I read in a nutrition book that cooking sprays such as PAM, etc. have just as many calories as butter and that the reason they say zero is that a "serving" is about a 1/4 of a second spray. I looked on my cooking spray can and it does say a serving is 1/3 second spray... not long enough to spray out any calories. Just curious as to whether anyone knows if this is true... or I guess I may need to do some serious googling to find out.
I've always heard that too. I think that because we spray it, we use less and therefore less calories and fat. It stands to reason, anyway. I use the olive oil spray because even though it's less, if there is any fat in there, at least it will be the "good" fat.
Yup, it's true. Here's a cut & paste article on a related subject. I can't post the link directly because I don't think it would be a 3FC's-friendly link, since it links to other diet sites, message boards and advertisements.
Hannaford's Butter Flavored Cooking Spray is palinly labeled "For Fat-Free Cooking" on the can. The problem is, the serving size on the nutrition label is so ridiculously small, that the calories per serving works out to 0.
A serving size is a 1/4 second spray. Ridiculous! 557 servings in a 6-oz can. I know there is fat in the product because the first ingredient listed is Canola Oil. I just wanted to know how much fat.
I called Hannaford's 800 number and was only able to get a little more info about nutrition, but still nothing useful. They referred me to International Home Foods who manufacturers the product. I called IHF and spoke to a gentleman who was able to give me some reasonbly useful nutrition info. He told me to multiply the servings per container by .266 to get the number of grams of fat in the entire can. After a few more questions he also admitted that, yes, the spray is 100% fat.
After doing the math, it works out that a single 6-oz. can contains 1333 calories and 148 grams of fat! The entire can accounts for 139 seconds of spraying time, which means (roughly) more than 1 gram of fat per second of spray! I think it's high time the nutrition labeling gets an overhaul. There are too many loopholes which allow manufacturers to deceive the consumer regarding nutrition content.
In this case, they told me that because it is an aerosal spray, legally they can list the serving size as 1/3 of a second. This flies in the face of common sense. I've been using butter spray to flavor my popcorn for years. No more.
If you use a LOT of cooking and butter sprays then sure, the calories are going to add up. But I've personally never worried about it. I mean, in either case, it's got to be a little bit better than using straight butter or margarine. That's the way I've always figured it. But I agree, food labels can be very deceiving.
I read in a recent article (in a doctor's office so I don't remember the magazine) that calculated the "average" person's use when coating a 10" pan, - about 3 seconds of spray - came to about 25 calories.
Thanks for the good responses. Yes it is probably still low compared to other stuff but I will not buy any more of it because I consider it totally dishonest advertising and labeling.
Thanks for the good responses. Yes it is probably still low compared to other stuff but I will not buy any more of it because I consider it totally dishonest advertising and labeling.
lol, well, we can't just stop buying stuff because of misrepresented advertising. If that were the case, we'd be chucking an awful lot of products.
It's up to us to be smart enough to read labels carefully and, in some cases, figure it out for ourselves. We shouldn't have to, but... such is life.
I do agree, however, they could do a lot better. 1/3 second of a spray? Come on. Who the **** stands there and counts 1/3 of a second?
Like I said, it's better than using butter or margarine. I've been using cooking sprays and butter sprays for 2 years. I don't think it's hurt me, lol.
And to add, you're gonna have 'hidden' calories all over the place. That's a given. I'd much rather use cooking spray than oil or butter.
Question:The Nutrition Facts label on Pam cooking spray says it contains no calories. But how can that be? It’s made with canola oil.
Answer:There are no calories in a 1/3- second spray of Pam, but to cover a 10-inch skillet you need a 1-second spray, and that contains 7 calories, as it states elsewhere on the can. You’re still cutting calories dramatically though, since a teaspoon of oil poured from a bottle (also in about a second) has 40 calories; a tablespoon, 120 calories.
It's kind of like splenda, there are no calories or carbs for the serving size but if you use it in more significant amounts, there are definitely calories and carbs.
I have a Misto sprayer. I fill it with olive oil and pressurize it and spray it. I just like knowing exactly what's in it.
[QUOTE=It's kind of like splenda, there are no calories or carbs for the serving size but if you use it in more significant amounts, there are definitely calories and carbs.
[/QUOTE]
Very correct, in fact, cup for cup, splenda has more calories than sugar does... At least with the baking blend and the brown sugar blend... and they don't taste near as good as the real stuff does either.
Those misto sprayers are great... I'd much rather have a few more calories of a natural product than the chemicals that are in the cooking sprays.
Very correct, in fact, cup for cup, splenda has more calories than sugar does... At least with the baking blend and the brown sugar blend... and they don't taste near as good as the real stuff does either.
I've not used the baking blend or the brown sugar blend, so I can't comment on that. But the plain old splenda has 96 calories per cup compared to 774 for a cup of sugar, so it is a big difference. I like the taste of Splenda, but my husband agrees with you.
lol, well, we can't just stop buying stuff because of misrepresented advertising. If that were the case, we'd be chucking an awful lot of products.
It's up to us to be smart enough to read labels carefully and, in some cases, figure it out for ourselves. We shouldn't have to, but... such is life.<<<
I can if I catch them. <G> And this is blatant deception to the point of being an outright lie. There are a LOT of companies I have ceased to do business with. And I certainly DO read labels and figure stuff out for myself. My can is not PAM but a different brand and it does NOT say it has calories. Yes, DUH, it has canola oil so obviously it does -- so color me stupid on this one -- but it is still way too blatant deception for my taste.
I HAVE chucked a lot of products as well as fast food places, etc. You won't find a Lean Cuisine or other processed crap in my house.
Buy their lies if you want... yes, there are some things we just accept... we all decide where to draw the line. Since I am trying to eat mostly non-processed foods anyway, this is just one more that will "go" for me.
And Linda, butter or margarine are not the only options. Tammy, great idea about the mister -- exactly what I will do and as you say, I will know what is in it. Maleficint, I agree... I am going more and more natural and I don't want the chemicals either!
Last edited by Misti in Seattle; 08-14-2006 at 12:54 AM.
Misti: Why not eat healthy and use olive oil? I switched to using that because it works just as good and it has GOOD cholesterol. 1 Tablespoon can cook anything. Besides, with all the non stick cookware out there today, you don't need anything most times. I'm with the other ladies who choose healthy over calories. Ten years down the road you may read that something that was in those sprays, now cause cancer or something else oughful. Why take the chance? Those misters are great also.
Norma
I am loathe to sacrifice precious calories to cooking oil, so I've learned to cook with a lot less oil than I did before.
I use an olive oil spray. If I just need a thin non-stock coating, I spray a little on the pan, then use a paper towel to spread the oil over the entire pan and wipe off the excess at the same time. I use this same method when coating a baking pan. This way, if I held the spray button down too long, I've wiped off the excess anyway.
If I need more than just a thin non-stick coating, I usually pour 1/2 tsp to a full tsp of olive oil in the pan. With a non-stock plan, I rarely ever need a full tablespoon.
- Barbara
Last edited by BlueToBlue; 08-14-2006 at 08:53 PM.
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember buying another butter spray brand a couple years ago that gave a more informative disclaimer about cumulative calorie counts (I think it was the Weight Watcher's brand). In fact, I think it listed the calories for both a 1/2 or 1 second spray for cooking, which was 0 calories, and a longer spray to use for seasoning popcorn.
Whether they've changed the labeling since, or I've got the wrong brand, you might look at the other sprays and see if any are more upfront about the calorie count.
I once read, at least ten years ago (though the FDA regulations may have changed since) that any product with fewer than 5 calories per serving, can list the calorie count as 0. So a diet soda that lists the calories as 5 or 2, may have the same number of calories as another soda that lists the calories as 0.
You may find a brand that seems to use more accurate standards, or at least cautions against "overspraying" as my store brand does (it doesn't really tell you what the danger is, but I've always assumed it refers to calorie count).
I will definitely check the labels on these sprays next time I need them, but I'll probably keep buying the cheapest brands or the brand that contains only pure olive oil, as it's easier than trying to measure out 1/8 of a teaspoon (4 - 5 calories) of oil.
Anyone know if this is true?
-- but it is still way too blatant deception for my taste.
