OK, I know there are a few different options to weigh your food, but how do weigh what food in which way??
There are the Pyrex measuring cups (80z) ... these are for liquids, correct??
How about the spoons/separated cups (1/2c)? ... these are for dry foods?
And the scale?? Would these be for meats that you cook?? Or do you weigh before cooked??
I'm so confused with if I'm measuring correctly. I've been successful so far and have lost each week, but I want to make sure that I'm not "cheating" myself into thinking that I''m doing this correctly, when I'm doing it all wrong.
Ex: Honey Nut cheerios ... measure out 2/3 cup with scoop measuring cup,
skim milk - use glass pyrex to measure out 1/2 cup
although if I measure the cheerios on the scale in oz, it's much less then the 2/3 cups, yet 4 oz of milk remains the same ... which is the correct way??
Any tips?? Thanks!
WOW...I use both my pyrex and the scoops all the same! Didn't realize they were different measuring systems for dry or liquid foods! In any event...I've lost doing it...so the end results would say that I'm right!
I use the scale to measure meat raw. I also use the scale to measure ounces of pumpkin or something else that I'm using in a recipe that requires several ingredients in one mixing bowl (I just keep hitting zero out button for each ingredient).
Scoops and cups are measuring the same whether liquid or dry. A cup is 8 ounces by volume. If using a scoop, level off the top to get accuracy if you are baking.
Meats are usually measured by weight in ounces on a scale. Eight ounces of meat is not the same as a cup of meat, just as an ounce of lead takes up less space than an ounce of feathers.
Measuring in metric is easier and is used almost everywhere except in the USA. Volume is in millilitres and weight is in grams.
The weight is most accurate, since with a cup of cereal you could be doing "rounded cups" or the O's could be arranged in a way to make them take up more or less room. For small cereals I measure. Bigger ones I might weigh. Or at least weigh, then measure to see what it looks like and then measure from then on.
I measure liquids in the separated cups too, just because they are easier to use.
I weigh my meat raw since after it's cooked it's mixed with all sort of things and can't be weighed on it's own. Just make sure you are finding a count for cooked meat if you are weighing after cooking.
I weigh everything I eat on my scale - including liquids. I weigh in grams and enter that weight in my online tracker (I use MyPlate, which almost always has an option to enter serving sizes in grams).
Floating around online somewhere is a video that demonstrates how easy it is to be inaccurate when measuring by volume, as opposed to by weight. For calorie dense foods (oil, PB, avocado, etc.) those inaccurate calorie counts can really add up.
In addition, I find my food scale is easier to use and less messy than constantly getting out the measuring spoons and cups. I just put my serving dish on the scale, hit the tare button, and add away. Easy! In fact, I get annoyed with recipes - especially for baking - that DON'T use weights for measurements. It's so much more precise.
ETA: I sometimes weigh meat raw, sometimes cooked, just depending on how the recipe works or if I'm eating it all at one meal, or portioning it out in soup or something like that. I just make sure my calorie count is for raw or cooked, whichever.
I always use a digital kitchen scale. I get too confused otherwise. Also, it's easier to be imprecise with measuring cups, and I'm on a diet where every calorie pretty much counts. The scale makes everything so easy. All my foods' nutrition info is either in ounces or grams, so I just set the scale to whichever it is. Looking at it in whole numbers instead of fractions makes it a lot easier for me to calculate partial servings, etc.
I second the recommendation to just switch to metric. No more confusion about fluid ounces vs ounces. Everything should have the gram weight. Added bonus: for any liquid you are likely to be using in the kitchen (i.e., not mercury), one milliliter (volume) weighs one gram (weight).
Embrace your inner mad scientist and weigh stuff! It's neater, it saves space in the dishwasher, it's more precise, and it takes less effort.
The only thing I now measure is stuff that needs to be ladled out of the pot like chili and soups--and that's only because I checked our ladle and saw that it contains exactly half a cup when measured to the rim (measured it myself, twice, just to be sure). I figure since the ladle's in use anyway, I may as well make it work in my favor.
Breakfast cereal is the absolute easiest thing to weigh, anyway. Put bowl on scale, hit "tare," pour cereal, remember that amount, pour milk, remember that amount. Done! I make it even easier by always pouring the same amount of milk; my cereal bowl doesn't vary by a gram from day to day (not that I eat cereal every day, but when I do, it is PRECISE ).
I use cups for liquid/dry and the scale for meat and cheese
I told my husband I'm on a 1 cup diet..
1 cup of oatmeal, 1 cup of stew...1 cup of pasta....
Measuring Foods
In any event...I've lost doing it...so the end results would say that I'm right!
