Using A Kitchen Scale For Cooking And Portion Control

A majority of overweight and obese people eat too many calories for their activity level. Contrary to popular belief, it only takes a few hundred, not thousand, extra calories to go from a healthy weight to obese.

Unlike most countries using the metric system, Americans use the imperial system of cups to weigh most recipe ingredients. The accuracy of measuring cups can vary more than the accuracy of affordable kitchen scales. A good quality scale is accurate to within 1 gram (1/28th oz). In addition to cups, Americans deal with vague descriptions like small, medium, or large bananas etc. Cups and sizes are used by the USDA and FDA for serving sizes. In some cases, serving sizes are specified in grams, but most Americans do not own a kitchen scale and cannot measure foods in grams.

Whether grams or ounces, when it comes to diets, excess calories becomes body fat. Is a meal serving of frozen potatoes the 85 grams (3 oz) on the nutrition label or more. Is a steak 4 oz (113 g) or more. In most cases, it is much more.

Using a kitchen scale, you can create perfectly portioned meals providing all or most essential nutrients. And, you are in control of your diet and ingredients not a faceless corporation.

In this video:

• Diet and portion control. 00:42
• Weight versus volume (cups). 2:23
• Selecting a kitchen scale. 4:45
• Using a kitchen scale for cooking. 8:45
• Using a kitchen scale for portion control. 10:45