Confused about microwave popcorn nutrition info...

Options
LarryPGH
LarryPGH Posts: 349 Member
in Food and Nutrition
OK, so while I was at Target, I picked up some "Market Pantry Whole Grain Microwave Popcorn with butter", and now that I look at it, the nutrition facts are making me scratch my head.

There's one entry here that looks similar, but the one in the database says "with 94% fat-free butter", which is something that my box of popcorn doesn't say.

I'm wondering exactly how many calories that a bag of popcorn has, but it seems that the nutrition facts are worded in a way specifically designed to be confusing! Here's what it says:

Serving size 2 Tbsp (35g) unpopped (makes about 4 cups popped)
Servings per Bag about 2.5

Amount ................ 2 Tbsp. ............... 1 cup
Per Serving .......... Unpopped ............ Popped

Calories .................. 150 ................ 25

Now, here's where I'm confused. If 2 tbsp unpopped makes about 4 cups popped, and 2 tbsp unpopped is 150 calories, how can 1/4 of unpopped kernels -- which should make 1 cup popped, right? -- be 150 * 1/4 (that is, 37) calories, when the number for "1 cup popped" is 25 calories?

Moreover, they're saying that their bag of popcorn turns out 2.5 * 4 = 10 cups of popcorn? That seems like a lot. On this scale, then, a bag of popcorn produces either 2.5 *150 = 375 cals (if we go by the "unpopped" number) or 4 * 2.5 * 25 = 250 calories (if we go by the "popped" number).

So, which is it? 375 / bag or 250 / bag? :huh: :grumble:

Can anybody make any better sense of this? Am I missing something?

(Edited to try and format the table of Nutrition Facts...)
«1

Replies

  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    Options
    Isn't it the most confusing thing in the world. I buy my kids the ones that say right on the box that the bag is 100 calories--just so I don't have to think about it.
  • leakewh
    leakewh Posts: 91 Member
    Options
    250....the bags I eat all the time have 12 cups popped which = 300 calories...I dont care what anyone says popcorn is where your bang for the buck is...
  • LarryPGH
    LarryPGH Posts: 349 Member
    Options
    It's seriously confusing! And I consider myself a math guy, too!!!
  • cerrmann
    cerrmann Posts: 19
    Options
    Most brands of microwave popcorn rot my stomach. Feel horrible the next day, the butter in there is like pure lard or something and salty! Everytime I eat it have the worst next day (probably because every time I do eat it I'm also drinking and not thinking clearly!)
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 618 Member
    Options
    Good question. I always wonder the same thing. I hope someone has the answer!
  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    Options
    ok, so you would simply do the 2tbs nutrition facts times the amount per bag....
  • bstamps12
    bstamps12 Posts: 1,184
    Options
    I am always confused on that! I have never seen nutrition facts look so stupid before! I eat Pop Weaver Popcorn and someone on here entered it as Pop Weaver 280 Calories Bag...so I use that one?
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    From my understanding, you cannot go by the "unpopped" number at all (unless you are eating unpopped popcorn) because parts of the kernel are destroyed by the mini explosion that turns the kernel into popped corn. This mini explosion reduces the amount of calories drastically. Since the kernel and the pop corn are two chemically different substances there is no or very little corrilation between the calories in one and the calories in the other. Our bodies also digest popped corn more effectively than unpopped kernels which may have something to do with it.
  • UberGoose
    UberGoose Posts: 8
    Options
    You could always just not eat the popcorn. I stopped bothering with it a long time ago. It's really not that good to snack on.
  • bizco
    bizco Posts: 1,949 Member
    Options
    It's 250 calories. Always look at the "popped" info. 10 cups does seem like a lot but I actually measured it once and it's true. The problem is the density of popcporn, it takes up a lot of room but does't weigh hardly anything at all. Also, be sure you read the fine print on the box (under the nutrition table) to find the true number of fat grams, carbs, etc.

    I stopped buying the brands that have that type of misleading information. Popcorn has way more calories than people realize because the nutrition panel gives values based on only 1 cup popped when in fact, each bag has between 8-10 cups. You will see many entries in the MFP database that are wrong because people don't know how to interpret the confusing nutrition label. Now I buy the brands sold in mini bags and all info is given to you by the entire bag.
  • soysos
    soysos Posts: 187 Member
    Options
    just stop getting those bags of microwave popcorn. any popcorn can be popped in a microwave, put a few tablespoons of kernels in a paper lunch bag with a little bit of oil and some popcorn salt, staple it shut and pop it in the microwave.
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    You can get a hot air popper at Wal Mart or Target for $20 or less. Just dump some seeds in and and push the button. No oil or anything needed. I'd probably die without mine. I love hot air popped popcorn. :)
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    Options
    Unless you're eating spoonfuls of unpopped popcorn kernels, always ignore the nutrition info there.

    Most "regular" sized bags of popcorn contain between 10-12.5 cups of popped corn after microwaving (depending on the size of the popped kernels).

    So to find the total calories for one full bag, just multiply the number of calories in the popped serving size by the number of popped servings in the bag.

    The only caveat is that I've seen brands give nutritionals for one cup popped, then say that a serving size is four or five cups and then give a number of servings per bag based on that serving size (typically 2.5). So if you were to multiply the nutritional info by 2.5 you'd be grossly low because you'd have to actually first multiply it by how many cups is in the serving and then by the servings per bag.

    Oh, and the Jolly Time 94% fat free regular size bags say 100 calories/3 WW PP points all over the boxes and even directly on the bags. But thats per serving, even though the lil' blue oval doesn't say that on the front. And the large bags are 2.5 servings, so 250 cal/7.5 points. And the new boxes are a bit clearer, but a box that I found in the snack drawer at work only had the 100 cal/3 point info everywhere but in one fine printed area to the side of the nutrition label. My poor coworker had been eating the entire full size bag thinking it was 100 cal until I pointed it out. (I knew that 100cal for a full sized bag was too good to be true, but I actually had to get to the Jolly Time website to find actual, clear, info cuz nothing on the bag or box was clear enough to go off of.
  • carilyn39
    carilyn39 Posts: 91 Member
    Options
    I just today came across this great popcorn debate. I don't know why the NI has to be so difficult to understand. I did notice on the popcorn I eat there is teeny tiny print with a teeny tiny * next to it that reads

    *amount in unpopped popcorn. As popped 1 cup provides 0.5g fat, 0g satureated fat, 0g trans fat, 48mg sodium, 3 g total carbohydrates, <1g fiber 0g protiein. And one cup of popped corn has 20 calories.
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    Hey look! We were talking about Popcorn back in February!!!
  • rdmchugh
    rdmchugh Posts: 76
    Options
    I buy Amish popcorn (ingredients = popcorn, nothing else), pour it into a paper lunch bag and microwave it, air popper it or put it in my "over the campfire popper". No salt, no additives, unless I add them. Nutrition info on the label easy to understand. The kind that comes on the hulls is fun! Good stuff and no hassle :)
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
    Options
    Can you really call it "Amish" if you used a microwave to pop it?
  • Awkward30
    Awkward30 Posts: 1,927 Member
    Options
    Can you really call it "Amish" if you used a microwave to pop it?

    Lol! Hahaha! Touché!
  • wwstewart
    wwstewart Posts: 135 Member
    Options
    So yeah...whole grain popcorn...


    All popcorn is whole grain.

    Hope you didn't pay more for that...lol
  • trilogy99
    trilogy99 Posts: 1
    Options
    I like the Pop Secret (Butter) brand. I looked at the nutrition label for several minutes before I consulted my friend--a calculus nerd--and after having it explained several times, I think I understand. It's very tricky. I'm going to take it slow.

    serving size: 2 tbsp unpopped / 4.5 cups popped
    servings per bag: 3

    So that would be roughly 13.5 cups of popped popcorn per bag, right? And come on, really, 1 bag is 1 serving for most of us. So we'll simplify the above to the following:

    serving size x servings = 6 tbsp unpopped / 13.5 cups popped

    Now that we have that figured out, we looked at the calories. According to my box, below is what they offer for calories per serving:

    2 tbsp unpopped = 180 calories
    1 cup popped = 30 calories

    However, there's still more math involved to figure out the actual calories in 1 bag. Multiply the calories by the actual serving size.

    6 / 2 x 180 = 540 unpopped
    30 x 13.5 = 405 popped

    So, per bag, the final calorie count comes out to 540 unpopped / 405 popped. That is way more than I had assumed, which is probably they make it so confusing to figure out.

Categories