Understanding Raw vs Finished Weight in Recipes

Why Recipes Use Cooked Weight

When you see ingredient amounts in our recipes, they represent the **finished weight**—the amount your dog will actually eat after cooking. This isn't arbitrary. Nutritional values are calculated based on what's consumed, not what you start with. When meat cooks, it loses moisture and shrinks. When grains cook, they absorb water and expand. The nutrients per gram change significantly between raw and cooked states. Our recipes are formulated using cooked weights because that's what matters nutritionally—the actual grams of food entering your dog's bowl.

The Nutritional Reality

Nutritional databases (like USDA) provide separate entries for raw and cooked foods because the nutrient density changes. 100g of raw chicken breast has different protein content than 100g of cooked chicken breast. We use cooked values to ensure accurate nutrition.

The Challenge of Meal Prep

Here's the practical problem: you need to **buy and weigh raw ingredients**, but the recipe shows **finished cooked amounts**. If a recipe calls for 165g of cooked chicken breast, how much raw chicken should you buy? If you need 250g of cooked rice, how much dry rice do you start with? Without this information, meal prep becomes guesswork—and getting portions wrong affects your dog's nutrition.

How Blue Input Weights Help

To solve this, we show **two weights** for ingredients that change during cooking: - **Grey weight**: The finished/cooked amount (what appears in the bowl) - **Blue weight**: The raw/input amount (what you should buy and weigh before cooking) When you see a blue weight next to the grey weight, it tells you exactly how much raw ingredient to start with to end up with the correct finished amount.

How the raw and finished weights display

Quick Reference

**Grey weight** = Finished amount (what your dog eats) **Blue weight** = Buy amount (what you purchase and weigh raw)

Practical Example

Let's say a recipe shows: **Chicken, breast, cooked**: 165g → **220g** This means: - Your dog will eat **165g** of cooked chicken (grey = nutritional basis) - You should buy and weigh **220g** of raw chicken breast (blue = shopping amount) - The chicken will lose about 25% of its weight during cooking For rice, it works the opposite way: **Rice, white, cooked**: 250g → **100g** - Your dog will eat **250g** of cooked rice - You should measure **100g** of dry rice before cooking - The rice absorbs water and expands roughly 2.5x

Where You'll See This

The dual-weight display appears in three places: 1. **Recipe Ingredient List** — The main ingredients section shows both weights 2. **Recipe Steps** — When a step references an ingredient, you'll see the buy amount 3. **Shopping List Emails** — Your emailed shopping list includes a legend explaining the format This consistency ensures you always know exactly what to buy, regardless of where you're viewing the recipe.

Shopping List Emails

Your shopping list emails include a legend at the top explaining the weight format. Look for the "Finished → Buy amount" guide to understand the dual weights at a glance.

Summary

**Key takeaways:** - Recipe amounts show **finished/cooked weight** because that's what's nutritionally relevant - **Blue weights** tell you how much raw ingredient to buy and weigh - Meats **lose** weight when cooked (buy more than the finished amount) - Grains **gain** weight when cooked (buy less than the finished amount) - These conversions are based on USDA cooking yield data for accuracy With this system, you can confidently shop and prep knowing your portions will be correct.