I need help on what type of scale to buy?

[MOM to KELLSE]

We do not own a scale to weigh food and wanted to get some advice on which one is the best to measure carbs and how easy it is to opperate. Thank you in advance for the advice. Oh yea and the best place and most reasonable priced to get it. Thanks!!!

[Twinklet]

The Salter scale is the best one on the market IMO. It's pretty pricey, around $100, but you can find coupons for $20 off pretty easily. I've seen it sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond as well as online at Drugstore.com.

Before we knew about the Salter scale, we purchased a Chefmate scale at Target for about $35. It has served us very well. It has codes for about 300 foods and we do make good use of those to determine carb content. We also carb factor for things not listed (need a separate calculator for that).

[saxmaniac]

Salter has a lot of models.

I grabbed a Salter 1008 at Bed Bath Beyond for $40. I tried them all, but this was the best - once you put it grams mode, it stays there. Some others would change back to lbs/ozs when you turned it back on. Didn't care for the ones with built-in food databases.

It can be zeroed out, and auto-zeros at start even with a plate. If you remove something when it's zeroed, you simply get a negative reading instead of an error.

[Tori's Mom]

I think the Salter scales are considered the "cadillac" of scales.

We have 3 scales. They were purchased in this order:

1. Weigh of Life scale. Will weigh in oz or gms and doesn't switch from one to the other until you tell it to. Has codes for foods. We use the codes only for items we use very frequently-apples, grapes, etc. Otherwise we weigh the food (chips, etc.) according to gm weight and use carb amounts from package by weight.

2. Travel size folding Salter scale--for out and about. I actually use this more in our Travel Trailer when we are camping. Very convenient. I tend to "punt" when we are out because I inevitably forget to take the Salter or it is a spontaneous case of eating out. With the Salter you can simply weigh the food and use carb factors or you type in the first few letter of the food and find it in the database--it then tells you the carbs for the weight of the food.

3. Full size Salter scale. I HAD to have the "cadillac". This scale is very nice as well but I find myself using my Weigh of Life scale more. Could be because I have not FORCED myself to use it and become more familiar with it. Works the same way as the travel sized by typing in the first few letters of the food.

As others have said, the full size Salter's run around $100 generally online. I obtained mine from Ebay for around $60.

I also got my travel sized Salter on ebay---lucky bid. I won it for a 99 cent bid and it had a $10 shipping charge. :D

The Weigh of Life was purchased at Walmart for around $25.

[Mama2H]

I would not be without my salter scales! Our school is now getting one because they can't figure out carbs in foods *rolling eyes*

[Grace]

What perfect timing! I was actually going to start a thread about scales. :)

2. Travel size folding Salter scale--for out and about. I actually use this more in our Travel Trailer when we are camping. Very convenient. I tend to "punt" when we are out because I inevitably forget to take the Salter or it is a spontaneous case of eating out. With the Salter you can simply weigh the food and use carb factors or you type in the first few letter of the food and find it in the database--it then tells you the carbs for the weight of the food.
Tell me more about how big this is and how exactly it works, pretty please. :cool: Do we input the different foods or are they preprogramed? What about places like Appleby's and the like? What else should you tell me that's important?

Ds doesn't seem to be having a problem when we eat at home, but whenever we eat out his number are SKYROCKETING lately. Since it's only when we eat out I'm assuming that we aren't counting the carbs correctly and I've been thinking one of those travel Salter's could be just the thing he needs.

[Abby-Dabby-Doo]

http://quick.holdthatpic.com/images/128260.jpg (http://www.holdthatpic.com/)

http://quick.holdthatpic.com/images/128261.jpg (http://www.holdthatpic.com/)

The first photo is just so you can see the sizes. The bigger of the two scales is the one that stays home, the one that is about the size of a pack of Oreo's is our travel scale.

[Abby-Dabby-Doo]

If anyone is interested in seeing what the scale can do, I can forward you some photos, just PM me. I tried to copy and paste my PM that I already sent several people, but the photos won't post and I took them off my digital camera already. You be amazed what the difference between a measuring cup portion and the scale says.
Good news... it has more than you think. It has foods already preprogrammed in it. Example is grapes, bananas, cereal, and so forth. Not for example Applebee's French fries, but it has French fries baked and French fries in oil. So it works for home (baked) and at restaurants. You can add food items to it, that your child eats, if you know the information. It also let's you add recipes, if you do the same thing over and over with the same ingredients, you can add it. For an example would be a casserole you make for the family. I haven't done this yet, but Mama2H has, and it sounds very easy.

[Mama2H]

OT: Ooooh Lanae, I LOVE your countertops :D

[Abby-Dabby-Doo]

Thanks! Come see them sometime! :p

[Grace]

The first photo is just so you can see the sizes. The bigger of the two scales is the one that stays home, the one that is about the size of a pack of Oreo's is our travel scale.
Bummer. Even the travel scale is WAY bigger than we could manage. For the first time in a long time I wish I was still carrying a diaper bag. :) Yet even then, my son is a teenager and eats without me frequently. Somehow I can't see him slipping this in his back pocket...

[Ivan's Mum]

FYI I just brought the 1450 digital salter scale on Amazon for $75.95 with free super saver shipping.

Get it to your door I say!