Calories in Steamed Chicken

AMRROL
AMRROL Posts: 168 Member
I really love organic skinless chicken thighs made in my steamer. They come out so moist, despite loosing most of the fat. Also, easy to shred to make lettuce leaf tacos, salad toppings, etc. But I can't really find an accurate site to show the nutritional values. The USDA site only provides "stewed, roasted, braised or rotisserie". I don't use the raw nutritional values because I am not sure how much meat I will eat. I make that decision only after it is cooked. I might use 50 grams as a salad topping, or 100 grams as a munchie, and so forth. I can't use the raw values. I have been using the USDA values for braised, but think that might be a bit high.

I also have the same problem with boiled chicken. I like to make homemade chicken soup because I can use skinless organic chicken thighs and control the amount of salt. But not sure how to account for the boiled meat.

Anyone want to throw in their opinion. As I said, using the raw values is not an option for me, so please don't suggest it.

Replies

  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
    Maybe try poached chicken?
  • vaman
    vaman Posts: 253 Member
    This database may not list steamed as a cooking method, but it will be very close using stewed or something similar.

    https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/search/list

  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    Packaged deli chicken is processed pretty much that way. You won't be far off at .8 to 1.1 calories per gram. So, a 3 oz serving is goint to be about 80 calories.
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
    edited June 2019
    i weigh proteins raw unless i'm in situation i can't. then add any oils or spices in my recipe.
  • John772016
    John772016 Posts: 134 Member
    Create recipe, enter raw weight, steam.
    Weigh total cooked, enter that total as serving size on recipe.
    Then weigh whatever you use and that weight is your serving size for that meal.
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    Weigh it raw. Weigh it cooked. Eat what ever portion you want and then just do the math.

    For example. Your chicken is 12oz raw. It's 10oz cooked. You eat 5oz, so 1/2 portion. Take the NI that you got for the raw chicken and multiple by 50%. Easy peasy.
  • HereToLose50
    HereToLose50 Posts: 154 Member
    edited June 2019
    I weigh thighs raw just like any other meat. I know they will lose fat during cooking, but I don't try to figure out the exact grams there. Thighs are going to have more calories no matter what.

    Nothing is going to be 100% accurate. Try comparing the raw calorie entries versus stewed or roasted entries and make your decision there. Roasted also has fat dripping off rather than the meat sitting in it. Weigh before and after cooking.

    I usually keep raw weight calories and move a little more that day. I don't eat them more than once or twice a week to fit them in.
  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    I know you don't want raw suggestions but here is another anyway.

    If I cook something and I am the only one eating it and it will be consumed in a week I enter the raw values into a recipe with a serving quantity of 1. Then I eyeball the amounts I am eating as fractions .25, .5, etc and just make sure that when I am done eating it I have logged enough to equal 1. Ultimately all I care about is getting all of the calories logged in a single week. If I logged .25 one day and actually ate .33 it doesn't matter that much.
  • betsymoomoo
    betsymoomoo Posts: 71 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    I know you don't want raw suggestions but here is another anyway.

    If I cook something and I am the only one eating it and it will be consumed in a week I enter the raw values into a recipe with a serving quantity of 1. Then I eyeball the amounts I am eating as fractions .25, .5, etc and just make sure that when I am done eating it I have logged enough to equal 1. Ultimately all I care about is getting all of the calories logged in a single week. If I logged .25 one day and actually ate .33 it doesn't matter that much.

    I do this as well because I meal plan each week. I make a recipe for lunches, snacks and for dinners and divide it by 6 (I have a free day where I can eat a little more loosely or go out with friends or my kiddos). That way I know I'm eating the whole thing over those 6 days so if each container is a little off it's not a huge deal.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    AMRROL wrote: »
    I really love organic skinless chicken thighs made in my steamer. They come out so moist, despite loosing most of the fat. Also, easy to shred to make lettuce leaf tacos, salad toppings, etc. But I can't really find an accurate site to show the nutritional values. The USDA site only provides "stewed, roasted, braised or rotisserie". I don't use the raw nutritional values because I am not sure how much meat I will eat. I make that decision only after it is cooked. I might use 50 grams as a salad topping, or 100 grams as a munchie, and so forth. I can't use the raw values. I have been using the USDA values for braised, but think that might be a bit high.

    I also have the same problem with boiled chicken. I like to make homemade chicken soup because I can use skinless organic chicken thighs and control the amount of salt. But not sure how to account for the boiled meat.

    Anyone want to throw in their opinion. As I said, using the raw values is not an option for me, so please don't suggest it.

    I would expect "stewed" values to be pretty much the same as "boiled." You're cooking the chicken in water in both cases. (Stewing to me suggests a slower, lower-heat process. The only time I would intentionally "boil" chicken is if I were aiming for time- and energy-efficiency by throwing it in the same pot of water I was boiling for some other component of the meal, like pasta or certain veggies.)
  • placeboBL
    placeboBL Posts: 62 Member
    Braised and stewed are the only two that really compare to steamed (added water weight, fat rendered), and they’re virtually identical in the USDA guidelines. I don’t think either of them seem high for steamed chicken thighs.

    Raw is the only accurate way to do it. If you’re just going to guess, stick with one of those two.

  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    AMRROL wrote: »
    I really love organic skinless chicken thighs made in my steamer. They come out so moist, despite loosing most of the fat. Also, easy to shred to make lettuce leaf tacos, salad toppings, etc. But I can't really find an accurate site to show the nutritional values. The USDA site only provides "stewed, roasted, braised or rotisserie". I don't use the raw nutritional values because I am not sure how much meat I will eat. I make that decision only after it is cooked. I might use 50 grams as a salad topping, or 100 grams as a munchie, and so forth. I can't use the raw values. I have been using the USDA values for braised, but think that might be a bit high.

    I also have the same problem with boiled chicken. I like to make homemade chicken soup because I can use skinless organic chicken thighs and control the amount of salt. But not sure how to account for the boiled meat.

    Anyone want to throw in their opinion. As I said, using the raw values is not an option for me, so please don't suggest it.

    I would expect "stewed" values to be pretty much the same as "boiled." You're cooking the chicken in water in both cases. (Stewing to me suggests a slower, lower-heat process. The only time I would intentionally "boil" chicken is if I were aiming for time- and energy-efficiency by throwing it in the same pot of water I was boiling for some other component of the meal, like pasta or certain veggies.)

    Which is why I like raw weights because for some people stewed might mean putting their chicken in a crock pot and cooking it well past done and then another 2 hours just because they aren't home yet. Boiled might suggest that a person is keeping an eye on the pot.

    I would suggest that anyone using cooked weights use a meat thermometer and stop the moment their chicken hits a temp that will eventually coast up to 165.
  • onepebble
    onepebble Posts: 22 Member
    I’d use the recipe builder - even if raw chicken is the only ingredient.
    You can the weigh the cooked product and enter the number of grams as servings (eg 346g = 346 servings). Then weigh out the amount you eat each time and enter that many servings.
    It’s the same outcome as the suggestions above, but makes the software do the maths for you.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    edited June 2019
    If you eat everything that comes out cooked, then weigh it raw. Otherwise you are weighing things that you are not eating. So, for steamed chicken, if you are drinking the liquid in the pan, go for raw weight.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    NovusDies wrote: »
    AMRROL wrote: »
    I really love organic skinless chicken thighs made in my steamer. They come out so moist, despite loosing most of the fat. Also, easy to shred to make lettuce leaf tacos, salad toppings, etc. But I can't really find an accurate site to show the nutritional values. The USDA site only provides "stewed, roasted, braised or rotisserie". I don't use the raw nutritional values because I am not sure how much meat I will eat. I make that decision only after it is cooked. I might use 50 grams as a salad topping, or 100 grams as a munchie, and so forth. I can't use the raw values. I have been using the USDA values for braised, but think that might be a bit high.

    I also have the same problem with boiled chicken. I like to make homemade chicken soup because I can use skinless organic chicken thighs and control the amount of salt. But not sure how to account for the boiled meat.

    Anyone want to throw in their opinion. As I said, using the raw values is not an option for me, so please don't suggest it.

    I would expect "stewed" values to be pretty much the same as "boiled." You're cooking the chicken in water in both cases. (Stewing to me suggests a slower, lower-heat process. The only time I would intentionally "boil" chicken is if I were aiming for time- and energy-efficiency by throwing it in the same pot of water I was boiling for some other component of the meal, like pasta or certain veggies.)

    Which is why I like raw weights because for some people stewed might mean putting their chicken in a crock pot and cooking it well past done and then another 2 hours just because they aren't home yet. Boiled might suggest that a person is keeping an eye on the pot.

    I would suggest that anyone using cooked weights use a meat thermometer and stop the moment their chicken hits a temp that will eventually coast up to 165.

    Stewing chicken actually has a long culinary history as a way of tenderizing old hens (and presumably roosters, but one naturally had a lot more old chickens than old roosters, since you didn't need as many adult roosters as hens -- heck, if you only wanted eggs and bought pullets to replenish your flock as it aged, you didn't need a rooster at all). And usually you would stew in a flavored broth. Boiling a chicken in water and using a meat thermometer gets you a chicken that is safe to eat, but even if it's a young "fryer" like you typically find in grocery stores, the fact that it would be safe to eat is about all I would say for it. OK for shredding and using in dishes where it's going to be slathered with sauce or other highly flavored moist ingredients, but I wouldn't put it on a plate to eat as a whole "piece". A stewed thigh or breast or whatever could go on your plate and deliver the flavor absorbed from the stewing liquid.
  • AMRROL
    AMRROL Posts: 168 Member
    Thanks for all the input. But as I stated in my original post, weighting raw is not an option for me at this time, and please don't suggest it. I don't understand why all the responses replied with weight it raw.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    AMRROL wrote: »
    Thanks for all the input. But as I stated in my original post, weighting raw is not an option for me at this time, and please don't suggest it. I don't understand why all the responses replied with weight it raw.

    They didn't. By my count, one-third of the responses gave you advice on how to log your steamed chicken based on cooked weight.
  • wilson10102018
    wilson10102018 Posts: 1,306 Member
    If you eat everything that comes out cooked, then weigh it raw. Otherwise you are weighing things that you are not eating. So, for steamed chicken, if you are drinking the liquid in the pan, go for raw weight.
    AMRROL wrote: »
    Thanks for all the input. But as I stated in my original post, weighting raw is not an option for me at this time, and please don't suggest it. I don't understand why all the responses replied with weight it raw.

    They didn't. By my count, one-third of the responses gave you advice on how to log your steamed chicken based on cooked weight.

    I hope I was counted as a "weigh it cooked" because I didn't really think the OP was going to drink the water and chicken fat in the bottom of the steaming pot.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    If you eat everything that comes out cooked, then weigh it raw. Otherwise you are weighing things that you are not eating. So, for steamed chicken, if you are drinking the liquid in the pan, go for raw weight.
    AMRROL wrote: »
    Thanks for all the input. But as I stated in my original post, weighting raw is not an option for me at this time, and please don't suggest it. I don't understand why all the responses replied with weight it raw.

    They didn't. By my count, one-third of the responses gave you advice on how to log your steamed chicken based on cooked weight.

    I hope I was counted as a "weigh it cooked" because I didn't really think the OP was going to drink the water and chicken fat in the bottom of the steaming pot.

    :smile:

    I just find it frustrating when people ignore well-intentioned, seemingly on-point answers to their questions and instead focus on getting bent out of shape over the ones that aren't on point (and sometimes they're off point because people missed something in a lengthy question). Nobody here is getting paid to respond to other people's questions. So if people get ignored or lumped into a generic "you're being mean and unhelpful" response, that's not helpful to building a community where people voluntarily try to help each other.