Great Deal on a Really Good Food Scale!

belyro · #1 (**permalink**) 01-21-2008, 09:55 AM

So...after reading this thread:

Got myself a Salter 1450 Scale.....

I decided that a scale like this might be a good purchase for me. I was telling my hubby about it, and how I wanted to look for it in a couple of stores in town before ordering it online. So today he phoned me at work from a store in town (he has the day off today - lucky stinker), and said that they didn't have the Salter scale, but they do have a Fresco scale that appears to do the same thing. And it's only $48 on sale (regular $80)!!! What a steal! So he's buying it for me!

It's called a Fresco Electronic Nutrition Scale. The model number is FSC-100 (but apparently the model number isn't super easy to find on the box). It has over 900 food items programed into it. It doesn't look like you can program your own stuff in, but with 900+ items already in there, what more could there be?? For that price I'm willing to guestimate on the occassional odd item that isn't in there. AND....it's a pretty cool-looking little number. It's trendy enough that I'll have no problem leaving it on my counter all the time.

The only thing I don't love (but this might be the same with the Salter) is that you have to look in the booklet everytime for the food code to type into the scale. But I'm sure in time I'll have all my regular food codes memorized.

Anyway...if you're in Canada and interested in one of these, this sale is at Canadian Tire. Otherwise, I'm sure you can find it online, although possibly not as cheap. The only one I found online is at:

Brand Name Discount Kitchen Appliances, Discount Housewares, Shopping for Cuisinart & Kitchen Aid.

but I didn't look very long. I have no idea if that's a reputable site to purchase from.

Anyway....just thought I'd pass on the info incase anyone else wants to get in on this deal!

valc3 · #2 (**permalink**) 01-21-2008, 01:57 PM

Bethany, what a sweetheart of a husband, his day off and he's shopping and thinking of you. Glad you were able to find the scale at a good price.

xMenace · #3 (**permalink**) 01-21-2008, 02:02 PM

When does the sale end?

xMenace · #4 (**permalink**) 01-21-2008, 02:19 PM

Nevermind, it's Friday Jan 25th

Canadian Tire

belyro · #5 (**permalink**) 01-21-2008, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by valc3

Bethany, what a sweetheart of a husband, his day off and he's shopping and thinking of you. Glad you were able to find the scale at a good price.

Well, to be fair, he was shopping for himself, but he did think to look for a scale for me while he was there

He's definitely a sweetheart.

tanyatype1 · #6 (**permalink**) 01-21-2008, 09:26 PM

Hi B ~ the scale sounds cool but what would you use it for, mostly? I'm tempted to boot up to Canadian Tire and get one because I love a deal, LOL, but I'm not sure if I'd really use it??? Not to be stupid, but would you for example, put an apple on it to see it the apple was 20 carbs or closer to 30? Is that the idea?

belyro · #7 (**permalink**) 01-22-2008, 06:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanyatype1

Hi B ~ the scale sounds cool but what would you use it for, mostly? I'm tempted to boot up to Canadian Tire and get one because I love a deal, LOL, but I'm not sure if I'd really use it??? Not to be stupid, but would you for example, put an apple on it to see it the apple was 20 carbs or closer to 30? Is that the idea?

Yeah, I'm planning on using it mostly for things like fruit, potatoes, pasta, etc. Stuff that isn't easy to shove into a measuring cup and/or that isn't standard-sized.

I've been putting some relatively small apples in my lunch lately, and guessing they were 10-15g, but my scale said 22g carbs. Makes sense b/c I was going a bit higher than expected.

It even has all kinds of cereal in the booklet - Special K, Cheerios, Alphabits....a bunch of them. I find cereal difficult to measure b/c there's so much space in between the pieces that it doesn't fit nicely into a measuring cup. Same with rotini and other pastas. It'll be great for that.

B.

xMenace · #8 (**permalink**) 01-22-2008, 06:29 AM

Give us a yay or nay by Thursday night

belyro · #9 (**permalink**) 01-22-2008, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xMenace

Give us a yay or nay by Thursday night

So far yay!!

But it does kind of suck that you have to peel fruit to weigh it. (Not apples, etc, but oranges, bananas, etc.) I can understand why, though.

Otherwise I really like it.

Gangrel · #10 (**permalink**) 01-22-2008, 10:53 AM

Can you do a baseline measurement with your empty plate first? Or do you always have to put the food on the scale dish first, THEN onto whatever plate you are eating with?

I'm just wondering if you have to deduct the weight of your plate first or not.....

belyro · #11 (**permalink**) 02-08-2008, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gangrel

Can you do a baseline measurement with your empty plate first? Or do you always have to put the food on the scale dish first, THEN onto whatever plate you are eating with?

I'm just wondering if you have to deduct the weight of your plate first or not.....

Whoa...sorry dude, I didn't see this question.

You can easily work around your plate/bowl. You either put the plate on before you turn it on (and then when you turn it on it's at zero), or you put the plate on after you turn it on and then press the "Tare" button, which zeroes it out. It's super easy.

Anyway, I just wanted to give an update on this. I'm still LOVING my scale - more than I even thought I would. It's super easy to use and there are codes for just about everything! Sometimes I don't use the codes, but instead I look on the package of whatever I'm eating for how many g's of carbs per g of food and then do it that way. I was amazed at how different some things were from the "basic" guidelines (e.g. It takes a pretty small apple to make only 15g of carbs. Most are more.) and also how inaccurate my "measuring cup measuring" has been for stuff like cereal or pasta that doesn't fit real well into a measuring cup. And it definitely has an effect on my bloodsugars to be using the actual carb values in my I:C calculations instead of the estimates I was using before.

I find now I'm getting more accurate with my eyeballing too, since I know for sure now what 15g of this or 20g of that looks like.

I recommend one of these scales for everyone who carb counts! Scales all around! Scales for everyone! Rah rah scales!

r_smith_nj · #12 (**permalink**) 05-06-2008, 10:55 AM

is the EatSmart Nutrition Scale. Hands down. I have tried them all, including a German brand called Soehlne. None of them come close to the EatSmart in terms of the quality of the database and functionality.

Its the only one out there that allows you to also calculate any food with a nutrition facts label too! I cant say enough positive things about this scale!

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