HELP! Weighing Pre-Packaged/Boxed Foods

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alexmmcgrath
alexmmcgrath Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2020 in Food and Nutrition
Hi Everyone!

I'm curious as to how people weigh boxed food such as Instant Scalloped Potatoes by Betty Crocker, or say Instant Mashed potatoes. Usually, I create a recipe and include the milk I used, the butter, and then I add 2 boxes of unprepared Scalloped potatoes. When it's finished cooking, I weigh the final product and put that weight in the 'servings'. Is this correct? Should I be weighing what comes in the box? How should I be doing this.

Thanks in advance!

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  • violaesmith85
    violaesmith85 Posts: 15 Member
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    That seems as accurate as you can get. Unfortunately prepackaged food can have a variance of +/- 20% in calories. I suppose you could weigh whats in the box first and compare it to the calories per weight on the box first. That will probably get you a more accurate estimate, but you'll have to do it like that every time you make it because the pre boxed weight will vary a little each time. Honestly, I think the way you're doing it is the best bet without getting too overly anal about it.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    1. Put package with food/ingredient inside on scale.
    2. Tare.
    3. Take out however much you're going to use.
    4. Put the package back on the scale. The number will be how much you took out, in whatever unit you're using.

    I do this for things that I "eyeball" while cooking, like butter/oil, spices, sauces. The bonus is that I don't have to dirty a measuring spoon. Weighing the final product so you can log it per g or per 100g is still a good idea, keep doing that, but if you want to know for sure how much potato mix you used, you'll need to weigh that before you cook it.

    If it's a vacuum-packaged thing, like those refrigerated filled pastas from Buitoni(? i think? ravioli, tortellini, etc), or like a frozen fish fillet or something, I'll weigh the whole thing with the food in it and make a note, empty it, then weigh the empty packaging and do some subtraction.

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