A food’s nutrition facts can tell you everything you need to know about what’s in it, including a comprehensive ingredients list and an overview of each of the major macronutrients.
Alcohol also contains a significant number of calories. Each gram of alcohol is about 7 calories.
Nutrients are always measured in grams. Make sure you’re using the right standard when calculating food calories yourself.
Breaking down the calorie count by macronutrient rather than simply reading it off the box allows you to see not just how many calories are in a certain type of food, but how to make them part of a balanced diet. 355 calories might not sound like a lot, but if you’re trying to eat less fat, you might be alarmed to discover that fat grams account for nearly half of the total.
For example, an item containing 355 calories per serving and with 3 servings per package makes the total 1,065 calories.
A snack containing 35g of carbohydrates, for instance, provides roughly 12% of your recommended daily value of around 300g. [7] X Trustworthy Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Go to source Daily values are averages based on dietary recommendations for adults who eat around 2,000 calories a day. [8] X Trustworthy Source US Food and Drug Administration U. S. government agency responsible for promoting public health Go to source
Non-packaged items, like fresh fruits and vegetables and prepared meals in restaurants, don’t give you the benefit of being able to review the relevant nutrition facts. An online calorie counter can come in handy when you want to know more about what’s in these foods. Some calorie counters only offer the number of calories and recommended serving sizes of the foods you look up. Others may also give you their macronutrient values. [12] X Research source
A few of the most popular food composition guides include “The Complete Book of Food Counts” by Corinne T. Netzer, “Nutritive Value of Foods,” by Susan E. Gebhardt, and the USDA’s “Handbook of the Nutritional Value of Foods in Common Units. ”[14] X Research source Some guidebooks even report the nutritional value of menu selections at well-known restaurants. If you’re ever wanted to know how many calories are in a Bloomin’ Onion from Outback Steakhouse, now’s your chance!
Be sure to specify the exact serving size of the item you’re researching. Serving sizes are most often measured in cups, ounces, or grams. [16] X Research source The items in a food composition guide may be listed alphabetically or grouped into sections by category (such as fruits, vegetables, meats, bread products, or snack foods).
To find out approximately how many calories are in a bowl of homemade beef stew, for example, you would need to refer to the listings for beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and broth or stock, then figure out the number of calories found in the amounts that the recipe calls for. Don’t forget to include ingredients like butter, oil, shortening, and bread crumbs. These are often left out of calculations because they’re not thought of as main components of the dish.
Foods like fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, and cheeses in particular come in a wide array. There are over 200 common varieties of potatoes sold in the US alone! Variety is common even among packaged food items. In some cases there may be 3-4 different kinds of the same product, including low-fat, high-protein, and whole grain variations. [19] X Trustworthy Source Consumer Reports Nonprofit organization dedicated to consumer advocacy and product testing Go to source
