I have been counting calories for over a year now. It just dawned on me to look up spices. I use A LOT of spices. They really do have calories! I am having more calories than I think! I can't keep track of spices too! What do you do? Jelly

Good question. I too use a whole lot of spices. I like foods with lots of taste.

I really don't count them though. I don't perfectly measure out my veggies though either and just approximate them, always estimating up and in that estimation, I leave some calories for spices. I also very often tack on an extra 100 calories or so, just in case I messed up or miscalculated somewhere along the way.

I dont count spices.

I don't count them. I might it include them in a recipe but not when I randomly add them during my cooking.

Lori

What spices have calories, and how many? Not sure what you're thinking of.

I just looked up oregano, and it supposedly has 3 cals per teaspoon... let me tell you, missing 3 calories is not going to make or break my weight loss!

I say, don't worry about spices!

Jay

It seems that the baking spices, like cinnamon, have more calories than herbs. I looked up cinnamon and it has 6 cals/teaspoon. I suppose if you ate a lot of it, it *could* make a difference!

I sometimes include the spices in my nutridiary recipes, but more to keep track of the recipe than to worry about the calories. I don't really worry about it and don't sweat the small stuff.

Gorging on cinnamon itself was never the problem -- it was the sticky bun attached to it I had to watch out for!!

I always put my spices into DailyPlate, but they almost never add calories (especially since the most I usually put of anything into one serving is 1/2 tsp or so). The only ones I could see it really making a difference are seasoning blends, when they have chemicals and salts and whatnot and might bump up your sodium. But oregano/basil/pepper/rosemary and the other basic ones I use? They seem pretty okay.

I count them, but more out of, um, compulsion versus the slight calories they may have. What can I say, I'm a bit OCD about calorie counting sometimes.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

too funny

Nope, I don't count spices or herbs, and I won't be doing that. ever. Life is just too short.

Yikes, the amount needed to hit the 10 calorie mark, would be toxic for many spices. All calorie counting is estimation, so to a certain degree everyone has to decide where to draw the line for themselves, and let the scale help them determine whether they have to be more precise.

You can choose to round to the nearest 50 calories, nearest 10, 1, .5, .1, ,.01, .001.....

Whatever works best without making you crazy (or in some of our cases crazier). My husband is diabetic, and my blood sugars are borderline, so we follow an exchange plan. Each exchange choice is within a very small calorie range, so I consider it a "short hand" calorie counting. Each fruit exchange, for example contains approximately 60 calories. This works great for me, but I've gotten criticism from people that feel this program is too structured, and from others saying it is to unstructured. For me it's great, for other's maybe not so much. I figure though, "if it's not broke, why fix it." If it's working for you, why make changes unless there's a need.

Can you give more info on what the exchange plan is? It sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't know much of anything about that...
Sonja

No, I don't count them. Most nutritional value has been extracted in the drying/processing anyway. I'd drive myself CRAZY counting every little sprinkle LOL I have to draw the line at counting my Cheerios.

I don't count them either. The amount I'd need to use to reach a meager 20 calories or so is an amount I probably don't reach (I like putting cinnamon in my cottage cheese, not cottage cheese in my cinnamon). And even if it amounts to 30 or something at the end of the day, these calories are not the one I should be worried about. I've never heard of anyone splurging on spices anyway (not without the bun attached, that is ).

Of course, when I say "spices", I mean herbs and the likes. I suppose sugar can be counted as a spice (it used to in the past, if I'm not mistaken?), but this is something entirely different in my book.

No, don't count spices, I have a hard enough time trying to count the oil that I cook with (if I do) and then divideing it up, this counting is driving me crazy as is!!
Like the others were saying 4-6 calories in a dish, then you are going to split that dish, hardly seems worth it to count them in that case.

I still dont count but truthfully, if you are making something along the lines of indian food or maybe a rub, the spices could be marginally significant. (Not to get petty here, but anything that is a leaf is an herb, not a spice. Herbs have very low calories) Spices are seeds and they have oil just like all seeds. Most of them will be about 20-30 calories a tablespoon. I know I have used that much in a rub before.

BUT in addition to oil, most seed spices have fiber too, so what the heck, its a wash in my book and not worth the effort. Plus many of them have valuable antioxidants and micronutrients.

I dont count the calories in my vitamins either....even the calcium chews. If it helps me remember to take them wahoo for 25 calories.

I also dont count the calories in the leftover apple peels from my kids apples I peel thinly so that sucker is almost all nutrients and fiber...thats a freebie.

But I dont count to the letter (or number as the case may be) I dont weigh veggies and I eyeball most things.

Quite frankly I dont think being precise is all that important, it is the control and conscious eating that makes the difference