I eat a lot of legumes. I usually prepare them myself from dry, except for tofu which I purchase already prepared. I can't figure out how many calories I am eating because of conflicting nutritional information. Some examples:
1. Lentils. The nutritional information on the bag (La Preferida brand) says there are 70 calories per quarter cup dry, which they define as 32 grams. However, thedailyplate defines a quarter cup (Arrowhead Mills brand) as 47 grams and 170 calories. Even ignoring the volume measurement, this is a difference of 3.6 vs. 2.2 calories per gram. Fitday puts a quarter cup of dried lentils at 228 calories.
I have been happily logging 70 calories every time I eat a quarter cup of lentils, figuring that the bag should have the most accurate information of what's inside, and now I see I may have been eating two to three times that amount. This is such a wide range of calories -- 70 calories vs. 228! How do I know what I am actually eating?
2. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas). I had a quarter cup dry today and fitday is putting this at 182 calories, which seems high. I have disposed of the bag so can't compare nutritional information, but I thought they would be comparable to the lentils, around 70 calories.
3. Tofu. The container of firm tofu I have purchased says 60 calories per three-ounce serving. However, fitday puts three ounces of firm tofu at 123 calories. Again, I am concerned that I am getting double the calories that are stated on the manufacturer's label. I slice the 19 oz block of tofu into 6 pieces so I don't have to be concerned about drained vs. undrained tofu. The container says there are about 6 servings at 60 calories each, but fitday doubles this amount. What gives?
Since I eat so many legumes, this could be seriously skewing my calorie count. I would like to know if anyone else uses tofu or dried legumes, and what source you find to be the most accurate for nutritional information. Is it actually possible that the manufacturer's labels are wrong? I always thought this would be the most accurate source of information.
1. Lentils. The nutritional information on the bag (La Preferida brand) says there are 70 calories per quarter cup dry, which they define as 32 grams. However, thedailyplate defines a quarter cup (Arrowhead Mills brand) as 47 grams and 170 calories. Even ignoring the volume measurement, this is a difference of 3.6 vs. 2.2 calories per gram. Fitday puts a quarter cup of dried lentils at 228 calories.
I have been happily logging 70 calories every time I eat a quarter cup of lentils, figuring that the bag should have the most accurate information of what's inside, and now I see I may have been eating two to three times that amount. This is such a wide range of calories -- 70 calories vs. 228! How do I know what I am actually eating?
2. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas). I had a quarter cup dry today and fitday is putting this at 182 calories, which seems high. I have disposed of the bag so can't compare nutritional information, but I thought they would be comparable to the lentils, around 70 calories.
3. Tofu. The container of firm tofu I have purchased says 60 calories per three-ounce serving. However, fitday puts three ounces of firm tofu at 123 calories. Again, I am concerned that I am getting double the calories that are stated on the manufacturer's label. I slice the 19 oz block of tofu into 6 pieces so I don't have to be concerned about drained vs. undrained tofu. The container says there are about 6 servings at 60 calories each, but fitday doubles this amount. What gives?
Since I eat so many legumes, this could be seriously skewing my calorie count. I would like to know if anyone else uses tofu or dried legumes, and what source you find to be the most accurate for nutritional information. Is it actually possible that the manufacturer's labels are wrong? I always thought this would be the most accurate source of information.
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