Lentils — cooked: how many calories?

Where do the calories come from?

• Protein 30%
• Carbs 67%
• Fat 3%

These percentages come from calories, not from grams: a gram of protein or carbohydrate counts as 4 calories, a gram of fat as 9. Alcohol is left out of the sum, fibre is counted with the carbohydrate, and the total always lands on one hundred.

What do these numbers mean on the plate?

Lentils — cooked carries 1.2 calories per gram: 100 calories come to 86 grams. This is the typical range of cooked home food — as the portion grows the calories grow with it, and both move at the same pace.

A typical portion is 150 g. Because tables are written per 100 grams, counting the portion as 100 grams too is a common mistake; for Lentils — cooked that means understating the calories by 33%.

In calories, one portion (150 g · 174 kcal) comes to: 145 g Quinoa — cooked. Quinoa — cooked page

One portion every day adds up to 63,510 calories a year — roughly a 8.2 kg difference. This is a linear estimate and an upper bound: as weight changes, daily needs change with it. Build your own timeline

The cooking method is decisive here: boiling barely changes the calories per gram, while frying adds fat and can load 50-90 calories onto 100 grams.

Household measure equivalents

A cup measures 200 millilitres, not 200 grams; the grams in the table therefore come from the food's own bulk density rather than from volume. Packing the cup down or chopping more finely shifts the figure by 10-20%. Convert your own measure

How much of the daily reference intake?

The reference values are the figures EU Regulation 1169/2011 gives for an average adult — the %RI column on labels rests on the same numbers. They are not a personal target; the fibre row is not in the regulation, the 25 grams there is EFSA's adequate intake for adults. Work out your own calorie needs

Where does it sit within its group?

It is number 3 of the 13 foods in the Meat, fish and legumes group by calories per 100 grams. The group averages 156 kcal; Lentils — cooked is 26% below that average.

Lighter options at the same 150 grams

The “good swap” mark only appears when an option lowers the calories without also lowering protein and fibre per 100 calories. Unmarked rows save calories but give up nutrient density. Try it with your own portion

How long does it take to burn one portion (150 g)?

• Walking — brisk (5.6 km/h)43 min
• Running — 8 km/h (7:30 min/km)19 min
• Cycling — 16-19 km/h24 min

These minutes are the NET burn for a 70 kg body: the resting calories that would have been spent sitting on the sofa anyway are already taken out of the total. A heavier body gets the same work done in less time. Calculate with your own weight

Foods with similar calories

• Quinoa — cooked100 g · 120 kcal
• Brown rice — cooked100 g · 123 kcal
• Wholemeal pasta — cooked100 g · 124 kcal
• White rice — cooked100 g · 130 kcal
• Ketchup100 g · 101 kcal

Which claims could its label carry?

EU Regulation 1924/2006 ties every label claim to a numeric threshold. Lentils — cooked meets 3 of them:

• Fat-free100 g → 0.4 g fat · threshold: at most 0.5 g
• High protein31% of its calories come from protein · threshold: at least 20%
• High fibre100 g → 7.9 g fibre · threshold: at least 6.0 g

The thresholds apply to a product's OWN analysis; the values here come from average composition tables. So this list is not an authorisation, only an estimate of which side of the threshold a product sits on. For drinks the energy and fat thresholds are per 100 millilitres and lower. Interpret your own label