Can anybody help me guesstimate calories in meat?

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guacassassin
guacassassin Posts: 26 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm sick of buying frozen chicken tenders. They never taste as good as the fresh chicken bone in thighs. But I never would buy them because I am absolutely clueless when it comes to estimating calorie amounts. Can anybody help me? I have attached photo for reference.

I doubt that the calorie count is as low, because once I got rid of the skin and cut the meat off, it was dark and juicy. Too good to be as low as those frozen chicken tenders.
I made four chicken bone in thighs, cooked them in the oven, removed the skin, diced up the meat, and divied it into four containers. I miss this delicious chicken but I haven't made it in so long because I had no idea how to calculate calories. Can anybody help me with this?

http://imgur.com/gallery/3ugrkr6

Replies

  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
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    My best uneducated guess is about 250 calories. Do you know how much the serving weighs?

    Are the tenders you buy breaded? That adds calories to the portion so it may not be much different.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
    edited December 2018
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    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)
  • guacassassin
    guacassassin Posts: 26 Member
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    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)

    The problem is there are so many different calorie estimates for bone in chicken thighs, and I don't know if the fact that I removed the skin would help with the calories or not. So even if I guesstimate ounces, how do I ensure I'm choosing the correct calories per ounce?

    Also, the container read roughly 2lbs weight for the four thighs, but there's no way each of those little portions can be 8 ounces...
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
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    maurakkownacki wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)

    The problem is there are so many different calorie estimates for bone in chicken thighs, and I don't know if the fact that I removed the skin would help with the calories or not. So even if I guesstimate ounces, how do I ensure I'm choosing the correct calories per ounce?

    Also, the container read roughly 2lbs weight for the four thighs, but there's no way each of those little portions can be 8 ounces...

    The weight of your package accounted for the bone and skin weigh. Also, there are verified entries in the database; I look for those, and cross-reference them to the USDA database (you can google the USDA calories/nutritional information) if I think something is off. If it's a "verified" entry, you can be pretty confident that it's right.

    The USDA database shows that Tyson brand boneless/skinless chicken thighs (using this as an example), are around 143 calories per 100g (3.5oz).
  • guacassassin
    guacassassin Posts: 26 Member
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    missiontofitness wrote: »
    maurakkownacki wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)

    The problem is there are so many different calorie estimates for bone in chicken thighs, and I don't know if the fact that I removed the skin would help with the calories or not. So even if I guesstimate ounces, how do I ensure I'm choosing the correct calories per ounce?

    Also, the container read roughly 2lbs weight for the four thighs, but there's no way each of those little portions can be 8 ounces...

    The weight of your package accounted for the bone and skin weigh. Also, there are verified entries in the database; I look for those, and cross-reference them to the USDA database (you can google the USDA calories/nutritional information) if I think something is off. If it's a "verified" entry, you can be pretty confident that it's right.

    The USDA database shows that Tyson brand boneless/skinless chicken thighs (using this as an example), are around 143 calories per 100g (3.5oz).

    Wow, thank you for all the help! Is there a way to estimate ounces without a food scale?
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,029 Member
    edited December 2018
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    This thread will help you use the USDA database to get correct calories. I would weigh it as suggested above, but estimating can work too. I often buy rotisserie chicken already cooked and I guess. You know approximations if you've been buying tenders. They aren't all the same sizes, either. Just do your best, it isn't a perfect system. :)

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10621050/how-to-use-the-usda-food-database-mfp-food-database-for-accurate-logging/p1

    A digital food scale is less than $20 on amazon.
  • missiontofitness
    missiontofitness Posts: 4,074 Member
    Options
    maurakkownacki wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    maurakkownacki wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)

    The problem is there are so many different calorie estimates for bone in chicken thighs, and I don't know if the fact that I removed the skin would help with the calories or not. So even if I guesstimate ounces, how do I ensure I'm choosing the correct calories per ounce?

    Also, the container read roughly 2lbs weight for the four thighs, but there's no way each of those little portions can be 8 ounces...

    The weight of your package accounted for the bone and skin weigh. Also, there are verified entries in the database; I look for those, and cross-reference them to the USDA database (you can google the USDA calories/nutritional information) if I think something is off. If it's a "verified" entry, you can be pretty confident that it's right.

    The USDA database shows that Tyson brand boneless/skinless chicken thighs (using this as an example), are around 143 calories per 100g (3.5oz).

    Wow, thank you for all the help! Is there a way to estimate ounces without a food scale?

    Unfortunately, nothing beats a food scale. Once you get used to seeing what X ounces looks like on a scale, it's easier to eyeball. As I mentioned above, estimating it around 5 ounces should be a good ballpark guess! It doesn't look like a lot, but it could be a little more than the standard 4 ounce serving (so I like to add a little more on, just to accomodate for any discrepencies from eyeballing).
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,981 Member
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    maurakkownacki wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)

    The problem is there are so many different calorie estimates for bone in chicken thighs, and I don't know if the fact that I removed the skin would help with the calories or not. So even if I guesstimate ounces, how do I ensure I'm choosing the correct calories per ounce?

    Also, the container read roughly 2lbs weight for the four thighs, but there's no way each of those little portions can be 8 ounces...

    Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and system entries. To find system entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and plug that into MFP.

    You can debone the chicken, measure it in a cup, and use the cups option from this entry "Chicken, broilers or fryers, thigh, meat only, cooked, roasted".

    But get a food scale - it is more accurate, you don't have to worry about how tightly you are supposed to pack the cup, and you don't have to wash any cups.
  • guacassassin
    guacassassin Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    maurakkownacki wrote: »
    missiontofitness wrote: »
    Use the verified entries for cooked boneless skinless chicken thighs, and then weigh out the amount for the most accurate calorie count. If you don't have a food scale, I highly recommend investing in one. If you do not have a food scale, I would put it down as around 5oz of cooked meat for now. (When I have to guess, I tend to lean on the higher end)

    The problem is there are so many different calorie estimates for bone in chicken thighs, and I don't know if the fact that I removed the skin would help with the calories or not. So even if I guesstimate ounces, how do I ensure I'm choosing the correct calories per ounce?

    Also, the container read roughly 2lbs weight for the four thighs, but there's no way each of those little portions can be 8 ounces...

    Unfortunately, the "verified" green check marks in the MFP database are used for both user-created entries and system entries. To find system entries for whole foods, I get the syntax from the USDA database and plug that into MFP.

    You can debone the chicken, measure it in a cup, and use the cups option from this entry "Chicken, broilers or fryers, thigh, meat only, cooked, roasted".

    But get a food scale - it is more accurate, you don't have to worry about how tightly you are supposed to pack the cup, and you don't have to wash any cups.

    Do you know how many ounces is in a cup of MEAT?
  • lalepepper
    lalepepper Posts: 447 Member
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    "maurakkownacki” wrote:
    Do you know how many ounces is in a cup of MEAT?

    Depends on how the meat is prepared and the type of meat. Coarsely chopped vs strips vs ground will be very different, as will be cooked vs. raw. The only real reliable way is an actual good scale.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
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    If you are going to stress about estimating, get a scale.

    I had a food scale for baking (they are cheap, though), and since I found it stressful to estimate I decided for me weighing would be easier. I do it when cooking, so it's not really extra time (I don't weigh single serving packaged things, but I don't eat a lot of that either).

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