Cooked vs. Raw Weight

calinwa

Hello!

I have been looking through the forum discussions but cannot find an answer.

I do cook a lot of vegetables together in my instant pot. I have the weight raw, but I eat them cooked. How much % of the weight do I need to take off when entering the weight of the cooked food item? Is there a general rule or do I need to weight off each vegetable individually once, just to see the difference? Thanks for your help!

wishes,
Caroline

Karen_Cronometer

Hi @calinwa

The most accurate way to record your intake would be to weigh the food after it has been cooked. It takes a bit of practice, but you will get a feel for how cooking changes the weight or volume of different foods.

We have a discussion going about this the forums here: https://forums.cronometer.com/discussion/comment/1722#Comment_1722

Best,

calinwa

Thanks @Karen_Cronometer - I literally just did that and 2kg of cooked veg went down to 1,3 kg. Fascinating! Now I really know how to calculate my calorie intake for the day. Only just need to do with meat now and I am sorted! Love the app by the way, so helpful if you have a long-term illness and need in-depth tracking!

blondy35

Is there a place for definitions of words used to describe various forms of a food - ex: fresh verses raw?

Karen_Cronometer

Hi @blondy35

We do not have these definitions listed. Some of our sources name foods using different conventions, so in this case, fresh = raw.

Best,

Bubba

Another question about raw vs. baked: Kale chips. Pre-baking weight was 232 g, post-baking 50g. According to what I read on different nutrition sites, Kale does not lose it's nutrient content after baking. But, if I log only 50 g of kale into chronometer, won't I get cut short on nutrients????? Just wondering.....

Susan_RD_101

Hi @Bubba ,

I would add the raw kale to your diary, rather than cooked (unless you are steaming/sauteing it).

Kind regards,

Bubba

Thanks, I guess I'll do that. I'm baking (drying it) in the oven, so of course both weight and volume is less since it loses all it's water content. I looked online for a nutritional analysis for kale chips, and depending on the serving size the calories ranged between 50 and 100 calories. If I log the raw weight, I'm logging more carbs and more calories as well. That doesn't really make it such a good "late night craving" snack after all. But it's still better than a back of potato chips!!

Susan_RD_101

@Bubba

Technically, the only thing that is lost by cooking the kale is water. The calories are nutrients are more or less kept.

Kale chips are definitely a healthy snack (provided they aren't doused in oil); I would encourage you to keep eating them if you enjoy them. I like to sprinkle nutritional yeast on mine for a cheesy flavour.

Kind regards,