I have been trying to avoid a food scale but it seems I really should have one in the house. What are the average prices? And does someplace like home goods have it? I find their prices for kitchen stuff are pretty competitive.

On another calorie counting related note, when I see counts for meat and it is not specified whether the weight is pre- or post-cooked, what am I to assume?

thanks,
Kitty

I got mine for about $30, with a 10% off coupon, from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.

You can also shop online and come across a good deal, for instance here's a link to one : http://www.amazon.com/Escali-Primo-D...1783424&sr=8-1 for $24.95 that's eligible for free shipping.

Also, I think it's safe to assume that the count is for cooked meat.

I weigh pretty much everything (except water ).
Especially things that settle like oatmeal and protein powder. I hate recipes that call for scoops of protein powder, because a. scoop sizes vary per brand, and b. I always get air pockets in the scoop. So I always weigh and record by the ounce (or gram).

I have a Salter scale, and I love it.

I bought mine at Bed Bath & Beyond for $19.99. It tares, and reads out either grams or ounces (to the nearest 1 g or .01 oz). That's all it does, but that's all I needed it to do. It takes 2 AA batteries, I believe.

I got mine at Target for around $30. It was more expensive because it has a list of 'common foods' with nutrion/calorie info. It's priceless for me b/cause it's how I figure out how many calories are in my fruits & veggies. It tares also, which is pretty important to me. If I want to make a p/b sandwich, I put the bread on, tare (set it to 0) than add pb and weigh as I go. Tare again, than add honey. Sooo easy and accurate!

I've never seen the link mentioned, but Alton Brown (He's a god to me!) had a great segment on weighing ingredients vs measuring them. He weighed and measured flour and showed the difference. He even did a thing on what to look for when buying a scale. On his show, he quite often weighs things, especially if it's flour or things of that nature.

I definitely weigh just about everything. It makes adding to FitDay sooo much easier! I bought my digital scale at Target. It was $35.00 but I nabbed it on clearance for $17.50. I use the Tare function constantly, like Fiberlover mentioned. Even my son weighs his stuff now...he thinks it's great fun. He likes making my salads for me, he says it's like solving a puzzle. He adds a few ounces of spinach, then figures out which combination of grape tomatoes adds up to 2 ounces, then adds the other things in certain amounts. It's not only helping me, it's helping his math!

He is! It is just so nice to have a few nice, real people in entertainment. I even love his goofy humor. Goofy is underrated . And I'm most definitely the kind of person that has to know the "why" of things.

Alton Brown is a super nice guy. He lives very close to me and I've run into him at the grocery store before. He's very low key, very friendly, and actually once answered a question I had about a type of pasta (I didn't ask him - I was talking to my husband on the phone and he just stepped in and helped).

I don't think he shops during the day as much now that he's more well known, but way back when you'd see him out and about.

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That just makes me smile.

Photo Chick, you must live in my neck of the woods... I used to live in Alpharetta and would run into Alton Brown occasionally myself... at the Harry's in Roswell, the Publix at Old Alabama & Haynes Bridge, once at a restaurant in John's Creek, once at the William's-Sonoma at North Point Mall... All several years ago, so you are probably right that he doesn't shop out and about as much now that people recognize him more easily.

I really dig him. My interaction with him was at Harry's when I was buying shrimp. I was having a hard time deciding what to buy and he helped me out with the decision process. I didn't ask him either, he just heard me talking to the guy at the counter and offered his advice. I watch 'Good Eats' all the time...

Boy, I am feeling lazy. I NEVER weigh anything except cuts of meat and occasionally cheese. However, I have been whining lately in a few of my posts that even though I have upped my calories, I have started averaging 3 pounds of weight loss a week -- I want to slow it down, but I am already eating an average of around 1700 a day. I wonder if maybe I am underestimating my calories by not doing more weighing -- sort of the opposite of what you guys are talking about.

Wowwwwww!!!!! How neat!!! I told me son and he freaked out....he just loves Alton too. It's really cool to hear that he's as nice as he seems.

Wow....this is just too cool!!! I'm super jealous of both of you!!

OH I LOVE Alton Brown. I am SO JEALOUS!

Oh, and in person ... he's totally a hottie.

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Oh yeah, he is quite the cutie up close.