I used to not count calories in spices that I cooked with. And I have to say I've been using them pretty liberally because I have assumed that they are very low calorie. I didn't even bother putting them into my calorie counter as I figured a tbsp or so of spices was only a few calories.
Well just for the heck of it, I decided to put in the 2 tbsp of cayenne pepper that I used today into my FitDay. FitDay calculated 34 calories for it! While in the grand scheme of things, 34 calories is minuscule, I hate to think about what that can add up to. After all, I spice just about everything I cook.
So I've been wondering, does anyone else count calories from spices? (And does FitDay seem accurate here?) Are there any high calorie ones to stay away from?
Lauren

I buy most of my spices from Penzey's Spices and they include nutritional information for any that contain calories. I count every single one I use, and they do add up sometimes! Most of mine are blends, I'll look and see which ones are high when I get home.

All I can say is, OMG, you can eat 2 tablespoons of cayenne??? That 34 calories would have to be divided into *more* than 24 portions for me (that being 1/4 teaspoon). So, 1.4 calories per 1/4 tsp.

Haha, yes, I love spicy food. Today for lunch I made a tomato/spinach/mushroom pasta with everything spiced with cayenne pepper, including the sauce. It was probably more like 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, 1 tbsp crushed red pepper, but FitDay has them grouped as one food item.

I should but no, I don't.

PurdueGal, I love spicy food too. I used 3 tbsp of cayenne along with 4 tbsp of vindaloo seasoning in a curry dish last month and I thought I was going to pass out... I've revised the recipe back to 1/2 tablespoon cayenne to 3.5 tbsp vindaloo and that is much saner...

I don't because it always seems negligible. Like 1 cal here and there.

But your post definitely reminds me to be more mindful about that. One of my favorite spices, cumin, has 22g per tbs (although that is whole, I use ground) so clearly they are not nothing. Didn't know that...

It depends on the spices. Any premixed curry mixture, for example, might have more calories than one thinks. But servings come into play also.

I can't imagine eating 2 TBSP of cayenne in one serving!

I use Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning often, and it has 5 cals. per teaspoon. One hardly uses that much on a single burger--so I don't bother to count it.

I didn't get fat eating some spices here and there...

I think it was more like the pints of ice cream at 500++ cals...

Jay

LOL -- so true...

You know, I read that cayenne is good for weight loss. I think it suppresses appetite. I think I read it's a somewhat delayed effect (like having cayenne in the morning would help in the afternoon) rather than affecting the same meal you eat it in. Not sure if it affects metabolism. Eat up!

I am usually under for the day anyway and I just can't be arsed to figure the spices. Most everything I cook uses at LEAST 5 different spices not counting salt, pepper and garlic powder. I also adjust through cooking so who the **** knows how much I am putting in anyway? Not me, that's for sure. I ahve lost 20 pounds so far NOT counting them so I feel pretty safe in assuming it's not a big deal.