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Cooked vs. uncooked…that is the question. However, standard serving sizes are always listed in a ready to eat state. When you are dishing the food item onto your plate, this is when the measuring and weighing begins. These standard portions are perfect examples:
• Meat: 3 ounces, cooked • Vegetables: 1 cup, raw • Vegetables: ˝ cup cooked • Pasta, Noodles, Rice, Oatmeal: ˝ cup cooked
But many times recipes do not use these standard portion sizes. Here are a few tips to help determine how much is being used:
MEAT Meat contains 7 grams of protein per cooked ounce. Example: If the nutrient analysis for a pork chop recipe indicates 35 grams of protein/serving, you can estimate that approximately 5 ounces of cooked meat is used for the serving.
GRAIN PRODUCTS Grain products contain about 15-17 grams of carbohydrate, 3-4 grams of protein, 0-1 grams of fat; for a total of 80-90 calories per ˝ cup cooked portion. Example: If a pasta salad contains 24 grams of carbohydrates per serving, you could estimate that approximately 3/4 cup of cooked pasta is being used for the serving.
Written by Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian
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