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Original poster

How many grams of pasta do you have per serving?

237 replies

ShockWavezz · 18/01/2022 19:15

Just wondering what a sensible portion of dry pasta is for a healthy serving?

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 20/01/2022 08:08

@canbage

Yes. I find the easiest way for me to put on weight is to eat massive portions of carbs. I eat totally normally. If I don’t weigh my 80g of pasta. half a mug full of rice/cous cous etc, that easily doubles and I put weight on. I wouldn’t call that a diet.

I would find that restrictive, having to stick to strict weights & weighing it out in case it was 10/20g over. So for me that would be a diet but you can disagree.

You just have missed when I said that my portions could easily double.
We eat loads of pasta and when I put weight on and when I had a week of weighing stuff to see if I was eating more than I thought, I found I was literally eating twice what I thought I was. It was something like an extra 250 calories every meal.

It isn’t restrictive to want to cook the right amount for a healthy portion and it’s no wonder we’ve got so much obesity if people think it is. I never finish my dinner and still feel hungry (or if I do I eat a bigger pudding). Others must be better at judging pasta/rice by eye but I’m not and it’s a really bizarre thing to judge someone on. It’s not as if I’m aiming to eat a teeny tiny portion.

FuggyPidding · 20/01/2022 08:12

@BlackRedGold

I weigh out 333g for our family of 4, (2 adults, one teen, one preteen). 2 500g packs make 3 meals that way, and I'm not left with lots of bags of different shapes with a tiny bit left in each.
I do exactly this!
RampantIvy · 20/01/2022 08:13

@PurpleDaisies I think canbage is being deliberately obtuse. Everyone I know weighs out pasta and rice. Like you I make enough food and no more for one meal when it is just DH and me.

Interested in this thread?

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General food
RampantIvy · 20/01/2022 08:15

And I can't judge pasta and rice by eye either. I'm sure it is because they expand when cooked, unlike potatoes.

MaybeHeIsMyCat · 20/01/2022 08:16

I weigh it when I'm cooking because I'm always cooking more than 1 portion and I want to know it splits into the portions I need without being too much or too little (I batch cook pasta bakes)
Still fat WinkGrin

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 20/01/2022 08:18

@canbage

Yes if you ever make too much why would you not save it for another day rather than bin it.
Leftover pasta goes very nicely in a soup. Especially a minestrone type, where you can chuck in a bit of all sorts that’s in the fridge.
BlueberryMacaron · 20/01/2022 08:28

@canbage

So do people weigh rice, cheese, noodles, potatoes etc?
I weigh pasta, rice is measured with the cup in rice cooker so I know how much water to add, I measure cheese in a recipe but not with crackers or in a toastie, noodles come in blocks so no, I’d weigh baby potatoes but not big ones.

I also measure alcohol. I literally cannot eyeball things and I don’t like waste. Leftovers doesn’t really work unless planned because I plan my meals and shop for them. Eating leftover pasta would waste another meal.

RampantIvy · 20/01/2022 08:34

I don't plan meals to that extent @BlueberryMacaron. I WFH so lunch is never pre-planned. I eat leftovers, a sandwich, soup, cheese and crackers or whatever I can forage from the fridge.

Alysskea · 20/01/2022 08:35

I am so disturbed by this thread. Life is too short to weigh 50g of pasta!

canbage · 20/01/2022 08:36

is being deliberately obtuse. Everyone I know weighs out pasta and rice.

😆 Lots of people on this thread have said they didn't know weighing was a thing, are you saying they are lying?

canbage · 20/01/2022 08:45

You just have missed when I said that my portions could easily double.

You have missed that that is you. I can look at 2 portions of pasta and without weighing them know one is double the size.

We eat loads of pasta and when I put weight on and when I had a week of weighing stuff to see if I was eating more than I thought, I found I was literally eating twice what I thought I was. It was something like an extra 250 calories every meal.

So that's why you weigh, fair enough. Others can not weigh pasta & not put on weight though.

Others must be better at judging pasta/rice by eye but I’m not and it’s a really bizarre thing to judge someone on.

I'm not judging you, I said it's not something I would do. Honestly I don't know why you are so triggered by my opinion re weighing carbs.

It isn’t restrictive to want to cook the right amount for a healthy portion and it’s no wonder we’ve got so much obesity if people think it is.

Now that sounds judgemental. I'm not sure weighing carbs will solve the obesity crisis.

I'm not obese or overweight & I would find it restrictive to constantly weigh my carbs. I don't count calories or pay much attention to how many carbs I eat. I just eat normal healthy balanced meals.

RampantIvy · 20/01/2022 08:45

No, but they aren't accusing people who weigh pasta as being on a diet. Why do you think that people who do weigh it are lying when they say they aren't dieting?

I can't work out how much pasta to cook by eyeballing it because it expands so much, and I cook with different shapes, so judging by volume doesn't work. It also means that I don't usually have leftovers.

I have always been slim BTW

canbage · 20/01/2022 08:47

No @RampantIvy I said I would class it as a diet if I was doing it myself. Weighing carbs, restricting carbs, counting calories etc would all fall under the dieting umbrella for ME!

PurpleDaisies · 20/01/2022 08:49

You have missed that that is you. I can look at 2 portions of pasta and without weighing them know one is double the size.
I literally said that others were probably better at judging portions that me in my post.

The trouble is, you’re not looking at two portions and saying one is double, you’re looking at one portion and trying to work out if it’s the right about. Comparative judgement is much easier. It’s easy over time for your one portion to get significantly bigger.

Honestly I don't know why you are so triggered by my opinion re weighing carbs.
I’m not “triggered”. I don’t like being accused of restricting my eating and being on a diet because I weigh pasta.

PurpleDaisies · 20/01/2022 08:50

@Alysskea

I am so disturbed by this thread. Life is too short to weigh 50g of pasta!
There are hardly any posters saying that. Most of us are aiming for much more than that.
canbage · 20/01/2022 08:51

The only diet I've been on is before my wedding which involved upping the gym, reducing alcohol & takeaways, & reducing crisp intake.

canbage · 20/01/2022 08:53

I’m not “triggered”. I don’t like being accused of restricting my eating and being on a diet because I weigh pasta.

How many times, I said if I was weighing my carbs I would count that as being in a diet for me!!!

Enjoyingwinter · 20/01/2022 09:35

I'm shocked at this thread.

If I'm doing a pasta dish for the 4 of us I'll do 500g, if it's also got plenty of meat and veg with it in the sauce.

If I'm having a quick lunch for myself with a jar of sauce I'll have 150g.

None of us are in the slightest bit overweight.

I weigh pasta so that I can do the recipe correctly with sauce to pasta ratio that's all.

RampantIvy · 20/01/2022 10:18

I couldn't physically eat a meal in one sitting made with 150g dried pasta now. Forty years ago I might have done though.

ISpyCobraKai · 20/01/2022 10:21

1 gram.
Any more is just gluttony.

Trinacham · 20/01/2022 10:33

@Alysskea

I am so disturbed by this thread. Life is too short to weigh 50g of pasta!
For those of us with diabetes, or at risk of diabetes (due to family history - or eating too much pasta!!) then, life would potentially be shorter if we don't weigh carbs!
PickAChew · 20/01/2022 12:52

I'm middle aged and don't feel great after a carb heavy meal, particularly wheat based carbs like pasta and bread. Calorie requirements do reduce, past menopause so would rather stick with that 50g (or less) of pasta and be able to enjoy the rest of my meal and not feel like crap, afterwards. I'm far from teeny tiny.

MrsAvocet · 20/01/2022 13:06

I think it's weird that people think it's weird to weigh things. Doesn't bother me if others choose not to, but the idea that weighing food is somehow dysfunctional is strange. What do you non weighers do if you make pastry for example? Can you "eyeball" 100g of flour? Or is it only weighing pasta that is abnormal-is it ok for other recipes?
I have a set of electronic scales on the worktop next to my cooker and I'm not concerned that the additional 20 seconds or so that weighing things is adding to meal prep times is knocking sugnificant amounts off my lifespan. Could be adding a few minutes to my pre diabetic DH's though, so I'll stick with it.

Thecurtainsofdestiny · 20/01/2022 14:34

Happened to weigh my portion yesterday and it was 85g dry weight. Small amount of leftovers.

WayshrineNotFound · 20/01/2022 14:38

I'm in the 50g group (although just for me - I'll do 80-100g for DH; and I have to weigh, or I'll either end up making a spoonful or enough to feed the neighbourhood; I have no perception!) but that's because I'm not a dinner person. I eat a big breakfast, and generally my calorie intake is very morning heavy. My mind and body are not up for anything after 4 pm, including a big meal.