MetaChat - What does 200 calories look like?

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06 January 2007

What does 200 calories look like? "an entire plate of broccoli contains the same number of calories as a small spoonful of peanut butter". Sigh :(

post by: TheDonF at: 15:18 | 31 comments

I think you should take the peanut butter and that bacon right next to it and put it on the french sandwich roll and eat it.

posted by Specklet 06 January | 15:37

Naturally you'd have to butter the bread first.

posted by TheDonF 06 January | 15:40

Naturally.

posted by Specklet 06 January | 15:49

Even more discouraging: How long does it take to burn 100 calories?

Thanks for the link TheDonF. I dig stuff like this.

posted by LoriFLA 06 January | 15:58

Arrgh! Looks like I've got a lot of TV watching to do to lose weight. Still, I've got a fair few DVDs to get through. LoriFLA - no probs, I got it off Life Hacker.

posted by TheDonF 06 January | 16:05

Yeah, but you can't get 5 spoonfuls of brocolli on a spoon and lick it off like it was an ice cream cone.

I know, because I've tried. I like peanut butter AND brocolli. Just not at the same time.

posted by loquacious 06 January | 16:26

I visited another nifty calculator and figured that I burned at least 200 calories today walking up a lighthouse here in my town. 203 steps! Plus I walked another hell's half-acre surronding the area. Let's see if I can lay off the popcorn tonight.

More cool calculators: http://www.caloriecontrol.org/

posted by LoriFLA 06 January | 16:34

I would kill for the two glasses of cola and the red grapes. :-)

posted by LoriFLA 06 January | 16:35

Depends on whether you've got:

a: a huuuuuuuuge spoon
b: puréed broccoli

Although quite why you'd want to lick broccoli off a spoon is anyone's guess. I love that green stuff (as long as it's not overcooked, as both my parents are want to do) and peanut butter. I adore peanut butter, but haven't had it for years. What's needed is thick white bread with a thick layer of salted butter and then a thick layer of crunchy peanut butter. Oh yeah.

posted by TheDonF 06 January | 16:36

LoriFLA: I thought popcorn was meant to be okay for you as long as you didn't smother it in sugar, salt or whatever?

posted by TheDonF 06 January | 16:38

I have the ultra fattening, laden in oil, microwave variety. :)

posted by LoriFLA 06 January | 16:39

Hee. I actually ate an entire plate of broccoli the other night. Broccoli arrabiata, actually. Soooo good.

Of course, the next night I had an exceedingly greasy cheeseburger. Which was also sooooo good.

I figure I'm just going to work on offsetting my bad-for-you foods with good-for-you foods, and not worry too much about it. That is my January resolution.

posted by occhiblu 06 January | 16:44

I've not done too badly today, although I often wonder how many calories are in vending machine coffee whitener (don't tell me!) as I had loads of coffee at work today. Also: kudos to my company for having a Fair Trade option in our machines. The bottle of red wine I'm 2/3rd of the way through won't be helping, though.

I'm starting to be a little less anal about what I eat since I went away to France for a couple of weeks last year and ate an insane amount of cheese and other really bad things. And drunk a stupid amount of booze. I have put on weight - I can feel and see it, but as long as I can fit into my shirts and trousers, I'm okay with that. If you're really interested, check out this old AskMe answer...

posted by TheDonF 06 January | 17:09

"I like peanut butter AND brocolli. Just not at the same time."

Stay away from Thai food then. heheh

Actually though, it's not that bad. I have been making veggie smoothies for lunch, with broccoli, peanut butter, spring mix greens, kiwi or banana (can't do both, too much potassium), frozen berries, applesauce, and green tea. This varies from day to day.

posted by mischief 06 January | 17:15

You look fantastic! I remember this AskMe question. For some reason I didn't read the answers. What a wonderful, inspiring accomplishment.

posted by LoriFLA 06 January | 17:16

I like peanut butter AND brocolli. Just not at the same time.

Um, nummy nummy: one of my favorite standby dinners is blanched brocolli with peanut sauce (basically just natural peanut butter beaten with chili paste, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil) tossed with noodles or over brown rice. Add some sauteed tofu, shredded carrots, and coarsely chopped peanuts, and it's a big damn fancy dinner.

posted by Elsa 06 January | 17:27

Elsa just made me hungry.

posted by BoringPostcards 06 January | 17:42

Occhiblu, how do you make your broccoli arrabiata? Just cooked broccoli with an arrabiata sauce over it, or ...?

And on the broccoli + nuts theme, steamed broccoli tossed with a bit of toasted sesame oil is *damn* good.

posted by kat allison 06 January | 17:53

steamed broccoli tossed with a bit of toasted sesame oil is *damn* good.

katallison just made me hungry. Brocolli for dinner tonight.

posted by Elsa 06 January | 18:10

Occhiblu's broccoli arrabiata (2 big main-course servings):

Chop up two big stalks of (organic!) broccoli into large bite-sized pieces. (I really like the stalk part, so I cut that up, too.) Mince one clove garlic. Sautee the garlic in several tablespoons of olive oil (you need more than usual, because the broccoli tends to soak it up) with a few tsp. crushed red peppers. When the garlic gets fragrant, add the chopped broccoli. Cook over medium heat for about five minutes (basically until the broccoli gets bright green and starts to look cooked), then add half a large can of crushed tomatoes. Add salt. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the tomato cooks down and the oil separates, about 15 minutes. Add parmesan cheese if desired.

posted by occhiblu 06 January | 18:22

Actually, it occurs to me that the last time I made that, I used the entire can of crushed tomatoes.

posted by occhiblu 06 January | 18:24

Oh, mercy, that sounds good.

posted by Elsa 06 January | 18:30

It's so good. And penne arrabiata is my total comfort food, so this is a good way to get that "yay, huge bowl of pasta!" feeling without actually eating a huge bowl of pasta.

posted by occhiblu 06 January | 18:33

In my home, two of us go through about three heads of broccoli a week, between omelets, pastas, frittatas, and stirfries. (Kung Pao broccoli and tofu, YUM!)

Last spring, my partner asked me to teach him to cook, so I'm concentrating on the simplest dishes with big payoff. I'll add this recipe into our usual rotation. Thanks, occhiblu!

posted by Elsa 06 January | 18:53

I do love broccoli and have recently been eating the stalks as well. Over-cooked it's not great, but just al-dente is lovely.

And on the broccoli + nuts theme, steamed broccoli tossed with a bit of toasted sesame oil is *damn* good.

Toasted sesame oil is amazing with many things. I must get some more. Also: steaming is a fantastic way to cook veg. I even slice potatoes thinly and steam them with leaks, carrots and so forth. They go slightly creamy, I guess with the starch. Awesome with steamed leaks. Ack - it's past midnight now and I'm feeling hungry. Who started this thread? Oh...

posted by TheDonF 06 January | 19:08

Dammit. Does that mean I should stop eating peanut butter from the jar with a spoon? You're no fun.

I tried _once_ to eat baby carrots as a snack. EW. I might be able to eat them smothered in honey mustard, but, then, I might as well eat fries.

But well, given the top stuff, I guess this means I can eat Mongolian until I asplode without worries...

posted by qvantamon 06 January | 22:16

Y'all almost make me want to like broccoli.

posted by deborah 07 January | 00:00

TheDonF, you can also steam small red potatoes whole, or quartered if they are too large. You may already be using this variety, but the red potatoes are less starchy.

posted by LoriFLA 07 January | 11:00

Actually I don't mind the starchiness so much, it actually gives quite a nice texture (I want to say "mouth feel" but that'll just make me sound like I know what I'm talking about). I get a weekly box of organic fruit and veg from a local supplier so, although I get potatoes, I get whatever is grown/available locally - sometimes they're big, sometimes small, sometimes red, sometimes white. It's all good, though - and tasty :)

deborah: broccoli is fine if it's cooked well - as soon as it's overdone, it's horrible. As I've got some at the moment, I'm going to try the arrabiata tomorrow (if I remember)

posted by TheDonF 07 January | 11:51

Well that sounds wonderful. I would love to have a weekly box of organic fruit and veg. Suprisingly, we don't have a lot of local organic growers. I do have an organic herb garden, and I have also grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant organically in large pots and a small raised bed. Pepper plants last forever, but I should start more tomatoes. The plants have gone to hell with the steamy weather and the bugs.

I mostly cook frozen broccoli. It's easy and tastes pretty good.

posted by LoriFLA 07 January | 13:25

I'd love to grow more herbs and also start growing my own veg, but I live in a flat that has a shared garden that I don't think I'm allowed to play with. However, last summer I did go down under the cover of darkness, weed one of the beds and plant some Bay, Rosemary, Thyme and Mint :)

posted by TheDonF 07 January | 19:13

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