How to measure veggies

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pten0pus
pten0pus Posts: 25
in Food and Nutrition
I have a scale that measures grams and I've been using it, then doing the conversion to ounces on a website. But, I'm not sure if that is correct. How do you guys measure out fresh veggies?

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  • theologynerd
    theologynerd Posts: 264 Member
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    I usually do it by the cup, but I don't think that it's very accurate since veggies are all lumpy. I'm going to be checking back on this thread!
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
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    I usually log all my foods nutritional info in the database per 100g as that is what is on most packaging.
    I never really use other peoples values in the database as I need to make sure what I'm logging in my diary is 100% correct.
    Also when it comes to ounces some people round 1oz down to 25g rather than 28g as it should be so the numbers would be off anyway.
    Stick to g's, it's much more accurate.
  • dollipop
    dollipop Posts: 379 Member
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    Most of the database will have grams as an option, I just use that
  • Sadedoes
    Sadedoes Posts: 31 Member
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    By weight, in grams, with a food scale, and then digging though all the entries in the food diary until I find one that gives data for grams instead of cups.

    Measuring weight (be it grams or ounces) is way more accurate of measuring volume (cups) since you can pack or not the veggies to fit the cup. Take for instance chopped onion. You can cut it in rings and have a hard time fitting it in a cup, or you can chop it roughly which will leave more empty room between pieces, or you can mince it, which will pack tightly. You're still measuring "only" a cup, but the weight will be way different.
  • sarahcuddle
    sarahcuddle Posts: 349 Member
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    Yes I have digital kitchen scales and weigh everything in grams, veggies, pasta, oats whatever. I think its the only way to make sure how much you are actually having and it only takes a second if your scale is on the worktop
  • pten0pus
    pten0pus Posts: 25
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    I place the fresh veggies upon it before I cut them up.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Add the word "raw" when you ate searching for veggies, and look for an entry with no * in front.
    This will have an entry for 100g so you won't have to do the conversion.
  • PrinnyBomb
    PrinnyBomb Posts: 196 Member
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    I usually log all my foods nutritional info in the database per 100g as that is what is on most packaging.
    I never really use other peoples values in the database as I need to make sure what I'm logging in my diary is 100% correct.
    Also when it comes to ounces some people round 1oz down to 25g rather than 28g as it should be so the numbers would be off anyway.
    Stick to g's, it's much more accurate.

    ^^^^ This. Always use your own packaging and do it by the gram. Much more accurate.
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    i weigh mine out raw in grams. i always check that the info is for raw in the database and if it seems over/under I will then check other sites. It can be hard to find the correct weight - I had a 300g uncooked jacket potato come in from 209 to 512 and its much less when cooked.
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
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    I have a scale that measures grams and I've been using it, then doing the conversion to ounces on a website. But, I'm not sure if that is correct. How do you guys measure out fresh veggies?
    If I am doing lots of veg, then I'll use a serving spoon to load a scale, counting how many spoons it takes to get to the weight I want, from then on I know that x spoons = y grams or ounces. It saves having to weigh everything I put on to plates, as I normally plate up food in the evening for the family's dinner, and make my own lunch for work at the same time.
    Oh for the sake of accuracy I divide grams by 28.3. So a 100g is 3.53 ounces.
  • VenomousDuck
    VenomousDuck Posts: 206
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    measuring by weight is much more accurate. But remember, the variances in fresh foods is huge because the varying amounts of water depending on growing conditions, weather, etc.

    so, go by weight and remember, you can get close, but it will never be perfect. and veggies tend to be low in calorie anyway, so not usually a major issue.
  • kathyms13
    kathyms13 Posts: 497 Member
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    im lazy i buy ready prepped so go by how much of a bag i eat.
  • pten0pus
    pten0pus Posts: 25
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    I meant that it does ounces and I convert that to grams. Sorry too early in the morning. *face plant*
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    I guess. Fresh vegetables have so few calories anyway, that a few grams here or there makes no difference.
  • carriempls
    carriempls Posts: 326 Member
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    Most of the database will have grams as an option, I just use that

    This is what I do.
  • heddylamar
    heddylamar Posts: 8 Member
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    I weigh the vegetables in grams, then enter into http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php, along with the rest of the ingredients (all in weights/liquid measure).

    I find the calculator is accurate for things like vegetables, but it's often off for processed items like heavy cream, vinegars, mayonnaise, tofu, etc. So I just calculate those separately and add for the total.
  • SouthernArt77
    SouthernArt77 Posts: 265 Member
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    I meant that it does ounces and I convert that to grams. Sorry too early in the morning. *face plant*
    If your scale only weighs in ounces, and the entry in the database you are using is in grams, what you are doing is right. Weight is weight, so it doesn't matter whether you're using grams or ounces. You might want to look at getting a scale that toggles back and forth between the two units of measure though. Mine does and is really helpful!

    I weigh almost everything I eat, and when possible, I always use the database entry that is not a member-entered entry (no asterisk in front of it). If you search for the food with "raw" or "cooked" in the description, you can usually find these pretty quickly for non-processed foods (fruits, veggies, meat, etc.) and then weigh it in the corresponding form (cooked or raw) to log it.
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I measure by the cup. Veggies are very low in calories so I don't worry too much about the accuracy.

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