a newbie with a question...

  • Hi everyone,

    When you are cooking, and you use some type of cooking oil or liquid do you count the calories in the cooking medium even if you aren't eating it? like the calories in chicken broth if poaching or oil if sautéing?

    I really hope this hasn't been asked recently and I missed it. I've been calorie counting for a grand total of 2 days so sorry if this question is as random as I think that it sounds
  • I dont cook with chicken broth...but if using oil for example i do count it.
  • I always count oil. It tends to be extremely high in calories. I usually use olive oil, which is 120 calories per tablespoon. I usually use just one tablespoon and count that, but I try to boil or bake most things that I can. If I saute veggies I'll just use 1 tblsp and definitely count it, because it essentially ends up in and on the veggies.

    But it's so good! Totally worth it too as the fats keep me satisfied longer.
  • I count oil too.

    ETA- When I stir fry I use some oil and if I need to I will add a splash or two of broth for more liquid
  • i count the oil, alternatively i use pam.

    you can also stir fry/fry/cook without any oils if you add a little tiny bit of water and keep stirring.

    if im stir frying in a wok, i don't use any cooking medium at all.
  • If I use oil then I count it because oil is calorie dense. If I am poaching in broth, I don't count it because it has very few calories (about 15 for one cup).
  • awesome!

    Thanks for the responses.
  • Sometimes it takes a bit of guesswork to figure calories~
    For example, if I use a tablespoon of oil in a stir fry but then leave most of the oil in the pan when I transfer the food to my plate I generally the calories as less (and here's where the guesswork fits in) than a full tablespoon.