dumb question....
 

How do I know when to weigh my food? ---before cooking or after?

I want to make spaghetti tonight...so when do I weigh the noodles and the soy meat?

Thanks!

For pasta - it is always dry weight due to the differences in cooking. The longer you cook pasta, the softer it gets and the more water it soaks up. So it would weigh heavier than pasta cooked for less time.

Other items, like meats can be done either way, just make sure that the calorie count you use is for either raw or cooked. In general 4 oz of raw meat cooks down to 3 oz.

I don't think it matters with soy, though.

it's so depressing how much (meaning not much) pasta you get in a serving :( :( :(

Thanks for answering so quickly :)

Whole wheat pasta is 100 times more filling and than white pasta (and better for you). I'm not big on the pasta thing. Twice a year is enough for me, but if you can handle the texture of the whole wheat, you might feel you've had "more".

yea, i'm making the whole wheat kind. actually after i made it all up and plated mine it looks like a lot. I added mushrooms for bulk. haha... the whole meal for about 300 cals (I didn't figure out the exact cals in the meat...but I only used one spoon of it, so it's definitely not many. 40 max.

Now I'm making a bigger version for my grandparents. haha they'd probably laugh at me if i set the amount I get to eat in front of them.

I love pasta and was depressed by the calories (and size) of a serving when I first started. Now I find I can enjoy it -- I use either whole wheat or barilla plus, and I do fill in with lots of veggies and often a protein (I like the fake "sausage crumbles"). Now I'm amazed by how MUCH food one serving of pasta is!