Losing weight smartly
Today we will share with you one priceless secret - how to easily and simply count calories in what you eat. After all, knowing the calorie content of your own dishes, we have every right not to deny ourselves anything!
Let's get straight to practice.
Brief summary of recommendations
In order to successfully and correctly count calories in borscht, soups, casseroles and other dishes, you will need the following: kitchen scales, calorie tables, a calculator, a notebook and a pen.
It is best to choose electronic scales. This way you will know the exact weight. Before buying, the scales are easy to check: take a small object (or several objects) whose weight you know and place it several times on the scales. Reload the scales and check again. If the number does not change, the scales are not lying. Many manufacturers allow for an error of ± 5 grams. Tables of measures and weights are not helpful for determining the weight of products here: the dish must be weighed after cooking in order to calculate its total calorie content, and then the calorie content of one serving.
It is best to choose electronic scales
A collection of calorie tables can be found in any bookstore, and it will always be at your fingertips. The calorie content of the product is also indicated on the packaging. The numbers may vary slightly in different tables. Choose one table for yourself and use only it.
It is advisable to weigh all kitchen utensils in advance so that you can easily subtract the weight of the dishes or plates later.
When preparing dishes, it is important to remember: the calorie content of water and salt is 0 (zero) kcal. But water adds weight and thereby changes the overall calorie content of the dish.
The more water you add, the greater the weight and the fewer calories per 100 grams
A dish that you have counted once does not need to be recounted if its composition does not change. Just write down the number of necessary ingredients in your notebook.
And most importantly, the formula for calculating calories per 100 grams of готового блюда:
A grams = B kcal
100 grams = X kcal
How to understand the notations in this formula?
• A (grams) – the total weight of the finished dish in grams;
• B (kcal) – the total calorie content of the products in the finished dish.
How to use this formula?
Multiply the two numbers diagonally by each other and divide by the number that is diagonally with X:
B × 100: A = the number of calories in 100 g of the dish you cooked.
Is the formula not very clear? Let's look at detailed examples of how to apply it in practice.
Simple dishes: porridge
Let's start with a simple dish and count the calorie content of regular rice porridge.
100 grams of rice porridge contains 110 kcal
Ingredients:
• Rice – 300 g
• Water
• Salt
1. 100 grams of dry rice contains 330 kcal.
2. For our porridge, we took 300 g of cereal: 330 kcal × 3 = 990 kcal.
3. The entire volume of cooked rice porridge will have a calorie content of 990 kcal: except for water and salt, which, as we already know, have no calories, we did not add anything else.
4. 300 g of dry rice yields about 900 g of готовой каши.
5. Calculate the calorie content of rice porridge in 100 grams using the formula:
900 g of rice porridge = 990 kcal
100 g of rice porridge = X kcal
990 × 100: 900 = 110 kcal (990 multiplied by 100 and divided by 900)
So, our result: 100 grams of rice porridge contains 110 kcal.
According to a similar scheme, we calculate the calorie content of boiled pasta, beans, and lentils. Before cooking, weigh the dry pasta, calculate the calorie content of the dry weight. Boil the pasta, drain the water and weigh the finished pasta: the weight will be greater, since the pasta products have absorbed water. Then we calculate the calorie content per 100 g.
Complex dishes: cream soup and apple sambuk
Calculating the calorie content of a multicomponent dish is not much more difficult than calculating the calorie content of simple porridge. Let's make a hearty pumpkin cream soup.
100 g of pumpkin cream soup contains 64 kcalFor your convenience, all the data are presented in the table.
Product
Product weight
Calories per 100 grams
Calorie content of the product weight according to the recipe
Milk 3.5%
1 l (1000 ml)
61 kcal
610 kcal
Potatoes
700 g
80 kcal
560 kcal
Pumpkin
700 g
25 kcal
175 kcal
Onions
150 g
41 kcal
61.5 kcal
Carrots
100 g
37 kcal
37 kcal
Butter 82.5%
25 g
748 kcal
187 kcal
Salt
to taste
0 kcal
0 kcal
Total:
2675 g
1630.5 kcal
1. The total weight of the products needed to prepare pumpkin cream soup is 2675 g.
2. The total calorie content of the products is 1630.5 kcal.
3. In a deep saucepan, fry the onion in butter, then add the carrots, potatoes and pumpkin, cut into small pieces, pour in the milk, add salt. Bring to a boil and simmer over very low heat for 30–40 minutes. After that, grind the vegetables together with the milk in a blender into a puree.
4. The weight of the готового блюда is 2562 g and contains all the same 1630.5 kcal (I remind you that water evaporates, not calories).
5. According to the formula, we will calculate the calorie content of pumpkin soup in 100 g:
2562 g of soup = 1630.5 kcal
100 grams of soup = X kcal
1630.5 × 100: 2562 = 63.6 kcal (round up to 64 kcal)
100 g of pumpkin cream soup contains 64 kcal.
And let's not forget about a light dessert. Today we have airy apple sambuk with an amazing cinnamon aroma on the menu.
Product
Product weight
Calories per 100 grams
Calorie content of the product weight according to the recipe
Apples (peeled from seeds and peels)
500 g
37 kcal
185 kcal
Water
150 ml
0 kcal
0 kcal
Sugar
60 g
379 kcal
227.4 kcal
Egg white
2 pcs. (70 g)
45 kcal
31.5 kcal
Gelatin
10 g
355 kcal
35.5 kcal
Total:
790 g
479.4 kcal
1. The total weight of the products that we need to prepare apple dessert with cinnamon is 790 g.
2. The total calorie content of these products is 479.4 kcal.
3. Let's prepare apple sambuk.
Sambuk is a gelatinous dessert based on whipped egg whitesCut the apples into quarters, peel them from the peel and seeds. Put them in a mold, pour a couple of tablespoons of water on the bottom, cover with foil and bake in the oven at a temperature of 180°C for about 25–30 minutes (until soft). Cool the готовые яблоки, and in the meantime dissolve the gelatin as indicated on the package and heat to 40–50°C, after which we also cool. Grind the apples into a puree using a blender, add sugar and beat with a whisk (attachment) or mixer for about 1 minute. Then add the egg whites to the apples, beat for at least 5 minutes: the mass will turn white and increase in volume. After that, pour in the gelatin and beat for about 1 minute more. Pour the mass into bowls and put in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Before serving, sprinkle with cinnamon, garnish with apple slices and a sprig of mint.
4. The weight of the готового десерта is about 675 g and contains 479.4 kcal.
5. Let's calculate the calorie content of apple sambuk in 100 g:
675 g of dessert = 479.4 kcal
100 g of dessert = X kcal
479.4 × 100: 675 = 71 kcal
100 g of apple sambuk contains 71 kcal.
Frying cutlets, chops and meat in batter
When counting the calorie content of fried dishes, you need to take into account one key point: 20% of the amount of oil that you pour into the pan is absorbed into the product (cutlets, chops). However, if you fry potatoes, other vegetables, flour products, do not lose sight of the fact that these dishes absorb oil almost 100%. This is especially true for zucchini, eggplant, pancakes, pancakes: they absorb oil like a sponge and constantly require additional "feeding". When you stew vegetables with the addition of oil, then all the oil ends up in your stew. In this case, you need to take into account all the fats used in cooking.
Eggplant absorbs oil like a sponge
I suggest a hearty lunch of fried chicken fillet under sour cream and garlic sauce.
Product
Product weight
Calories per 100 grams
Calorie content of the product weight according to the recipe
Chicken breast fillet
500 g
116 kcal
580 kcal
Lemon juice
50 ml
16 kcal
8 kcal
Vegetable oil
100 ml
900 kcal – 20%*
180 kcal
Salt, pepper
to taste
Total:
650 g
768 kcal
*20% of the indicated calorie content of the oil is 180 kcal, which will be absorbed into the chicken meat. The rest of the oil will remain in the pan.
1. To prepare fried chicken fillet, we need 650 g of products.
2. The total calorie content of these products is 768 kcal.
3. Let's start preparing lunch. Cut the chicken fillet lengthwise into two parts and beat lightly. Salt, pepper, sprinkle with lemon juice and leave to marinate for 20-30 minutes. After that, fry in vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown. Prepare the sauce for the chicken fillet. Ingredients to taste in the amounts you need: sour cream, garlic, herbs, salt. Squeeze the garlic through a press, finely chop the herbs, combine with sour cream, add salt and mix. Or grind all the ingredients with an immersion blender. The calorie content of sour cream sauce will be equal to the calorie content of your sour cream: herbs and garlic are products with very low calorie content.
4. The weight of the chicken fillet after cooking is about 400 g and contains all the same 768 kcal.
5. Now let's calculate the weight of fried chicken fillet in 100 g using the formula:
400 g of fried chicken = 768 kcal
100 g of fried chicken = X kcal
768 × 100: 400 = 192 kcal
In 100 g of fried chicken fillet, we have 192 kcal (without taking into account the calorie content of sour cream sauce).
If you want to cook meat in batter, then you need to add the calorie content of the batter (flour, milk, egg) to the calorie content of the meat and vegetable oil.
And how many calories are there in broth and compote?
When cooking, part of the calories from the products passes into the broth: from fish – 15%, from meat – 20%, from fruits – 30%, from dumplings, manti and khinkali – 20%. These figures may vary: it all depends on the cooking time of the products.
Let's calculate the calorie content of fish broth from salmon. Let's take a salmon steak weighing 300 g and 1 liter of water. The calorie content of salmon per 100 g = 142 kcal, in 300 g of this fish = 426 kcal (142 × 3).
426 kcal – 15% = 63.9 kcal (round up to 64 kcal).
1 liter of salmon broth contains 64 kcal. 100 ml of broth contains only 6.4 kcal!
Boiled meat and vegetables
To calculate the calorie content of boiled (baked, steamed) meat or vegetables, weigh the product before cooking, boil (bake) and weigh after cooking.
Tonight we have boiled beef, a glass of kefir and a salad for dinner. The calorie content of kefir is written on the packaging, and we will calculate the calorie content of meat and salad ourselves. It's simple with the salad: add up the calorie content of all its components. Let's count the meat.
When cooking meat, about 20% of its calorie content passes into the broth
Ingredients:
• Beef shoulder blade (boneless meat) – 1 kg
• Salt
1. 100 g of beef shoulder blade contains 208 kcal.
2. In 1 kg of shoulder blade: 208 kcal × 10 = 2080 kcal.
3. After cooking, the weight of the boiled meat is about 700 g: the boiled meat has decreased in volume and weight.
4. When cooking meat, about 20% of its calorie content passes into the broth, thus 2080 kcal — 20% = 416 kcal, this is exactly how much was boiled into the broth from a piece of meat weighing 1 kg, and 1664 kcal remained in the meat itself.
5. Let's now calculate the calorie content of boiled beef in 100 g:
700 g of boiled meat = 1664 kcal
100 g of boiled meat = X kcal
1664 × 100: 700 = 237.7 kcal
100 grams of boiled beef shoulder blade contains 237.7 kcal (round up to 238 kcal).
And in conclusion, I want to give you some useful advice: the calorie content of fruit compote (without sugar), broths, coffee and tea (also without sugar), garlic, herbs, many dry spices is so small that it is not worth focusing on. You will not be able to drink such an amount of broth per day that would disastrously exceed your calorie intake. And, moreover, you are unlikely to be able to master so much garlic. But if you cook with fats, you can reduce the calorie content of the first or second courses in this way: after cooking, remove the fatty film from the surface of the dish with a spoon.
Counting calories may seem difficult only at first glance. Already on the second or third time you will succeed better, and after a while you will do it automatically.
Now spring is the most beautiful time of the year when nature awakens. I sincerely wish you to be imbued with a fresh mood and confidently stride towards your goal.
Source: domashniy.ru/