# Calories - What is Right?



## sattie (Jul 5, 2006)

I don't know about anyone else... but I am usually pretty aware of serving sizes and calorie counts of most food that I eat.  However, if it be something that I am really craving, it rarely stops me from eating it.  

I noticed on a couple of items that it has 2 counts.... for instance, on popcorn..... It has a count for unpopped and a count for prepared.  What is that?  Do folks actually eat the unpopped popcorn out of the bag?  Why list it for both prepared and unprepared?  Which one do you use in trying to figure out calorie intake?  I noticed Mac and Cheese has the same thing.... I don't eat the stuff myself, but are there people that will dump this stuff out of the box and sprinkle the dry cheese on it and then enjoy????

If anyone knows, please, fill me in on the big secret!!!


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## Andy M. (Jul 5, 2006)

No one eats unpopped popcorn that I know of!  The two versions are for ease of measuring.  

You can measure out the unpopped corn and know how many calories that measure contains then pop it and eat it.  The other way, you pop the corn then measure how much you want to eat and the calories that go with it.  

They do that so you don't have to guess how much unpopped corn you need to get three cups of popcorn.


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## Aurora (Jul 5, 2006)

You never know.  My grandson (who is 12) stayed with me for a week last summer and loves raman.  I keep a case on hand just for him.  I walked into the living room one evening and found him eating uncooked raman noodles which he had sprinkled with the powdered broth mix.  According to his mom he loves it that way.

My wierd family aside, I throw in with Andy M. that the separate nutritional counts are for purposes of combining the raw product in recipes with other items.


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## Lady C (Jul 5, 2006)

Another reason might be the method of cooking.  Air popping adds no additional calories but cooking it in oil does.


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## mish (Jul 5, 2006)

sattie said:
			
		

> I don't know about anyone else... but I am usually pretty aware of serving sizes and calorie counts of most food that I eat. However, if it be something that I am really craving, it rarely stops me from eating it.
> 
> I noticed on a couple of items that it has 2 counts.... for instance, on popcorn..... It has a count for unpopped and a count for prepared. What is that? Do folks actually eat the unpopped popcorn out of the bag? Why list it for both prepared and unprepared? Which one do you use in trying to figure out calorie intake? I noticed Mac and Cheese has the same thing.... I don't eat the stuff myself, but are there people that will dump this stuff out of the box and sprinkle the dry cheese on it and then enjoy????
> 
> If anyone knows, please, fill me in on the big secret!!!


 
Hi sattie.

Can I ask what 2 counts mean? Used to be a calorie counter when I wanted to knock off a few once, & it worked. I'm sure noone eats raw pasta or uncooked kernals. The serving size in recipes, IMO, is almost never correct. That depends on what one considers a serving, and is the recipe measured in cups? I disregard the *serving size and bought a calorie-counter booklet back then. For figuring out calorie intake, if you're going by the box, look at the calories for the cooked dish. You can google and download free calorie counters that even list fast foods. When I was counting, popcorn never would have been on the list -- although my guess is, it's pretty low with no butter, salt and a portion size of about 1/2 a cup.

*Serving size - Have to laugh at serving sizes given. Example - making lasagna in one pan - recipe says serves six... is that a 4" slice per person, without salad, lol.


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## cipher (Jul 5, 2006)

Aurora said:
			
		

> You never know. My grandson (who is 12) stayed with me for a week last summer and loves raman. I keep a case on hand just for him. I walked into the living room one evening and found him eating uncooked raman noodles which he had sprinkled with the powdered broth mix. According to his mom he loves it that way.
> 
> My wierd family aside, I throw in with Andy M. that the separate nutritional counts are for purposes of combining the raw product in recipes with other items.


 
You know that many of those Ramen noodles are really bad in terms of fat and sodium.  I used to eat them and then one day I saw that they added a nutritional label.  The amount of fat and sodium in them was staggering.  I've never eaten them since then.


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## erinmself (Jul 6, 2006)

Aurora said:
			
		

> You never know. My grandson (who is 12) stayed with me for a week last summer and loves raman. I keep a case on hand just for him. I walked into the living room one evening and found him eating uncooked raman noodles which he had sprinkled with the powdered broth mix. According to his mom he loves it that way.
> 
> My wierd family aside, I throw in with Andy M. that the separate nutritional counts are for purposes of combining the raw product in recipes with other items.


 
I used to love ramen noodles that way!! I used to crush them up and then poor in the powder and shake. Now I am on a low-sodium diet though, so that is out of the question


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## Haggis (Jul 6, 2006)

> I keep a case on hand just for him. I walked into the living room one evening and found him eating uncooked raman noodles which he had sprinkled with the powdered broth mix.



They are not actually uncooked. They have been deep-fried prior to being packaged. The boiling water you add is simply to reconstitute them.



> I used to eat them and then one day I saw that they added a nutritional label. The amount of fat and sodium in them was staggering. I've never eaten them since then.



See above.


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## luvs (Jul 6, 2006)

mish said:
			
		

> *Serving size - Have to laugh at serving sizes given. Example - making lasagna in one pan - recipe says serves six... is that a 4" slice per person, without salad, lol.


 
well, mish, yes, some people enjoy these portions. in my family around 4"x3" of lasagna & we're stuffed. without salad.

this aside, it may well be mandatory that you give cooked/uncooked nutritional info for consumers.


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## Claire (Jul 10, 2006)

The unprepared nutrition counts are for those who are using the ingredient in a larger dish they are making.  I often use things like that as a basis for a different meal I am making.  Short-cuts.  That way you can take the nutrition for the uncooked product and add it to your other ingredients to get a rough idea of the nutrition content of the final dish (for example, if you're using the mac & cheese or ramen as an ingredient for a casserole, or if the mac & cheese calls for whole milk and you use skim, or ....  you can still figure it out if you're a math whiz.  For me it just gives me an idea of what I'm starting with).


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## Banana Brain (Jul 13, 2006)

I've done the dry top Raman thing since I was nine.


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## biev (Jul 13, 2006)

I usually go by the uncooked information, because I rarely prepare the meal exactly the way the box says. As Claire just said, I had a box of mac and cheese tonight (blech - but that's all I had) and they called for skim milk, which I don't drink cause again, blech : P I guess they do that to bring the overall number down.


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## amber (Jul 13, 2006)

sattie said:
			
		

> I don't know about anyone else... but I am usually pretty aware of serving sizes and calorie counts of most food that I eat. However, if it be something that I am really craving, it rarely stops me from eating it.
> 
> I noticed on a couple of items that it has 2 counts.... for instance, on popcorn..... It has a count for unpopped and a count for prepared. What is that? Do folks actually eat the unpopped popcorn out of the bag? Why list it for both prepared and unprepared? Which one do you use in trying to figure out calorie intake? I noticed Mac and Cheese has the same thing.... I don't eat the stuff myself, but are there people that will dump this stuff out of the box and sprinkle the dry cheese on it and then enjoy????
> 
> If anyone knows, please, fill me in on the big secret!!!


 
Not sure what kind of popcorn your purchasing, but I dont do the microwave versions, I just buy a bag of kernals, throw some in a pot with a tiny bit of canola, put the lid on and let it pop, then throw that in a bowl, then add butter or margarine to the pop and pour it on, with a tiny bit of salt.


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