Calorie Counter » Reader Queries

Christmas Calories

Calorie Counter Team — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:09:52 +0000

Plenty of you asking for it, so here we are:

Main meal

Roast Turkey (meat only) 140
Meat and Skin 171
Green Beans 22
Carrot 25
Swede 11
Roast Potato 150
Mashed Potato 110
Gravy 33

Puddings and snacks

Christmas Cake 359
Christmas Pudding 291
Mince Pie 244
Christmas Log 436
Roast Peanuts 295
Nuts and Raisins 234
Tangerines 40
Dates 24

Calorie count round-up

Calorie Counter Team — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 16:48:51 +0000

A busy postbag this month, so let’s get to it!

How many calories in parsnips?
There are only 70 calories per serving of boiled parsnips. If you would rather roast the parsnips, cut them up thickly and use a light coating of olive oil, then soak on absorbent kitchen towels to reduce the fat content.

How many calories in a jacket potato?
In an average sized jacket there are 125 calories, but that’s before you’ve put anything on it! Go for light margarine instead of butter, baked beans, chilli, tuna, cottage cheese, or reduced fat cheese or coleslaw.

How many calories in deer meat?
In roast venison there are 165 calories per serving. As with all meats, trim off excess fat, and drain on kitchen towel before serving with lots of vegetables!

How many calories in a banana?
Bananas are very good choice of snack with around 100 calories each. They do have a slightly higher fat content than some other fruits.

How many calories in raisins?
Raisins have quite a lot of calories with 247 per 100g, although they are a healthier choice of snack than crisps or chocolate.

How many calories in strawberries?
Strawberries are an excellent choice for a snack, especially at this time of year when they are cheaper. They only have 30 calories per serving and are very versatile, with low fat yoghurt, low fat ice cream etc as a dessert.

Chinese meal calorie counts

Calorie Counter Team — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:40:35 +0000

A visitor asks: I’ve been invited out for a Chinese meal, what should I choose?

Generally Chinese cooking is very healthy, especially stir fries and vegetables. Here are some meals and their calorie contents.

Chicken Chop Suey: 425
Chicken Chow Mein: 715
Sweet and Sour Pork: 860
Sweet and Sour Prawns: 470
Egg Fu Yung: 750
Prawn Crackers: 15 each
Fried Rice: 555
Spring Roll: 120
Spare Ribs: 140

Those prawn crackers can add up quickly, so go easy on them and enjoy your meal!

Your Questions

Calorie Counter Team — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:42:42 +0000

This doctor wanted my niece also to be put on his special metabolic injections and appetite suppressants etc etc but my sister completely disallowed this, believing it unhealthy for a young teenager. He has said that she should be weighed at his clinic once a week for a cost of R2000 a month and that on reaching her goal weight, she should continue to be weighed weekly for a period of 6 months (and a cost of R2000 per month).
Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. I am very concerned that this “diet” is going to do permanent damage to my niece.
It sounds like this diet is going to do serious damage to your bank balance! Here at Calorie Counter we would definitely advise against spending lots of money on slimming products. I think the best thing the whole family can do for your niece is to be supportive, encourage her, and buy lots of healthy foods that you can all enjoy. It is important that your niece is a healthy weight, but without becoming obsessive about dieting, which could have long terms effects on her happiness. I would suggest you all look at making some changes to your lifestyle to eat a healthy balanced diet that you can stick to for life, have a look round the rest of the site for some ideas.

How many calories would/do you burn on a full 1 hour “CardioKick” class?
It depends a bit on how hard you were working, but on average this type of exercise burns 400 calories per hour – the equivalent of… a quarter pound burger… two cherry bakewells… four chocolate chip cookies… a chicken kiev… four bottles of lager… well worth the effort!

I am trying to lose weight at the moment, and I have found that fresh fruit is a great substitute for snacks if I find myself hungry between meals. If I am counting calories, do I need to count the calories in fruit, or can I eat as much as I like?
You are right that fresh fruit, and vegetables are the best choice of snack for anyone who is watching their weight. An apple for example only contains around 50 calories, where a bar of chocolate around 250, a banana has 100 calories and a cake 300, a peach has only 40 calories and a bag of crisps between 130 and 250! Fruit also has much less fat than other snacks, but if you are on a calorie counted diet you still need to include them.

Our web site is visited by people all over the world, and sometimes our British measurements can cause confusion. The values below will help you simply convert pounds to kilos and vice versa.
One pound equals 0.4536kg (multiply by 0.4536 to convert pounds to kgs)
1kg equals 2.205 pounds (multiply by 2.205 to convert kgs to pounds)
There are 14 pounds in one stone (multiply stones by 14 to find out weight in pounds)
There are 6.350kg in one stone (multiply by 6.350 to convert stones to kg)