Marinade's and Carbs

[robschott]

I'm making a chicken dish tonite that the marinade is a dry powder pkg that I am supposed to mix with 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup oil..total carbs in the whole package for the dry mix is 18..
My question is..with a marinade..how much of the marinade/carbs..actually end up on/in the meat?

I would think normally that if you are discarding the marinade after letting the meat marinade in it for however long you are doing it..that you could minus a good amount of those carbs??

What about if you are cooking the meat in the marinade as well?

Any thoughts/experience?

If this thread should go elsewhere..please let me know.

Thanks, Robin

[amdawson]

i think a lot of the people who are hardcore LCers would ask why you would use that powder at all when there are so many good, LC ways to flavor your food. I've looked at those packages at the store before and always steered clear.

If you look closely at the labels on some of the bottled marinades, you can sometimes find one with only 1 or 2 carbs per serving.

But - the meat will soak up some of the stuff in the marinade, and yes, you can probably subtract a bit of the carbs on the package, but if it were me, I'd either avoid the stuff or count the whole amount just to be safe.

[maxlharris]

Okay, got interrupted at work trying to respond to this, so here goes...

If you want to be hard core:
You figure the volume for your marinade (in this case, .5 cups)
You marinade the item.
You reserve the marinade into your measuring cup.
Figure how much got absorbed by your meat (say there is 1/3rd of a cup left, you figure 1/6th is gone)
Double it (factor for meat juice back in the marinade... fluid exchange, but that sounds gross... for our example, it's 1/3rd of a cup)
Figure out what portion of the marinade that is (2/3rds).
And multiply your carb count for the packet by that fraction (18 * 2/3 = 12... a no no, unless it's multi-portion).

I would second AMDawson's question of Why use the powder?

Many better things. Many things that will make zero carb marinades. If you are buying good stuff, you maybe don't need a marinade. If you are buying stuff that needs help, you just need an emulsifier (like olive oil), an acid (like lime juice or red wine) and maybe something for character (like garlic, or tabasco, or some herbs).

[amdawson]

people can speak for themselves, but i also wanted to point out that i suspect another good reason many people on this board would stay away from that stuff is because of what it's made of, not just because it's carby. it might be labeled what
people around here affectionately call "frankenfood." and whether it has carbs or not, some of the more 'purist' eaters around here would definitely be averse to putting stuff like this in their body.

i've noticed that you say you buy all-natural meats. i certainly wouldn't spend the extra money on all natural meat if i was just going to bring it home and put this stuff on it.

here's an ingredients list (my italics) for mccormick's honey bbq chicken seasoning mix. the website says this pkg has 30g carbs, 5 per serving.

TOMATO, BROWN SUGAR (carb), SALT, MODIFIED CORN STARCH (carb), GARLIC, ONION, SUGAR (carb), SPICES (INCLUDING BLACK PEPPER, RED PEPPER, AND CHILI PEPPER), RED BELL PEPPER, SUNFLOWER OIL, MALTODEXTRIN (carb), SILICON DIOXIDE (ADDED TO MAKE FREE FLOWING) (extremely gross), CARAMEL COLOR (gross), DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE (FLAVOR ENHANCERS) (gross...suspiciously similar to MSG), EXTRACTIVES OF PAPRIKA (maybe ok, maybe gross), VINEGAR SOLIDS (you must be kidding. gross) , NATURAL FLAVOR (whatever swept up off the floor), AND ACETIC ACID (cage match of the stomach acids)

i bet they list them in all caps to make it frustrating/hard to read, because if people read that....watch out. anyway, bon appetit!

[robschott]

Hi, thanks for all the feedback..I normally use non packeged seasonings (meaning not a specific seasoning packet like this pre-mixed Mesquite seasoning) but ones like garlic powder, adobo, black pepper..etc, and yes, some bottled premixed seasonings like Mrs. Dash SW seasoning..this packet was one I had for a while and did not realize how high carb it was until I was getting ready to make it..then I thought, well it is multi portion, and not all of the carbs will actually make it into my mouth..
Obviously I was a bad low carber for even thinking such blesphamy..(kidding, i really appreciate the feedback)

[Spruce Goose]

Not a bad low-carber just for considering it :) I've been in situations with other foods and thought "hmm, would it really be so bad if I'm not eating all of it".

But generally why I avoid that type of stuff is that I'm not hardcore enough to do the real counting Max's way and I know I'd underestimate if I eyeballed it.

Sometimes (especially when fitday logging) I find myself opting to not eat food that'd make me think too much. I want to keep track of my numbers but I'm lazy so I stick to easy stuff.

[maxlharris]

Here's the thing.
You look at the package that am dawson has listed above.
I can mash a couple of small tomatoes up, add black pepper, olive oil, chile flakes, some vinegar, a dash of accent (I am not wigged by MSG, this is wholly optional), and a packet of splenda. Roughly the same result, drastically lower carbs. Have acid (vinegar and tomato), have emulsifier (olive oil) have flavor adds (pepper, chile, Accent, splenda). Am ready to rock a cut that needs help out, hard core. Took me five minutes.

Marinades are super easy to build at home. As are rubs. And nothing I make at home has extra chemical additives that I might be better served without (again, I am not wigged by MSG, and I like the umami flavor).