjim wrote: »
    Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question

    yes..ignorance is bliss ;) and a few extra pounds too
  • pe4sandra2
    pe4sandra2 Posts: 39 Member
    Peanut butter! Totally worth the calories...measure it, weigh it, hug it, love it...eat it.
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