...as a calorie counter.

I'm still a newbie to CCing, but I love it so far. I've never felt so free and unrestricted. Aaaaaaand I've lost 5 pounds my first week! So CCing has been good to me thus far.

However, I am in serious need of a tablespoon. Because almost everything spreadable calls for one and I seem to be too forgetful to actually buy one when I'm out. (I'll make sure to put it on my shopping list for next time) Can anyone please clarify how much exactly 1 tablespoon of anything looks like? Specifically thick cream-esque items like mayo, PB, nutella..I know this is probably the most useless post, but google has failed me since I keep getting mixed results.. )=

For example, one website claims 1 TBSP equals the tip of your thumb. If 1 TBSP seriously equals the tip of a thumb, I have been waaaaay overestimating my guessurements.


I'm not too worried about being precise as long as I know I'm near my mark. But sometimes not knowing alone can drive you a little nutty.

I seriously cannot wait to buy a tablespoon, it will be like Christmas!

According to http://www.cuisinecuisine.com/FoodConversions.htm .

What do serving sizes look like?

A palm (without fingers or thumb) or a deck of cards = 3-ounce serving of meat

A thumb tip = 1 teaspoon

Three thumb tips = 1 tablespoon

One thumb = 25 g of most cheeses (A typical serving is approximately 2 thumbs)

A fist = 1 cup


If you have a food scale roughly a tablespoon is about 15g (regardless of the food).

When they're saying the tip of your thumb, that would be the end of your thumb from the joint to the tip. Of course it depends on the size of your thumb!!

thanks, guys

I was a little confused when I came across this image: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/articles//uh5346


Thanks again! (sorry for the spam)

LOL. We do have spoons! Just not the measuring type I'm sure a regular and measuring spoon are pretty close, though. I'm just having one of those anal moments where I needed to know for sure.

If you have $20, I really, really, really recommend a kitchen scale. 15-25 grams of peanut butter look about the same on a slice of bread or in a spoon, but the first has 88 calories and the second has 147. For most things, that kind of precision is overkill but for the "spreadable" things, measuring by weight can make a real difference.

It won't hurt you to eyeball it until you get to the store, but in the long run it's a great investment for any calorie counter.

I second (and third, and fourth) this. I put off buying a kitchen scale for so long, thinking that my spoons and cups were sufficient, but having a digital kitchen scale has made everything so much easier. It was a great investment and I love that I don't get all my measuring cups and spoons dirty every time I eat.

Totally agree with the recommendations about getting a scale! Here in the UK, with the exception of spoons, we very rarely use volumes as measurements. British recipes pretty much never use cups as a measurement type, and instead, we'd be used to seeing the weight specified in a recipe, rather than volume. To be honest, I prefer this, as I find it easier to judge when an ingredient by its very nature isn't tightly packed and has a lot of air in its volume (e.g., I've seen recipes call for a cup of raw spinach, but raw spinach has lots of gaps and air between the leaves, so a cup of it totally depends on how tightly it is packed!). For something low calorie (e.g., spinach) I guess this isn't a big deal, but for other things, being out from using a volume measurement could mean eating significantly more or less calories than you think you're eating.

Having said that I like the accuracy of weights rather than volume measurements, I admit that I am a calorie counter too, and I also do not own a tablespoon! The reason for this is that I just measure with different spoons to get the volume. A tablespoon is about 1.5 dessert spoons, or 3 teaspoons. I know this isn't super precise, but it's not going to be out by more than a few ml, and certainly, it isn't introducing degrees of inaccuracy that are any different to what you would find when using a tablespoon and leaving it slightly "heaped" rather than level. Besides, I think if I cared about a couple of ml, I'd have bigger problems than not owning a tablespoon!

If you can get them then buy these sppons. I have a set and use them for everything including peanut butter, butter and mayonnaise.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/p...=2,40733,44734

Regular spoons are not accurate. I have several sets of measuring spoons so I always have a clean one. You can get them at the Dollar Store.

One tip of the thumb is one tablespoon, not 3.

I LOVE my food scale, because almost all nutrition labels list a weight measurement as well as a volume measurement, and the weight measurement is what the labs would have used in calculating the calorie count (because it's more precise).

Of course, the main reason I love the food scale is that I never have to dirty an extra utensil or dish (because of the "zero" function, I can just add things directily to my serving plate or mixing bowl...).

Wow, never knew that! Thanks!

I agree with all the scale comments, but I am also in love with this adjustable tablespoon:

http://www.target.com/Kitchen-Art-Ad.../dp/B00117VUO6

I'll sometimes even bring it to the cafe so I can figure out how much creamer to put in my coffee.