Costco Connection | January | For Your Table | Nutrition facts
FOR YOUR TABLE
© NELEA REAZANTEVA
Nutrition facts
Tips on deciphering nutritional information in your favorite recipes
by VICKI SHANTA RETELNY
Unlike the packaged foods and beverages on supermarket shelves, your favorite recipes may not come with nutrition facts. You might wonder if your favorite recipes are smart choices: How many calories, how much fat and sugar, and what other nutrients are in them?
Becoming an informed home cook is all about knowing where to turn for nutrition facts, which is important for reducing health problems and increasing longevity.
Nutrition facts essentials
Empowering yourself with nutrition know-how is easier when you have the facts in front of you. Before you start calculating, you should understand how to assess nutrition facts:
- Serving size is an ideal place to start. Keep in mind that suggested serving sizes can be smaller than you think. If one cup is a single serving, then the nutrition facts are based on a cup. If you eat two cups, you are getting double the calories, fat, carbs and other nutrients.
- Calories per serving is based on a single serving, not the whole recipe.
- Percent Daily Values (DV) reveal how a recipe affects your total daily diet, based on 2,000 calories a day. (You may need more or less than 2,000 calories a day.) Focus on the percent DV of important nutrients, such as fiber, potassium, vitamin D, calcium and iron. Note: If a recipe provides 5% DV or less of a nutrient, such as sodium, per serving, it’s considered a low-sodium recipe; if it contains 20% DV or more sodium per serving, it’s considered high in sodium.