Serving size

Serving size is a total joke! I can not stand it. As in Europe, the manufacturers in US have to write nutrition data on their edible products. In Europe, it's all nice and easy to read/compare - everything is given according to 100 grams. Nutrition data lists the amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in 100 grams. Sometimes it also lists those things for the serving and then the serving is usually the entire content of the package.

8 servings per pack

In USA, the nutrition data presenting way is, to put it mildly, horribly idiotic. All the products have nutrition data written on them, but it's given according to "1 serving". Oh that's so convenient and wise. This makes it so much more simple, you think! Well, let me elaborate how this works. I went to the store to find good granola (processed muesli) for breakfast. I am quite interested in nutrition so I wasn't only comparing package and price, I was also trying to see what's inside it. I really want to avoid low-fat "healthy" stuff so I have to be very careful what I buy. So I compared - "so many grams of fat, so many grams of protein - oooh, more protein here! ... Oh wait, serving size! 40g vs 48g... How do I calculate this... ummm..." I tried for 10 seconds and then picked the granola with prettier picture.

Another time, I was trying to buy a snack. Just something simple but I don't know any of the products so I had to somehow make sure what I pick is not 50% fat or anything like that. I read the label. "5g of fat per serving, altogether 120kcal. Ah that's not much. Oh wait, how many servings are in this package - 2.5?! What?! Who the hell would split this small thing for two and a HALF people?! And now...2.5 times 120kcal...". Next time I didn't even bother to read the label.

Tiny macaroni.

Today I was going to cook a tiny pack of macaroni. I think it should last me two meals, because it's 200g of uncooked pasta, and usually at home we shared 400g pack for three people and that was a good amount for dinner. We also had at least 100g of meat plus some sauce with it. Well, take a wild guess how many portions 200g of pasta really is. Think how many plates, how many meals could you get from one 200g pack of macaroni. And the real answer is *drums* 4.5 portions! That means that if you have 9 people coming over, cook one 400g pack of pasta and some side-dishes and you're done! And pasta is quite healthy as well - only 160 kcal per serving!

Anyway, change of topic.

Today was a very sunny day. I spent 3 and a half hours of prime noon time sunbathing by the pool. I am almost starting to look like I have a tan. For a while I thought my skin is absolutely sun-resistant. First time in the sun it usually burns and then I can spend hours in the sun without my skin even realizing it's being brutally radiated. Days of sunbathing can have no visible effect at all.

I spent that entire time reading my book. The main character is the coolest book character ever! He kicks ass! Kills baddies and gets the girls. Without my speed reading husband around, I don't feel so horrible about being such a terribly slow reader. And yes, it's been a month and I'm still reading the SAME book.