Cooking/Counting with Olive Oil

  • Hey ladies, happy Monday!

    I've been doing quite a bit more cooking now that I'm making healthy choices and focusing on nutrition. I'm wondering how to count the calories when cooking with olive oil - do I count the total amount of calories for the amount used in the recipe?

    Any tips/facts about counting ingredients used in recipes?
    Thanks!
  • Hi!

    Because oil is so high in calories, I just use the total amount and divide it up by serving. So, if I use 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in the pan to cook 6 chicken breasts, I count 16 fat calories added to each chicken breast. That really isn't enough to worry about in the short term, and I think a lot of the oil gets left in the pan--but I'd rather estimate high with fats.

    Do whatever seems most accurate to you and easiest to keep track of.

    Jay
  • I count up the total calories in the recipe, and then divide by the number of servings. But usually I'm making 2 servings, so it's easy. If I use a tablespoon, then I count 1/2 Tblsp. in each serving.
  • I use the whole amount, divided among the number of servings. I rather go track to high with fats instead of to low.
  • I use the whole amount too, and measure measure measure. I don't want to add too much that I don't need (which is just seems so easy with olive oil!). Since it's so high in fat and calories for just a little amount, I count everything.
  • I use the whole amount as well. In fact, usually I'm so conservative with it that I add the whole TBS of calories to each serving.
  • I read somewhere that when you cook with oil it absorbs about 10% of the total calories.

    I dunno where I saw that, but I"m sure it can be googled. but also, I split it up by servings and total.
  • Thanks, everyone! That's what I've been doing - just wanted to make sure I was being as accurate as possible!