Nutritional Analysis

How to Use It and Why

Glance at the end of any Cooking Light recipe, and you’ll see how committed we are to helping you make the best of today’s light cooking. With chefs, registered dietitians, home economists, and a computer system that analyzes every ingredient we use, Cooking Light gives you authoritative dietary detail like no other magazine. We go to such lengths so you can see how our recipes fit into your healthful eating plan. If you’re trying to lose weight, the calorie and fat figures will probably help most. But if you’re keeping a close eye on the sodium, cholesterol, and saturated fat in your diet, we provide those numbers, too. And because many women don’t get enough iron or calcium, we can help there, as well. Finally, there’s a fiber analysis for those of us who don’t get enough roughage.

Here’s a helpful guide to put our nutritional analysis numbers into perspective. Remember, one size doesn’t fit all, so take your lifestyle, age, and circumstances into consideration when determining your nutrition needs. For example, pregnant or breast-feeding women need more protein, calories, and calcium. And women older than 50 need 1,200mg of calcium daily, 200mg more than the amount recommended for younger women.

The nutritional values used in our calculations either come from The Food Processor, Version 8.9 (ESHA Research), or are provided by food manufacturers.