Based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) data, we have created a list of PCOS-friendly foods and their calories per 100 grams. All numbers are based on a raw measure, not cooked. The idea is to make it easy for you to swap out main recipe ingredients in PCOS recipes for a bit of variety without blowing your calories for the day. The more exact you can be, the better. It does involve math. We are sorry for that. You remember cross multiplication don’t you?
PCOS Recipes Food Swapping Example 1:
Swapping from a LOWER calorie food to a HIGHER calorie food. You have a recipe that calls for scallops. But you want to swap out the scallops for king crab.
A. Figure out how many calories of scallops the recipe calls for:
Step 1: Look at the Food Swap List and see how many calories are in 100 grams of Scallops.
Scallops = 62 calories / 100 grams
Step 2: Check how many grams of scallops the recipe calls for.
Recipe calls for = 170 grams of scallops
Step 3: Figure out how many total calories of scallops are in the recipe.
62 calories / 100 grams = X calories / 170 grams
(If there are 62 calories in 100 grams of scallops per our list, how many calories are in 170 grams?)
Step 4: Do the cross multiplication.
62 x 170 = 10,540
10,540 / 100 = 105
There are 105 calories in 170 grams of scallops.
B. Figure out how many grams of King Crab = 105 calories:
Step 1: Look at the Food Swap List and see how many calories are in 100 grams of King Crab.
King Crab = 84 calories / 100 grams
Step 2: Set up the cross multiplication problem to solve for grams based on our goal calories = 105
84 calories / 100 grams = 105 calories / X grams
(If there are 84 calories in 100 grams of King Crab per our list, to make 105 calories, how many grams do we need?)
Step 3: Do the cross multiplication.
100 x 105 = 10,500
10,500 / 84 = 125
There are 125 grams of King Crab per 105 calories.
C. Check it over:
170 grams of scallops = 105 calories.
125 grams of King Crab = 105 calories.
King Crab is higher in calories than Scallops, so instead of using 170 grams of scallops per the recipe, you’d decrease it to 125 grams of King Crabs and PRESTO, CHANGE-O, keep your calories the same. Good job!
PCOS Recipes Food Swapping Example 2:
Swapping from a HIGHER calorie food to a LOWER calorie food. You have a recipe that calls for King Crab. But you want to swap out the King Crab for Scallops.
A. Figure out how many calories of King Crab the recipe calls for:
Step 1: Look at the Food Swap List and see how many calories are in 100 grams of King Crab.
King Crab = 84 calories / 100 grams
Step 2: Check how many grams of king crab the recipe calls for.
Recipe calls for = 180 grams of king crab
Step 3: Figure out how many total calories of King Crab are in the recipe.
84 calories / 100 grams = X calories / 180 grams
(If there are 84 calories in 100 grams of King Crab per our list, how many calories are in 180 grams?)
Step 4: Do the cross multiplication.
84 x 180 = 15,120
15,120 / 100 = 151
There are 151 calories in 180 grams of King Crab.
B. Figure out how many grams of Scallops = 151 calories:
Step 1: Look at the Food Swap List and see how many calories are in 100 grams of Scallops.
Scallops = 62 calories / 100 grams
Step 2: Set up the cross multiplication problem to solve for grams based on our goal calories = 151
62 calories / 100 grams = 151 calories / X grams
(If there are 62 calories in 100 grams of Scallops per our list, to make 151 calories, how many grams do we need?)
Step 4: Do the cross multiplication.
100 x 151 = 15,100
15,100 /62 = 243
There are 243 grams of Scallops per 151 calories.
C. Check it over:
243 grams of scallops = 151 calories.
180 grams of King Crab = 151 calories.
Scallops are lower in calories than King Crab, so instead of using 180 grams of King Crab per the recipe, you’d increase it to 243 grams of Scallops to keep your calories the same. And your dinner just got bulkier for a fuller belly!
Notes:
Try to swap foods that are fairly close in quantity per calories. For example, swapping out big, voluminous, low-calorie scallops for an itty bitty portion of high calorie fish roe would probably destroy the integrity of any recipe.
More PCOS know-how:
Give our Recipes a try. You’ll find you can swap out proteins and veggies on lots of our recipes to avoid your less favorite foods and also to create more variations on the foods you love. Learn a bit more about how we structure meals in our PCOS Nutrition Meal Structuring article.
Check out our YouTube Channel for supportive videos weekly on PCOS Nutrition, PCOS Inspiration, PCOS Training, PCOS Mental Health, and PCOS Accountability.