Ok, we’re going to have a Boboli thin crust pizza tonight, and I’m looking at the “nutrition facts” to see how carbs it has. The label says it has five servings, and each 1/5 of the pizza is 28 grams. Will you please tell me who can cut up a pizza into five equal pieces? Just tell me how many carb are in the whole thing, please! The other one that gets me is Campbell’s soups - you gotta be kidding me that those little cans are 2 1/2 servings!
Amen on the Pizza nutrition facts! I’ve never figured out why anyone would cut a pizza into odd numbered slices. It’s way easier to do an even number.
When I look at a label like that I say a silent prayer of thanks to my mom who taught me how to do fractions!
I think Nutrition labels should be required to use a serving size that a real person would actually eat. 1/2 cup of icecream? I don’t know anyone who eats 1/2 cup.
I agree. I was complaining just last night about Weight Watchers recipes calling for fractions of a recipe. There are two of us. I have to cut this minestrone into 4 quarters. Funny, but when you slice a soup, nothing happens. laughs Couldn’t they just say a cup and a half? Is it so hard? Or weight by volume? Anything that doesn’t make me have to dirty four equal sized bowls and eyeball it so that I know I’m getting just the right amount! Then I have to get out the storage bowls so that I can refrigerate it in pre-measured portions.
Tonight, it’s 1/8th of a low-fat lasagna. “@?$%?@$!”
That is so aggravating! Who on earth decides on this stuff? It can’t possibly be anyone who actually has to measure their food. I bought some frozen pizza that was 3 servings. I ended up multiplying the carbs by 3, then dividing that total by 2, and cut the pizza in half. I think I can usually mange by doing something like that, but I could do without the extra work. There’s enough work already!
here’s another good one. I love these rice crunch crackers by Kame. especially the wasabi flavor. The label on the sesame ones says one serving is 19 crackers, 26 grams. Now these are not tiny crackers, they are maybe 2 inches across. I’d never eat as many as 19! And besides, 19 being a prime number, you can’t divide it by anything. Of course, I just round it out to 20, and divide that. My husband’s in the food business, so I like to complain about stuff like this.
Beans…almost always 3.5 servings per can. I actually use a nutritinal scale to wiegh them becuse they are so carb-rich, I don’t want to make an error eyeballing or rounding off.
A scale is great for things like beans, pasta, rice, fresh fruit (exactly how big is a “small” apple anyway!?)… I could go on and on. I use it for all these foods as long as the label says how many grams are in a serving. I know some people are reluctant to use a scale because they think it’ll be too much trouble, but it saves an incredible amount of guess work.
I’ve been meaning to get one - any suggestions on which one?
I bought a cheap digital scale for weighing parcel’s. Just make sure it is digital and does grams. As for a look up book I use calorie king which was given to me by my DE.
Marie, I’ve been making my own pizza since 1974. The challenge, of course, is the crust; however, we now have bread machines to do the mixing. Roll out the dough as thin as you can. But, let’s face it, pizza is like cereals: You’re going to take in some carbs.
Mel Wright
I recommend a food scale with a removable table (mine has a glass top). It is best if it can do ounces and grams (fewer and fewer packages in the US list ounces anymore), and it is handy if it goes up to 10 pounds. You can find one for around $40-$50. I think I got mine at Bed Bath & Beyond, which doesn’t have the lowest prices ever.
Of course you can get a cheap postage scale but it is unlikely to use grams, and it is unlikely to be easily washable.
Theres actually a move in the US to standardize portion sizes on a per type of product basis…
Not sure if it will get anywhere or how much better it will be…
I know! This has been in the news recently… Apparently, the serving sizes we eat now, were serving sizes the FDA did some research on back in the 1950s, to see how much people ate, normally… But food manufacturers have taken the opportunity to make ridiculously small portions, packed with huge amounts of carbs, fat, sugar, salt, and calories… so the FDA is considering launching a study to update the portions standards people eat, so they can put pressure on food manufacturers to make more sensible (to today’s standards) portion sizes, that allow people to actually eat healthier without feeling the need to binge for more than their serving size, thus help (at least in some way) fight obesity. I hope it’s not just all talk, and they really do it. lol
Our current portion sizes, according to the FDA, are standardized… they’re just standardized according to portion sizes people ate back in the 1950s. lol The FDA is reconsidering relaunching a study to update those standard portion sizes according to what ‘normal’ people eat today.
Multiply by five then divide by the number of slices you’re actually going to make. Or cut it into sixths and throw one away. 
Why do they make is so difficult and obscure? It must be the marketing department. They slice the product up into enough ‘servings’ to make the calories or other items look more attractive and count on you not to pay attention to the number of servings.
Terry
Actually, we need to get back to the portions of the 50s. The problem is that packaging is ridiculous for portion sizes (who is going to deal with a can of soup that says 2 1/2 servings? Will we save the other 1/2 serving till the next time 2 people have soup, and then there will be 1 serving left over? Give me a break! LOL)
Yeah, I think their point was to try to force them to pack more nutrition into their serving size, and lesser calories… by giving people a bigger serving, for their money. Like say, make the whole can a serving, instead of just added so much junk to it that it becomes 2 1/2 servings…
i saw a funny one on a pack of chocolate peanuts that i got out of a vending machine when i was low… serving size: 25 peanuts. servings per container 1.25.
I mean seriously? 1.25…? who is going to just eat the one serving and leave about 6 peanuts in the bag?
Yes, Maria I feel your pain…there many folks like you that are trying to make of our food labels and its parent. Have no Fear our team at Health Consultants4u are working with Campbells soup and other food manufacturers to redisign labels and edit them for clarity. We tell them if you want consumers to buy your product then work with us to make “sense of these numbers”
Yes, I have seen many like those…or how about Sports Gatorade where it says caloreies from sugar=96 when total calories per serving is 90 calories. Have no fear we are speaking to food companies and getting them to make food labeling improvements. However, Trying to get them to move is like trying to move a mountain…sometimes you need dynamite power of persuasion to change minds. Change is very hard at times