A Dilemma About Pasta
February 01, 2007
This is the thing: I love to cook. But just because I love to cook does not necessarily mean that I read labels or know much about the nutritional value of food beyond: grilled is good, fried is bad.
Internets, I need your help.
You see, I just ate a cup of cooked pasta, which does not seem like a lot of pasta to me. But when I logged it in to SparkPeople, it counted that portion of my meal as 636 calories. Internets! That does not even count the diced tomatoes or artichoke hearts or mushrooms or garlic or grilled chicken or olive oil!
When I read that number of calories, I had a heart attack and then promptly DIED.
Okay, maybe I didn't die. BUT I WANTED TO. Naturally, I started looking for loopholes.
And this is my question, which I totally expect you Internets to answer, because you know more things than I do, and also because I refuse to believe I just inhaled a lunch worth 845 calories.
When I calculate how much I'm eating, is it supposed to be in terms of dry pasta, or cooked pasta? Because, obviously, 1 cup of dry pasta equals 4 cups of cooked pasta. We all know that. And I can much more easily believe that 4 cups of cooked pasta equals 636 calories than the one, teensy-eensy measily cup of it that I just ate.
PLEASE SEND HELP.
Comments
The best advice I got for ya is that rather than picking a food from the list of available foods in SparkPeople, click on "enter a food not already listed" or whatever the button is called. Something like that. And enter the nutritional info on the box for the serving size listed and then figure out how many servings (by the box's definition) you ate and calculate that way. I kind of doubt 1 cup of plain cooked pasta is over 600 calories.
You might find this link somewhat of a relief:
http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/item/92015.html
Happy pasta-eating!
Posted by: Laura | February 1, 2007 01:51 PM
Yes, the measure is of dry pasta, not cooked. So you are ok!
Posted by: -R- | February 1, 2007 01:55 PM
I'm wondering if pasta is that high. Pasta is all carbs and carbs = calories. I didn't think one cup would be that much though.
BTW - I left your ipod in your underwear drawer by the thong your in-laws gave you for Christmas. I left it on "She's a Brick House".
~Jef
Posted by: Edge | February 1, 2007 01:59 PM
Jef:
You're very, very bad.
(a) I don't have an iPod, Roger does. Though just this morning we were discussing that very cute new HOT PINK Shuffle, which I *need* for exercising.
(b) There is NO (nooooooooo) way my in-laws are getting me a thong, EVER. Believe me.
(c) Meanie. This is me, totally ignoring that last comment.
Posted by: jes | February 1, 2007 02:02 PM
Oh, ho, ho. I wish I could answer this for you, pea, but I can't. I'm just leaving a comment for no other reason than to say that and HI!
Hi.
Posted by: Jurgen Nation | February 1, 2007 08:57 PM
Try whole wheat pasta. It has a lot more fiber, plus your body burns up a lot of the associated calories just digesting it.
Posted by: Deals | February 1, 2007 10:59 PM
Wish I could help you, but I try to not think about what crap I'm putting into my body. It's much more enjoyable that way. Plus, I know someday I won't be able to live like this. I can't be 23 forever!
Posted by: my life is brilliant | February 1, 2007 10:59 PM
I wish I could help you; I have no idea. I do know this, however: pasta is yummy. And I think I'm hungry.
Posted by: metalia | February 1, 2007 11:19 PM
Uhhh I agree with all that's been said here, except for leaving my ipod by your thong, and if I did it would totally be left on "Holla Back Girl" for your listening pleasure.
Dry Pasta
Use the info on the box
Whole wheat pasta
Posted by: Katie | February 2, 2007 09:02 AM
See, I would have normally said "cooked pasta", since that's the food you're actually ingesting (in my head, this makes sense). Sorry!
Definitely go with whole wheat pasta, or a combination of regular and whole wheat, just to cut down on the cardboard-content. But don't cook them together (no, nothing is easy).
Posted by: mike | February 2, 2007 09:27 AM
I have to say that combination (minus the chicken for me, since I'm a vegetarian) is one of my favorites. Yum. I'm a HUGE mushroom fan, so it was a wondrous day for me when I found out how low in calories they are. So double the mushrooms, nix the chicken? And the fat in the olive oil totally doesn't count, since it's actually lowering your cholesterol.
Posted by: lizgwiz | February 2, 2007 10:11 AM
Whole wheat pasta is disgusting. I'm just sayin'.
Posted by: Leta | February 4, 2007 04:55 PM
The truth hurts. When I went on my eating healthy/losing weight and started to only eat serving sizes of food....I realized that serving sizes sucked! I eat lots of broccoli and greenbeans since you basically burn more calories eating them than you ingest. By the way, serving sizes are usually the cooked portion.
Posted by: Mrs. M | February 13, 2007 01:59 PM
1 cup of uncooked pasta is on average about 300 calories.. and will make about 2 - 2.5 cups of cooked pasta.. See Below:
Measuring Pasta
Most dried pasta doubles in volume when cooked. For accuracy, measure pasta by weight rather than by cup. Cooked pasta can be measured by volume. The general rule is one pound of dry pasta or freshly made pasta will serve six as an appetizer or four as a main course.
4 ounces of uncooked pasta (1 cup dried pasta) equals 2 1/2 cups cooked elbow macaroni, shells, rotini, cavatelli, wheels, penne, or ziti.
4 ounces of uncooked or a 1-inch diameter bunch of dry pasta will equal 2 cups cooked spaghetti, angel hair, vermicelli, or linguine.
Posted by: BonnieB | April 28, 2007 09:45 AM
ONE CUP OF COOKED PASTA IS 170 CALORIE GIRL FRIEND
Posted by: SOLY | June 28, 2007 07:36 AM
I was wondering the same thing, and I also use Sparkpeople, but was still confused.
I only use whole wheat, glad to hear that you burn it more quickly.Thanks.
Posted by: Margot | July 29, 2007 09:26 PM