Quick Tips - Calories in Dinner & Meals

Calories in Dinner & Meals - Zacking! Food Rules

Quick Tips » Eating Smarter » Calories in Dinner & Meals - Zacking! Food Rules

1 Spoon Of Food Rule
1 Serving Spoon of food: 75 Calories
1 Serving Spoon of food that's Either Fried or Cooked in Cream/Butter: 125 Calories
This is one of the simplest, most useful Zacking! Food rules - The 1 Spoon of food rule. By 1 spoon we mean this average sized 11.1 x 2.4 x 1 inches; 8 ounces serving spoon (please see picture). The rule is this: If the food is fried or uses lots of cream/cheese - It's 125 calories per spoon.

If the food item hasn't been fried and doesn’t use much cream/cheese either, than 1 spoon equals 75 calories. This goes for any food you can fit into the spoon: From kidney beans to mashed potatoes to lasagna.

Pasta, Spaghetti, Macaroni, Noodles
1 cup Cooked (5 oz): 225 Calories
About a plate of plain spaghetti will be about 225 calories. Pasta, Macaroni and noodles are about the same.

Salads & Sides:

1 Helping – Without Dressing: 50 Calories
1 Helping - With Dressing (Cream/Mayonnaise etc.): 100 Calories
So 1 helping from this Salad Serving Fork would be 50 calories without the dressing and 100 with it. E.g. Coleslaw with Mayonnaise: 100 Calories, Fresh Salad: 50 Calories.

Soups:
Clear soups: 175 Calories/Large Bowl
Cream-Based: 350 Calories/Large Bowl
Here’s the rule of thumb for soups: if it’s clear (not cream-based), put down 175 calories for a large 18 oz. bowl (like the one pictured below). If it’s cream-based, put down 350. So how much soup is this? A can of Coke is 12 oz. So these values will roughly equal 1.5 the size of a can of Coke.

Sauces & Gravies:
Tomato Ketchup/Barbecue Sauce - 1 tablespoon: 25 Calories

Sauces & Gravies that use cream/butter/mayonnaise - 1 tablespoon: 100 calories

For ketchup and barbecue sauces and generally any sauce/gravy that doesn’t use cream or butter put down 25 calories/tablespoon. If it’s a sauce or gravie that uses cream, butter or mayonnaise, e.g. tartar sauce, butter sauce etc. put down 100 calories/tablespoon.

Plain Yoghurt (Yogurt):
3 Tablespoons: 25 Calories
3 tablespoons of plain yogurt is 25 calories.