Is pasta supposed to be weighed dry or cooked? I weighed it dry, 230 calories worth (according to box), but when I made it it seemed like sooooo much pasta. It filled up my plate. I had trouble eating it all (i sauteed some prosciutto, asparagus, mushrooms, garlic, onion, fresh spinach and zucchini and then tossed it all with a tsp of olive oil and salt). It was delicious but I couldn't believe how much food it was. And if that really is a normal amount of food, how in the world did I ever eat 3-4x that amount? Gah!!! Anyways did I weigh it correctly? I figured water doesn't add calories when cooking... ?
Does the box actually tell you what the weight should be dry? Sometimes they will either tell you how much it should weigh dry, or it will specify how much a serving is when cooked. If it specifies dry (like "2 oz dry spaghetti", etc), and you weight it like that, then you're fine! The water doesn't add calories, but it adds a little bit of volume as the pasta soaks it up. You may just need a smaller serving, especially if you're adding all those great veggies! My tip for pastas and rices, etc, is to do a smaller serving and then make up for the rest of the bulk in veggies.
One thing I have been loving lately is noticing that it doesn't actually take me a large amount of food to be satisfied. It takes a small or medium meal now, as opposed to how I used to eat so much before. Kind of fun to notice the shifts now. Keep up the good work!!
How many grams did it say a serving was. For my brand, a standard serving is 85g dry which weighs out to 230g cooked. It almost triples in weight. I would assume that they are giving you the dry weight if it is less than 100g. I usually only eat half a serving because the calories can add up quickly. I add lots of veggies to my sauce to make up for it.
You know, I was confused on this before, so I decided to just weigh all the pasta in the box while dry to make sure of the total grams. If the box says 7 servings, then divide the total weight by seven. Cooked or uncooked, it doesn't matter so long as you have weighed it. I always weigh dry. Hope this helps!
Kellost's advice is great! I had whole wheat penne today, and 56g (dry) was 200 calories. 85g (dry) for 230 sounds possible if it was a pasta that wasn't as calorie dense as mine. I can't imagine that 85g of cooked past would have 230 clalores.
Well I am having a "duh" moment right now. I have been weighing the pasta after it is cooked and wondering why anyone bothers to eat such a little amount for so many calories!!
So, let me understand this.....if I weigh out the pasta dry and then cook that amount I weighed it is still the same calories it was when it was dry, but looks like a heck of a lot more pasta!?!??!?! I am excited now. I love pasta. LOL
Pasta
