Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Product Review: Starfrit Kitchen Scale

"Guessing is no substitute for knowing." ~ BornSquishy 

I have a pretty uncanny spacial ability.  When it comes to packing up a vehicle I've jokingly refereed to myself as the "master packer".  When I say a vehicle is full, it's full.   When I need a wrench for a bolt I can usually pick up the right one for the job the first time.  When I'm building something I can accurately guess how much lumber I'll need.  When it comes to leftovers I can pick out the perfect container to hold it.  Need a cup of milk I don't need to measure..... or do I?

Guessing the size of a wrench doesn't really matter.  If you grab the wrong one you simply put it back and grab the next smaller or larger one, which also applies to the leftovers.  Guessing the amount of lumber needed incorrectly can result in either another trip to the store or extra lumber for your next project.

When it comes to food guessing truly is no substitute for knowing.  Being off by a little can cause you to consume far more calories in a day than expected and it can sabotage your efforts and ultimately discourage you from trying.

While measuring cups are useful and accurate, I find my Starfrit scale to be easier, quicker and indispensable.


Manufacturer: Starfrit
Product Name: Electronic Kitchen Scale
Model: 0930160030000
Size: W 5.75" x D 8" x H 2"
Weight:  Less than 3 lbs
Manual: PDF
Cost: $29.99
My Rating: 10 out of 10

Description: 
- Capacity : 5 kg / 11 lb
- Accuracy : 1.0 g / 0.05 oz
- Tempered glass platform
- Automatic conversion feature (imperial / metric)
- Zero and tare functions
- Uses one 9 V battery (not-included)

Warranty: 1yr with proof of purchase. 

Buttons -  There's only 3: "Unit", "Z/T", and "On/Off".

Unit - Changes the unit of measurement from kilograms (kg.) to pounds (lbs.), to ounces (oz.).
Z/T - Stands for "Zero / Tear" which simply zero's out the weight currently on the scale (explained in more detail soon).
On/Off - If I had to explain this button there'd be noway that you'd be reading this right now.

PRODUCT REVIEW

Ease of Use - This scale is REALLY easy to use.  Turn it on, wait for it to zero, put something on it, choose your unit of measurement, done.  If you want to weight something in a container or on a plate, either put the container/plate on the scale before you turn it on, and it will zero the weight out before you start weighing, or put the container/plate on the scale after it zero's out and press the "Z/T" button to zero the weight of the container/plate.

If I'm making a sandwich for work here's what I do:
  1. Put 2 slices of bread on a plate.
  2. Put the plate on the scale and turn it on.
  3. Wait a few seconds for the scale to zero out.
  4. Add some sort of meat and record weight.
  5. Press "Z/T" to zero out the weight.
  6. Add cheese and record the weight.
  7. Press "Z/T" again to zero out the weight.
  8. Continue the weigh/record/"Z/T" process for any number of ingredients.
  9. Wrap up my sandwich
  10. Wipe of the crumbs and put the plate away.
  11. Turn off the scale and put it away.
  12. Done
The process barely adds any time at all to preparing my lunch.  I eluded to the fact that using this scale was easier than measuring cups, when I put peanut butter on my toast I'm able to simple spread it onto my toast and weight it as apposed to scoping it in and out of a measuring cup before being able to spread it on... and you still have to wash the measuring cup when all is said and done.  Rating: 10/10

Power - I love the fact that you don't have to plug it in.  It takes up less space, you don't need to wrap up the power cord, find an outlet, and it takes less time to put away.  It takes a single 9 V battery and while I haven't used it a lot until recently, I've had the battery in it for over a year and it's still going, so battery consumption is pretty low.  Rating: 5/5

Storage - Another thing I really like about this scale is that it stands up on it's side so it only takes up 2" worth of space.  Not having a power cord also makes putting it away easier, and takes up less space too.  Rating: 5/5

RATING TOTAL - 20/20

The good:  Inexpensive, easy to use, does what it's supposed to do.

The bad: I honestly don't have anything bad to say about this product.  If I come across anything I'll be sure to update this post and possibly the rating.

The bottom line: You really can't go wrong with this product.  It takes all the guessing out of calorie counting and it's a fabulous product.

Here's a few other reviews that I managed to find:
http://www.amazon.com
http://reviews.homedepot.ca/1998/949796/reviews.htm

P.S - In regards to the quote "Guessing is no substitute for knowing", well here's a few examples:

Example 1 - 1 Tbsp of  my 100% Peanut butter weights 15 grams and has 100 calories.  A mistake as small as 5 grams puts you off by 33% which is over 33 calories.  If you put 2 tbsp's on your toast like I do that's over 66 calories each breakfast, 466 calories a week, 1866 calories a month, which equates to more than a half a pound.  All that for overestimating a tbsp of peanut butter.

Example 2 - 85g of the whole wheat pasta I use contains 310 calories.  A mistake as small as 15g puts you off by 55 calories, and thats for only one ingredient of the meal.  

Remember the guy with the uncanny spacial abilities?  Well after using the scale religiously for the last few weeks, I can tell you that he was off by more in both the above examples.  Using a scale and recording my meals/snacks is a big reason why I'm being very successful lately.

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