Calories in Lentils? Why so different among brands?

successgal1
successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
edited November 28 in Food and Nutrition
I've been using Iberia lentils in my soups, the label says there are 70 calories in 1/4 cup dry. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Iberia-Lentils-16-Oz/19400114

But when I look at other brands, the calories can be more then double! https://www.amazon.com/365-Everyday-Value-Organic-Lentils/dp/B074J5WZN1 I'm starting to wonder if the Iberia brand is mislabeled and that should be 1/4 cooked. And if so, is that why I'm barely losing weight though exercising, logging and not eating over what I'm supposed to. I could be consuming twice as many or more, calories at lunch then I thought I was.

Any thoughts on this?

Replies

  • mmnv79
    mmnv79 Posts: 538 Member
    I don't have my glasses on and I may be wrong, but I think the Walmart numbers are for 32 grams and the Amazon ones for 50 grams.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    Yeah, both those could be right. If you use measuring cups you could really get a wrong amount. I can fit 32g or 50g into a quarter cup measure.

    You can go to the USDA nutrition database and get numbers, too. According to it, 32g dry beans is about 113 calories.
    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    Ok I'll need to check on that later. I truly hope my 12 oz, 320 gram bag isnt over 100k calories!
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    successgal1 wrote: »
    Ok I'll need to check on that later. I truly hope my 12 oz, 320 gram bag isnt over 100k calories!

    Assuming you are talking about the Iberia brand you linked, the entire bag would be 700 calories.
    70(cal)/32(grams) = 2.1875 (cal per gram) x 320=700 calories
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Yeah, both those could be right. If you use measuring cups you could really get a wrong amount. I can fit 32g or 50g into a quarter cup measure.

    You can go to the USDA nutrition database and get numbers, too. According to it, 32g dry beans is about 113 calories.
    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    Yeah I'm going by grams, dry. They're lentils not beans. I was searching the database but couldn't find specifically dry lentils unless it was a manufacturer UPC, just raw, which to me means not dried.

    Assuming my math is right and going by product labels, the 365 brand is 3.6 calories per gram, Bobs Red Mill is 3.3 calories per gram, and Iberia, the one I've been using, 2.18 calories per gram. Another in the MFP database is 4 cal per gram. I wonder why the difference? At least its not as big of a difference as I was starting to worry about. I dumped the whole 12 oz in, a 6 quart soup, so its not all that much for one serving.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,454 Member
    successgal1 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Yeah, both those could be right. If you use measuring cups you could really get a wrong amount. I can fit 32g or 50g into a quarter cup measure.

    You can go to the USDA nutrition database and get numbers, too. According to it, 32g dry beans is about 113 calories.
    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    Yeah I'm going by grams, dry. They're lentils not beans. I was searching the database but couldn't find specifically dry lentils unless it was a manufacturer UPC, just raw, which to me means not dried.

    Assuming my math is right and going by product labels, the 365 brand is 3.6 calories per gram, Bobs Red Mill is 3.3 calories per gram, and Iberia, the one I've been using, 2.18 calories per gram. Another in the MFP database is 4 cal per gram. I wonder why the difference? At least its not as big of a difference as I was starting to worry about. I dumped the whole 12 oz in, a 6 quart soup, so its not all that much for one serving.

    Okay, well I could have said legume. Whatever.


    I would just use whatever the label says; the difference is small. As long as you are weighing it by the gram, it's close enough. This isn't an exact science, ya know? I mean even two different fields will produce more sugars in the lentils or more fiber (by a small degree.)
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    successgal1 wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    Yeah, both those could be right. If you use measuring cups you could really get a wrong amount. I can fit 32g or 50g into a quarter cup measure.

    You can go to the USDA nutrition database and get numbers, too. According to it, 32g dry beans is about 113 calories.
    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

    Yeah I'm going by grams, dry. They're lentils not beans. I was searching the database but couldn't find specifically dry lentils unless it was a manufacturer UPC, just raw, which to me means not dried.

    Assuming my math is right and going by product labels, the 365 brand is 3.6 calories per gram, Bobs Red Mill is 3.3 calories per gram, and Iberia, the one I've been using, 2.18 calories per gram. Another in the MFP database is 4 cal per gram. I wonder why the difference? At least its not as big of a difference as I was starting to worry about. I dumped the whole 12 oz in, a 6 quart soup, so its not all that much for one serving.

    Okay, well I could have said legume. Whatever.


    I would just use whatever the label says; the difference is small. As long as you are weighing it by the gram, it's close enough. This isn't an exact science, ya know? I mean even two different fields will produce more sugars in the lentils or more fiber (by a small degree.)

    I guess. Anyway, lentils are different from beans in that they don't have THAT effect on me. Perhaps they are less starchy.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    mmnv79 wrote: »
    I don't have my glasses on and I may be wrong, but I think the Walmart numbers are for 32 grams and the Amazon ones for 50 grams.

    Ya, the Walmart one is 32 grams, which gives me 113 calories from this USDA listing for 'lentils, raw'.

    (I would have preferred 'lentils, dry', but that's the closest listing I saw.)
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    mmnv79 wrote: »
    I don't have my glasses on and I may be wrong, but I think the Walmart numbers are for 32 grams and the Amazon ones for 50 grams.

    Ya, the Walmart one is 32 grams, which gives me 113 calories from this USDA listing for 'lentils, raw'.

    (I would have preferred 'lentils, dry', but that's the closest listing I saw.)

    Right. But the Iberia bag lists 32g as only 70 calories. Not 113. Theoretically you'd have less raw lentils in a gram, since that implies they haven't been dried. Dried lentils would have more of them to a gram, which by that logic would mean more calories per gram. Iberia is 2.18 Cal per gram, other brands over 3 calories for dry lentils. I mean, maybe they are just less nutritious or maybe just less starchy than their competitors, but to me that's quite a difference.

  • Millicent3015
    Millicent3015 Posts: 374 Member
    successgal1 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    mmnv79 wrote: »
    I don't have my glasses on and I may be wrong, but I think the Walmart numbers are for 32 grams and the Amazon ones for 50 grams.

    Ya, the Walmart one is 32 grams, which gives me 113 calories from this USDA listing for 'lentils, raw'.

    (I would have preferred 'lentils, dry', but that's the closest listing I saw.)

    Right. But the Iberia bag lists 32g as only 70 calories. Not 113. Theoretically you'd have less raw lentils in a gram, since that implies they haven't been dried. Dried lentils would have more of them to a gram, which by that logic would mean more calories per gram. Iberia is 2.18 Cal per gram, other brands over 3 calories for dry lentils. I mean, maybe they are just less nutritious or maybe just less starchy than their competitors, but to me that's quite a difference.

    Raw means uncooked, so raw lentils most likely means uncooked dry lentils. The calories may be different based on the official caloric values of the country they're sourced from, or calories may be rounded up or down by some brands and not others. But the difference is small, because all lentils are low in calories, and may be higher in proteins per gram than some beans.
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