[duqserb]

Ok so I love eating dried edamame since it's got alot more protein and less fat than peanuts. But I'm a little confused on the caloric content. The back of the package says around 200 calories for 50g which is 1.8 ounces according to them. Is it just me or does that sound like an incredibly SMALL serving size? 1 cup is equal to 8 ounces. Earlier I grabbed a handful and threw it in a plastic to take to class as a snack. I figured that handful was somewhere inbetween a 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup which means that after doing the math I consumed the 200 calories or more, just in a hanful!!! So I'm kind of flipping out about this because maybe it's not as great of a snack as I thought it was???

~D~

[JayEll]

There's a difference between scale ounces and liquid ounces. Use a scale to weigh out 1.8 ounces, and then see how much that is.

30 grams is roughly 1 ounce. One website I checked said that 30 grams of dried edamame = 140 calories, so the 200 cals for 1.8 ounces isn't too far off.

That's not too bad for a snack, though.

I like the fresh shelled edamame also, in salads or as a side vegetable.

Jay

[mandalinn82]

You are mixing up your ounces. Your package is referring to ounces by WEIGHT. Cups are ounces by volume

[QuilterInVA]

Dried edamame are also called soy nuts. When you remove water from fresh edamame, you concentrate the calories. I'd rather have a handful of walnuts or almonds, but all tastes are different. Enjoy your snack. You really need to have a food scale as well as measuring cups if you want to calculate calories accurately.

[JulieJ08]

I just had some the other day for the first time and thought they tasted kinda like sunflower seeds. I don't know that I'd use them a lot as a standalone snack, but I think they'd be a nice way to add crunch to a salad. Has anyone ever made their own?

[kaplods]

I don't make my own, because fresh edamame are more expensive to dry than to buy them already dried (and often flavored) at the health food and bulk food stores.

Drying always concentrate the calories in foods, so portion-control is very important. Soy nuts often have a slightly bitter aftertaste that I don't like. Drying edemame youself could actually eliminate the bitterness as edamame are made from a particular strain of soybean that is less bitter. However I prefer fresh edamame to soy nuts for several other reasons besides the bitter edge. I like the fresher flavor and the larger portion (because of the water content, it seems like more food, even though the calories per bean is still the same).

I look at dried foods as healthier versions of junk food, but junk food nonetheless. Dried nuts and soynuts replace "chips" and dried fruits replace "candy," but I still have to look at them as chips and candy, not "real" meal food.

I bought some dried papaya the other day. It's awesome, but a 1 ounce serving (about 90 calories) is only about 2 to 3 tablespoons. I measured out once ounce portion in snack size ziploc bags. Even though the bags are only about 3" by 6" the portion still looks tiny compared to the bag. Depressingly tiny, but I remind myself that they're candy and the portion seems more reasonable. I did find that when I eat them as a snack, they're not satisfying at all, but when I sprinkle them onto cereal or oatmeal, it seems more reasonable.

[duqserb]

haha I totally forgot that there'd be a difference between liquid ounces and weight ounces! I don't have a scale so I'll just stick with my handful size portions and I think I'll be ok. Thanks guys!

~D~

[starfishkitty]

Yeah.... my food scale has been pretty priceless too. My next purchase is going to be a digital food scale as I've only got the kind right now with the little moving line thingie. (can't think of what those are called). Probably gonna get an Eatsmart one as well since I was so satisfied with their body scale! hehe