Calories ‘when prepared as directed’

ClaireDenise30
ClaireDenise30 Posts: 26 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, tonight I am cooking fajitas for the family and using an Asda box mix. On the box it says 281 calories ‘when prepared as directed’. Does that mean that 281 calories is including the chicken, peppers etc or is that just for the things in the box (wraps & seasoning)? I have listed my chicken separate but it seems high for what it would include if the chicken isn’t included. Thanks

Replies

  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    If you post a pic of the box we can tell you. Without the directions to see we'd just be guessing.

    However if it says use X amount of chicken then yes, those are included in the final calorie count.
  • scarlett_k
    scarlett_k Posts: 812 Member
    edited March 2020
    Sounds correct assuming they're tiny wraps and/or tiny servings of filling. Large tortillas are usually 180-200 calories alone.
  • ClaireDenise30
    ClaireDenise30 Posts: 26 Member
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  • ClaireDenise30
    ClaireDenise30 Posts: 26 Member
    That’s the back of the box with all the nutritional info. They are only small wraps, not the tiniest but not the huge ones.
  • swirlybee
    swirlybee Posts: 497 Member
    A 6" tortilla wrap is about 100 calories and 100g of chicken breast is 165 calories. That's a total of 265 calories. Add in the oil, peppers and onions, and you're probably closer to 300 calories.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,993 Member
    edited March 2020
    Argh, I hate meal kits with such unclear calorie information! Here in the Netherlands I bought a meal kit consisting of rice, marinade and sauce (for something somewhat-asian) for old-times sake and wrote an unbelievable 9 emails to Knorr customer service to try and find out how many calories per 100 grams were in the three bags each. They just thought my question was strange. I was just curious. And, well, I don't drown my curry in sauce normally. Yeah, the food was not nice, btw.

    Also, supermarkets here sell meal kids consisting of the right amount of vegetables and spices, and where applicable fresh herbs, pulses, wraps, coconut milk or other things, and you just add your protein of choice. Here also the calories is per 100gr/serving when prepared as directed. So I weighted all ingredients, looked up calories, 2 random chicken breasts as instructed, and found out that the wet spice mix accounted for a remainder of 1gr carbs, 20gr fat, 4 gr protein, AND 5kcal. :D Cue email to customer service, who did not get the issue at all. Ok, it's moot as Dutch spice mixes tend to taste of Maggie and not much else. So I spice everything myself. But still...
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,336 Member
    I would consider this a restaurant meal and estimate on my own.

    If I felt up to it I would send complaining emails.
  • Strudders67
    Strudders67 Posts: 989 Member
    I'd say that's the calories for 2 tortillas (pack of 8, serves 4), a quarter of the salsa and some of the barbeque whatever (seasoning presumably, as that's mentioned in the StirFry instructions) sprinkled on your meat and/or veg. It says 'this product provides...' so that refers to what's in the package, cooked or served as per the instructions. You'll need to account for chicken and veg separately.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    I'd say that's the calories for 2 tortillas (pack of 8, serves 4), a quarter of the salsa and some of the barbeque whatever (seasoning presumably, as that's mentioned in the StirFry instructions) sprinkled on your meat and/or veg. It says 'this product provides...' so that refers to what's in the package, cooked or served as per the instructions. You'll need to account for chicken and veg separately.

    that is my interpretation too - then add the chicken to your calories
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,731 Member
    I made couscous from a mix the other night. Three servings per box. It called for two tablespoons of olive oil, however “as prepared” only increased 30 calories per serving.

    Um.... that math don’t fly.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,993 Member
    There’s someone here who disagrees with everyone. Curious! :D
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,336 Member
    edited March 2020
    hmmm.... I just run into an interesting one that made me go "hmmm".

    Excitement: baby can (tin for England/Australia/Nz) of tuna in OIL for only 120Cal. Very filling too the first time I had it for snacks when I was out of the house :lol:

    The let down: well after buying a couple of cans (tins) for home, I am checking my THIRD can more carefully. So it is 120 Cal for 65g, DRAINED. And the can is supposed to have 85g net. So about 20g of oil and, hopefully some, tuna water... or more than likely just oil... to the tune of a good 180 extra "hidden" cals! No wonder it was nice and filling!

    BUT it doesn't stop giving there!

    Net content weight of the one can I opened and weighted at home... 110g! 110. Not 85!

    I am waiting for a few weeks before opening the third can and actually figuring out how much "accidental" oil I've consumed!

    The lesson: usually when something is much more filling than expected... there is a reason for that!
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,311 Member
    swirlybee wrote: »
    A 6" tortilla wrap is about 100 calories and 100g of chicken breast is 165 calories. That's a total of 265 calories. Add in the oil, peppers and onions, and you're probably closer to 300 calories.


    Peppers ( what we call capsicums?) and onions have very little calories and you don't need very much oil at all to cook 100g of chicken.

    At any rate 'close to 300g' is pretty close to packet info of 281 so packet sounds in the right ball park for 'as directed' meaning including the chicken.
  • ClaireDenise30
    ClaireDenise30 Posts: 26 Member
    Hi, thanks for all the replies!!!
    I ended up accounting for everything separately just to make sure. It’s annoying when things aren’t clear on the packaging 🙈 Thanks again everyone x
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