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Q How do I know if the recommended serving size is cooked or uncooked when I look at it in the food database?

A 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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