Cooking with Oil question

Maybe you can divide the amount of olive oil you put in the pan by the amount of servings you will have of the food you cooked. Assuming the oil is evenly distributed, this would give you an approximation of how much you are consuming.

I just log the full tbsp but measuring the difference should be pretty accurate as well. Whether to log it one way or the other is your choice. I log the full tbsp because I like having the leeway later in the day if I need it but some people have to stick solidly to their calories.

Some people measure what's left in the pan. Other people take the amount they used and divide that by the number of servings you at of it. So if you did 4 pieces in 2 tablespoons of oil, divide 2 tablespoons by 4 servings. That would be how much each serving has. Those are really the only two answers I've seen for this question.

It's probably not just oil left in the pan, but also juices from the fish. And you won't get any grief from me about using olive oil... I love it!

I'd probably either just estimate how much oil went into the fish (half a tbs, perhaps?) or look up the calorie count of the sauteed version of the fish (i.e. "salmon sauteed," vs. just "salmon filet.")

I asked this same question and got bashed hardcore. Everyone said to just log the whole thing.

I've been wondering the exact same thing. I love buying pre-packaged frozen salmon filets from the grocery store, but the calories in olive oil are extreme. I've seen Olive Oil Pam spray in the grocery store that has virtually no calories, I wonder if that would work when pan searing fish? I might try it when I go shopping tonight.

I do this and it works great!

Regarding the olive oil spray in a can...They are tricky buggers when labeling! Think of it this way: the can contains pure oil/fat. There are 9 calories in one gram of fat. This is fact. So how can that whole can have 0 calories?

It doesn't.

The way they make it sound calorie free is by adjusting the serving size until the amount of calories and fat in that serving are negligible. When it says that there are 0 calories in a 1/2 second spray, it's because it's small enough that they don't legally have to mention them.

A can full of olive oil has calories whether it is sprayed or poured. It's all in the serving size! Don't let them trick you


Also, olive oil is great! Nice choice.

Accuracy counts, and the oil is coming with nutrition that you should count accurately. If you only actually ate about half the oil, then that's what you should log.

I'd log all of it, but only after sopping up the leftover beautifully healthful olive oil out of the pan with a piece of good bread and eating it.

I'd log the bread, too. :laugh:

PS: Or you could simply pour that olive oil over the fish when serving it and solve the question that way.

Definitely what this guy said. I certainly understand everything in moderation but extra virgin olive oil is incredibly healthy for you. I never cook with anything else...unless I'm cooking with real butter for some reason.

I've been wondering the exact same thing. I love buying pre-packaged frozen salmon filets from the grocery store, but the calories in olive oil are extreme. I've seen Olive Oil Pam spray in the grocery store that has virtually no calories, I wonder if that would work when pan searing fish? I might try it when I go shopping tonight.

I do this and it works great!

there's also additives in it...thats not so good for the body...i think? Maybe a plain Misto...oil spray bottle would be healthier?

I've been wondering the exact same thing. I love buying pre-packaged frozen salmon filets from the grocery store, but the calories in olive oil are extreme. I've seen Olive Oil Pam spray in the grocery store that has virtually no calories, I wonder if that would work when pan searing fish? I might try it when I go shopping tonight.

I do this and it works great!

there's also additives in it...thats not so good for the body...i think? Maybe a plain Misto...oil spray bottle would be healthier?

There aren't that many additives in most cooking sprays - they just play games with portion sizes to list zero grams of fat on the label (set a portion size so it's .4999999 grams and they can round down). Basically what you're getting is very overpriced oil mixed with food-safe propellants that mostly dissipate anyway.

But, yeah, a hand-pump pressure sprayer with pure olive oil is ideal for oiling a pan. As is just dumping a tiny bit in when the pan is cool and rubbing it on with a clean hand.

I tend to measure out a small amount of oil for cooking in, because I generally use olive (for stirfry) or coconut oil (when I need more heat) and I want the nutrients and good fats from the oil. It gets logged as part of the recipe.