The Kitchen

You already know that our bulk-packed pasta is a great bargain, incredibly healthy and tasty to boot. I'd like to use this post to help make it a little more convenient to use, also.

Our 1/2-lb boxes were designed to make it easy to cook up enough for a meal for two, but it's a little trickier with a 10-lb bags. If you're watching your calories, you're going to be especially sensitive to how much food you're consuming at each sitting.

The FDA standard size for pasta on the Nutrition Facts is 2 oz (56g), but most American prefer a heartier meal of 3 - 4 ounces at a sitting, so we'll work around that. If you keep a scale in your kitchen, you're actually all set: measure the desired number of ounces using the scale, and multiply it by the info on our Nutrition Facts panel.

What if you, like most people don't keep a scale in your kitchen? The first thing you have to remember is that to work out the calories accurately you need a weight measure, not a volume one. Your standard measuring cup measures volume of course, specifically the volume of water. Unfortunately, water is a lot denser than pasta, so that's less than helpful.

In the following pictures, you'll see how much volume 4 oz of each of our bulk-packed pastas - elbow, rotini, and penne - takes up in a standard 2-cup measuring cup. Because the different shapes pack and compress at different efficiencies, the values vary: They measure approximately:

• 1 cup for elbow;
• 1 and 1/3 cup for penne; and
• 1 and 2/3 cup for rotini

One last tip: I would recommend storing the pasta in airtight plastic castainers, Ziploc gallon bags, or even just clipping the opening shut for added freshness when storing it in your pantry.