measuring a serving of peanut butter
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When I do eat PB, I usually have bread on the scale already and scoop it from the PB jar onto the bread on the scale that I've tared.0
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I like peanut butter - crunchy - natural - with salt - It says on the jar 2 Tbsp =a serving = 190 cals + some protein. OK a Tbsp is a Tablespoon - is that the smaller spoon ? or the bigger one ? When loading the peanut butter on the spoon , would that be a level spoon full, a slightly heaping spoonful , or all the peanut butter I can possibly load on to the spoon with out it falling on the floor? I tend to go with option #3 because I do like peanut butter. So would that count as my 2 Tbsp?
As many others have said, the only way to be accurate with peanut butter (and other semi solids like mayonnaise, butter, and mustard) is to weigh it.
My preferred way to weigh peanut butter is to put the jar on the scale, hit "tare" and then remove the amount I want. The amount is shown as a negative number but it is just as accurate. It also accounts for the PB I licked off the spoon or knife. The only time I weigh it into a cup is when I make my groundnut stew and need 3/4 cup of it.2 -
I put a paper towel and empty spoon on the food scale, zero it out. Then put the PB on the spoon and weigh again. I'm looking for 28-33g and log it as the 33g serving.
I try to leave margin, so I'm not looking to go all the way to 33g every time I get a spoon of PB.
What doesn't get on the bread or on the plate with apple slices is licked off the spoon of course.
The paper towel becomes my napkin for the snack.4 -
I'm surprised by the number of people saying a tbsp of peanut butter is much less than they thought. I use bread slices that are smaller than normal (Silver Hills Little Big Bread) and I find I have a hard time getting 15g worth onto my toast. I estimated for the longest time, then decided maybe I should be weighing it, just to be sure, and was pleasantly surprised to discover I was eating less than a tbsp rather than the more I expected while estimating. You guys just need to switch your bread LOL0
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born_of_fire74 wrote: »I'm surprised by the number of people saying a tbsp of peanut butter is much less than they thought. I use bread slices that are smaller than normal (Silver Hills Little Big Bread) and I find I have a hard time getting 15g worth onto my toast. I estimated for the longest time, then decided maybe I should be weighing it, just to be sure, and was pleasantly surprised to discover I was eating less than a tbsp rather than the more I expected while estimating. You guys just need to switch your bread LOL
some of us tend to trowel the PB on pretty thick2 -
Good information shared here!0
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born_of_fire74 wrote: »I'm surprised by the number of people saying a tbsp of peanut butter is much less than they thought. I use bread slices that are smaller than normal (Silver Hills Little Big Bread) and I find I have a hard time getting 15g worth onto my toast. I estimated for the longest time, then decided maybe I should be weighing it, just to be sure, and was pleasantly surprised to discover I was eating less than a tbsp rather than the more I expected while estimating. You guys just need to switch your bread LOL
some of us tend to trowel the PB on pretty thick
It's no good if it's so thick that the heat of the toast doesn't get it all melty2 -
born_of_fire74 wrote: »born_of_fire74 wrote: »I'm surprised by the number of people saying a tbsp of peanut butter is much less than they thought. I use bread slices that are smaller than normal (Silver Hills Little Big Bread) and I find I have a hard time getting 15g worth onto my toast. I estimated for the longest time, then decided maybe I should be weighing it, just to be sure, and was pleasantly surprised to discover I was eating less than a tbsp rather than the more I expected while estimating. You guys just need to switch your bread LOL
some of us tend to trowel the PB on pretty thick
It's no good if it's so thick that the heat of the toast doesn't get it all melty
Pththth!
As some one who can destroy a jar of peanut butter in one sitting with nothing but a spoon, I had to change my perception of how much peanut butter fits on a piece of bread in order to get my calories in line. I mean, I used to feel like the depth of a hamburger patty was fair game, if you could manage to keep it in there.
OP, weigh it, it's calorie dense. At least at first, to see if like @born_of_fire74 you typically were underestimating. I find putting the jar on the scale and scooping until you get to the # of grams you are logging is super easy.7 -
born_of_fire74 wrote: »born_of_fire74 wrote: »I'm surprised by the number of people saying a tbsp of peanut butter is much less than they thought. I use bread slices that are smaller than normal (Silver Hills Little Big Bread) and I find I have a hard time getting 15g worth onto my toast. I estimated for the longest time, then decided maybe I should be weighing it, just to be sure, and was pleasantly surprised to discover I was eating less than a tbsp rather than the more I expected while estimating. You guys just need to switch your bread LOL
some of us tend to trowel the PB on pretty thick
It's no good if it's so thick that the heat of the toast doesn't get it all melty
Ah, but for those of us who don't even bother with the toast/bread/crackers and instead go straight for the spoon... Yeah. It was enlightening. (I also discovered that sometimes, I *way* underestimated. That was nicer.)2 -
BlessedMom70 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 people3 -
BlessedMom70 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.0 -
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:6 -
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.0
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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.0 -
BlessedMom70 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.2 -
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.
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Well it looks like my 2 Tbsp of peanut butter is more like 4 or 5 - I guess I shouldn't have asked the question11
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musicfan68 wrote: »
*mic drop*0 -
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.2
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