Food Preparation and Calories

I have a question regarding food preparation and calorie intake:

When you prepare foods like chicken, fish or steak and the recipe calls for olive oil, chicken stock or any other calorie dense condiment, does it count towards total calories for the day?

I would imagine most of it, especially when cooking with it evaporates! i.e. chicken broth has a lot of sodium, but much of it evaporates when cooked or olive oil brushed onto a steak soaks in, but loses it's calorie properties! Just a question for those who are not kitchen challenged!

Thanks

It doesn't matter what I use I count it. Mostly I use extra virgin olive oil only when sauteing or browning meats. Other then that like cooking an egg I use a spray like Pam.

I count it. All of it. I'm not sure how to answer the question as I've never really thought about it evaporating. Good question. Some stays in the pan too so hmm I don't know. Interesting.

I will be glad to know as well.

the sodium won't evaporate at the temperatures you cook with only the water evaporates so yes you still have to count the sodium. sodium boils at 883 celcius!!!! theres no way you could reach that tempereature!! if you boil a pot of stock you will notice that as the volume decreases the stock gets saltier and stronger in flavour- its because you are just evaporating of the water and so the stock is becoming more concentrated!

olive oil is olive oil and can't lose its calorie properties. if you brush a tablespoon over your chicken you need to count a tablespoon of oil's calories (about 120 calories i think)

When I cook, there's always oil or something left in the bottom of the pan, unless it's a lot, like when you drain cooked ground beef, I'd just count it anyway.

It's like the whole idea of negative calories - doesn't work.

Seconding what Jade said - you won't lose sodium (or anything else), only water when you reduce liquids.

I can't imagine why you would think olive oil magically loses its calories but not flavor, when cooking with it.

Also, chicken/beef stocks out of a can or box are very very low calories, not high, so I don't know where you get that either.  They're also very low calories if you make it yourself and strain the fat out. or chill the stock and remove the hardened fat that way.

When I have the time, I'll count it and then if there's a lot left at the end, I measure what's left and subtract. But I rarely have the time or energy and it's rarely enough to care, so I just count it.

When I put milk in cereal, since I never actually drink the milk, I count whatever is left at the end, and subtract if from the total I put in.

I've never counted olive oil.  The cultures that eat allot of it are not generally overweight.  Unlike like the cultures who use butter or margarine.  I've always had problems with boyfriends who weren't use to eating alot of olive oil getting ummm stomach problems when introduced to my diet.  I cook everything in it from eggs, to veggis, I add it to pasta sause, as well as chicken & steak etc etc.  Really it has a laxative like effect so I don't figure I'm absorbing enough to be bothering counting it.

Red

I count everything. Actually, I even round up all my numbers to the nearest 5's if they don't come out even. lol I probably add an extra 60-100 cals a day of "imaginary calories", but I figure it's safe that way because I don't entirely trust labels, and I don't always count that one leaf of lettuce on my sandwich. LOL (okay, I admit, sometimes I count it as 5 calories to be safe)

yes - definitely count it. generally 100 calories/tbs of olive oil.

 

depending on what you're cooking/how you're preparing it, there are ways to 'dilute' the olive oil, although the stuff is considered a GOOD fat. but if you're hardcore calorie counting, you can always prepare an olive-oil based marinade rounded out with some vinegar (white, red wine, or balsamic depending on the recipe). i find this is especially effective if cooking something like eggplant that generally requires a LOT of oil absorption. this way you get more liquid without the calories... 

and you can dilute chicken stock with plain old water! and definitely go for the low sodium stuff...the regular kind is killer.

Unfortunately the only thing that evaporates is 0-calorie water. Put this way, say you deep-fry potato strips and grill potato strips. The calorie difference is enormous although you may have drained the oil off the fried potato.

Fluffydragon - thanks for your input! I don't think olive oil "magically" loses it's calories, but when you cook with a tablespoon of it, I cannot imagine you ingest the whole tablespoon when eating as there is plenty left behind.

With regard to chicken/beef stocks - I was specifically asking about the sodium content of it. I did not mean it to sound like I felt they were calorie dense even though I said it that way.

I really appreciate everyone's responses. I do normally count the olive oil or anything else I cook with. I guess I was hoping I would not ingest as much as I thought I was actually going to - wishful thinking. Just nice to get other perspectives.

The comment about sodium boiling at 883 celcius - you must have been really paying attention in Chemistry class!

Thanks again!

i'm in my final year of a chemistry degree :)

 

If there`s a ton of oil left after you cook, yes, you should subtract. But otherwise, I think nobody has the time or energy to count that meticulously.. sounds like one step away from subtracting the bread crumbs left after you ate your sandwich. xD

Original Post by ily51:

If there`s a ton of oil left after you cook, yes, you should subtract. But otherwise, I think nobody has the time or energy to count that meticulously.. sounds like one step away from subtracting the bread crumbs left after you ate your sandwich. xD

This would only work if you actually weighed your slices on a scale before eating them. LOL