All lentils created unequal?
Posted by stride4unity on Apr 29, 2007 · Member since Feb 2005 · 211 posts
Ok so check this out. My mom purchased a bag of lentils at one store and another from Wal-Mart. The lentils look identical in both bags as far as size but here's the catch: the amount of calories for a 1/4 cup of dry lentils in the Wal-Mart bag is 80 calories (80 calories/serving) while the other bag's serving size of 1/4 cup of dry lentils is 160 calories! How can the calories in the latter double the amount of calories of Wal-Mart's lentils? Has anyone else noticed this before? I watch my caloric intake strictly and I think this is a pretty significant difference. If you have a bag of lentils, maybe we can all compare the serving sizes and calories. Maybe one is in error!
Yeah, I noticed the same thing while I was anorexic. I was pretty ecstatic about finding low-cal legumes, I made lentil-tomato soup pretty much everyday for weeks. After I ran out of Wally-world ones, I bought a package at Whole Foods (organic, because I wanted to sprout them), and was horrified to see that they were supposedly double the calories. I immediately became terrified that I'd been inadvertently consuming an additional 80 calories to what I'd originally thought... my goodness, I'll never miss that manic compulsion to count... thanks for reminding me why AN was miserable and not worth repeating...
As far as accuracy goes, I'm really not sure which one is calculated correctly. I would lean more towards the lower side, because lentils are not nearly as starchy as black beans/pintos/black-eyed-peas/etc., so I would assume they'd have fewer carbs and more fiber, which would equate to fewer calories. Anyway, do your best to shrug it off, ok? Lentils are great for you, and your body will thank you for them.
Is one measure for cooked and the other for dry? A 1/4 cup of dry lentils would have more calories than an equal volume of cooked lentils. (because they swell, and dry lentils are smaller). But lentils don't swell THAT much...that seems really weird to me. According to nutritiondata.com, 1/4 cup of cooked generic lentils is 60 calories, 4.5 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrate (4 grams fiber) and neglible fat.
Mizzou,
I know it sounds weird to freak out over it but I am struggling with anorexia at this point in my life. It started close to 2 years ago. I wish I could go one day without counting calories but it's difficult. I have never before come across two similiar products that have differed in the amount of calories as such.
Very weird. I've got the same thing here. I have a package of Goya lentils that says 1/4 cup dry has 70 calories and a package of organic 365 brand lentils from Whole Foods that says 1/4 cup dry has 160 calories. :D
Very weird. I've got the same thing here. I have a package of Goya lentils that says 1/4 cup dry has 70 calories and a package of organic 365 brand lentils from Whole Foods that says 1/4 cup dry has 160 calories. :D
Where's the calorie difference (carbs, protein, fat)?
I know it's tough Stride-- now that I think about it, those organic lentils from Whole Foods (the same one's BookMama bought, actually, :P) are still sitting in my cabinet, because I was too scared of them to touch them. (But the second I get home, those suckers are gone... :P They only THOUGHT they got off unscathed... ) Hang in there; your body deserves to be treated well, and so do YOU!
Still doesn't make sense to me. Both packages are just lentils, dry lentils, not mixed with anything. They look almost identical. Each of the 365 brand lentils does appear to be slightly larger than the Goyas. You might think that since more Goyas could fit in a 1/4 c. measure, the Goyas would have more calories than the 365 brand, although 1/4 c. is 1/4 c. Shouldn't make a difference whether it would take more individual lentils to get to the 1/4 c. measure, should it?
The Goya lentils have no fat (0 calories), cholesterol or sugar, but have 5 mg sodium, 19 g carbs (with fiber 9 g, sugars 0), and 8 g of protein. They are lower than the 365 in carbs (but most of that, of course is fiber) and protein.
The 365 brand lentils have no grams of fat (5 calories of fat, however), no cholesterol, or sodium, but have 27 g carbs (with fiber 15, sugars 2), and 13 grams of protein.
I don't get it. When I multiply the profile numbers with the number of calories in each macronutrient, I don't get the calorie count listed on either bag. What am I missing here?
I can come closest to their calorie counts when, for the Goya lentils, I add in the calories from the carbs (not counting fiber which I thought didn't have calories) plus the protein (I get 72 calories) and, for the 365 brand lentils, I add the calories from all the carbs (including fiber) plus the fat calories and protein (I get 165 calories). If, in the 365 brand lentils, I add the calories from the carbs excluding the fiber, the fat, and the protein, I get 105 calories.
It's just too confusing--especially at this time of the morning. :P
This strikes me as being rather like those little calorie-counter tables and booklets that are often handed out by doctors when they want you to lose; it depends on who drew up the table how many calories they assign to each thing! You wouldn't think so, but just pull out several different charts from different years and sources and you'll see I'm right. It's like those "ideal weight" charts. The ones from the 40's are different from the 60's or the ones you get now.
Sometimes I think it depends on approximations, others on who drew them up. Don't let it get to you; lentils are good food and healthy for you.
I don't get it. When I multiply the profile numbers with the number of calories in each macronutrient, I don't get the calorie count listed on either bag. What am I missing here?
a package of organic 365 brand lentils from Whole Foods that says 1/4 cup dry has 160 calories.
The 365 brand lentils have no grams of fat (5 calories of fat, however), no cholesterol, or sodium, but have 27 g carbs (with fiber 15, sugars 2), and 13 grams of protein.
I get that if I don't add in the 5 fat calories.
Carbohydrates: 27 g x (4 cal/g) = 108 cal
Protein: 13 g x (4 cal/g) = 52 cal
Fat: 0 g x (9 cal/g) = 0 cal
108 cal + 52 cal + 0 cal = 160 calories
I have a package of Goya lentils that says 1/4 cup dry has 70 calories
The Goya lentils have no fat (0 calories), cholesterol or sugar, but have 5 mg sodium, 19 g carbs (with fiber 9 g, sugars 0), and 8 g of protein. They are lower than the 365 in carbs (but most of that, of course is fiber) and protein.
i'm with you. I don't get 70 calories. Hmm... maybe I'm not calculating it right.
Carbohydrates: 19g x (4 cal/g) = 76 cal
Protein: 8 g x (4 cal/g) = 32 cal
Fat: 0 g x (9 cal/g) = 0 cal
76 cal + 32 cal + 0 cal = 108 calories
They are probably backing out calories for the fiber grams...like, I think you can back out 8-10 calories per fiber gram or something...I think I heard that somewhere but don't quote me on it...
Fiber is calorie-free, your body can't digest it. If anything, you burn calories passing it through your system. So, on the Whole Foods label, it sounds like they didn't bother subtracting the fiber. But on the Goya ones, they did. That accounts for a lot. As far as the more minor differences go, (70 vs. 80, or 110 vs. 160), companies are allowed to fudge a little in either direction, providing they've got the little calorie counter guide on the bottom, so they probably just rounded to make the numbers work out a little more even.
The gram count (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) are all rounded. I repeat: ROUNDED! I have tried to do these types of calculations before until I realized that the companies usually have a leeway of at least 0.5 grams in either direction (proper rounding or not) for giving the numbers, so it doesn't have to add up with the round numbers they give you on the package. Also, the calories given on the package are by law only allowed to vary by I think 5 calories (or was it 10?). That's how they can say that an oil spray is calorie free (1.5 calories or something like that can be labeled as 0 calories).
Anyway... I figure it does have to do with the cooked lentils taking up water. The USDA nutrition database tells me that "raw lentils" (aka "dry lentils") have 169 calories per 0.25 cups, and cooked/drained/unsalted lentils have 57 calories per 0.25 cups. I don't know which lentils they are talking about, because there are a million different kinds of lentils out there, but it proves a point. Food doesn't like to be put into square little boxes.