Sharing: Frozen Meals That Don't Suck

ilex70

Frozen dinners aren't ideal and surely get old, but sometimes you just need to eat something right now.

I like two of the Healthy Choice Steamers - Beef Merlot and Beef Teriyaki. I find the others too sweet personally.

So far the entrees from Blake's that I have tried are yummy. The portions are small and they aren't as cheap as others, but they seem like real food. I usually add a side of frozen veg to make it more satisfying without increasing the calories all that much.

What do you like? Or on the flip side, what do you avoid?

PaulaWallaDingDong

I've been getting into Stouffer's Fit Kitchen meals. I'm really liking them. I had the Steak Fajita and Monterey Bbq Chicken and they were both good. The Bourbon Steak one didn't really do anything for me. I didn't hate it, but I'm not in love with it.

http://www.stouffers.com/fitkitchen

abertrand87

I personally like the Healthy Choice Steamers grilled balsamic chicken and noodles and the grilled chicken marinara ones. I also buy Smart Ones (three cheese ziti and Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli & Chicken).

those ones keep me the fullest. I definitely don't get lean cuisine because i'm just too hungry after them.
they are usually my lunches so I can have a more calorie dense supper that I cook for supper for my kids/husband.

DancingMoosie

I like the Amy's frozen dinners I've tried...enchiladas and some Indian food

Mezzie1024

*Double post.

Mezzie1024

I like Saffron Road's Beef Bulgogi and Chicken Biriyani.

vivmom2014

Aldi makes a frozen pizza called Specially Selected Mozzarella, Cherry Tomato & Arugula - it's fairly small, 1/4 pizza = 280 calories. Delicious. Crunchy crust.

Livingdeadgirl44

If your in the uk some of the slimming world frozen meals are really nice. They are also nice and filling unlike some of the other 'diet' meals. Only complaint is they seem to have changed the recepie on the prawn noodle one and it's not so nice anymore

grinning_chick

If I buy a frozen dinner to tide me over for a night or two between the end of one batch cookery and the whatever next I make, it's a Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmesan:

http://www.michaelangelos.com/product.php?productID=6

Either eat a whole serving as a standalone meal or eat half a serving with sides.

MrsSylvie

we keep a few healthy choice 'simply' cafe steamers stocked in freezer. my hubby really likes the meatball marina for work lunches the most, its under 300 calories. i like the grilled chicken & broccolli alfredo the most, its under 200 calories.
these are the two we always have on hand for lunches or a quick small meal. am not personally a boxed frozen meal person but, these taste pretty good to me.

i like the schwan's livesmart roasted turkey & vegetable frozen meal the best though, under 250 calories. more food than the cafe steamers but, still a small meal and it fills me up. their frozen livesmart meals however may be healthy & usually tasty but, they are a bit pricey at $4.50-$5.50 IMO!

don't recall seeing blake frozen meal, will keep an eye out for it, hubby would probably like the beef merlot.

Coley88

grinning_chick wrote: »

If I buy a frozen dinner to tide me over for a night or two between the end of one batch cookery and the whatever next I make, it's a Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmesan:

http://www.michaelangelos.com/product.php?productID=6

Either eat a whole serving as a standalone meal or eat half a serving with sides.

That one is pretty good. I do like the healthy choice beef merlot that was mentioned.

I often have a Marie Calendar meal for lunch, slow roasted beef, beef pot roast, or steak & roasted potatoes. All of which are 350 calories or less, taste good, and are very filling.

stephanie20314

Agree with pp, Amy's kitchen. Sweet earth also makes great burritos.

Colorscheme

My two Lean Cuisine favs: five cheese rigatoni and the vermont cheddar mac and cheese. Sooo good.

ekruska802

I like the Kashi entrees. I've only had the vegan ones so I don't know how the ones with chicken are. The Mayan Harvest Bake is my favorite.

Dnarules

PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »

I've been getting into Stouffer's Fit Kitchen meals. I'm really liking them. I had the Steak Fajita and Monterey Bbq Chicken and they were both good. The Bourbon Steak one didn't really do anything for me. I didn't hate it, but I'm not in love with it.

http://www.stouffers.com/fitkitchen

I saw these at the store today, but still haven't tried them. I will next time. Frozen meals are just convenient for work.

lorrpb

Stouffers mac & cheese! There are stverdl lean cuisine I like too!

JShailen

The quorn ready meals are ok, they are in both the chilled and freezer sections of the supermarket. A little bland but they've saved me when I didn't have anything for a night shift.

The weight watchers mac & cheese was ok as well.

cnbbnc

I've become addicted to Amy's cheese enchiladas. It isn't very big and isn't exactly cheap, but it tastes amazing. I love Mexican food so this gives me a great fix, and I can log the calories.

Chezzie84

Could you not make too much of something you cook yourself and freeze it for another day?

Tigerlily2u

Here are my fav frozen meal brands...Blake's, Luvo and Evol. I find then at SuperTarget! Flavorful food under 300 calories!

PhoebeJeebies

Chezzie84 wrote: »

Could you not make too much of something you cook yourself and freeze it for another day?

Exactly....I can't stomach frozen dinners...they're unsatisfying and part of what made me gain so much weight in the first place.
One of the tricks I've done (besides the above) is make bean and cheese burritos...take whole wheat tortillas, fill with refried beans and cheese, roll and wrap in plastic, then freeze.

PaulaWallaDingDong

Chezzie84 wrote: »

Could you not make too much of something you cook yourself and freeze it for another day?

Probably. I don't think that was the point, though.

Mouse_Potato

Chezzie84 wrote: »

Could you not make too much of something you cook yourself and freeze it for another day?

My right arm has been in a cast for the last 14 weeks, so frozen meals have been a godsend!

I like the Fit Kitchen entrees and Michael Angelo's turkey sausage lasagna and also the baked ziti with turkey meatballs.

Blueseraphchaos

I like the healthy choice streamers (pineapple chicken and a few others), and i like the Boston market turkey medallions one. Sodium is pretty high but I'm okay with that. Frozen dinners come in handy when i only have an hour between work and classes and I'm at my friend's house 2 hours from home...life savers, otherwise I'd be eating out the whole time and feeling terrible too. Even a frozen dinner doesn't make me feel as terrible as fast food lol

Sabine_Stroehm

DancingMoosie wrote: »

I like the Amy's frozen dinners I've tried...enchiladas and some Indian food

These are pretty much the only ones I can make myself eat.

karahm78

Pretty much any Amy's, especially the cheese enchiladas and Mexican casserole
evol - I get the polenta with roasted vegetables, only 170 cals and good with a sandwich or chicken
HC Steamers - General Tso or the Balsamic chicken
Kashi - Mayan Harvest Bake is AWESOME!

100df

Love these threads for ideas. I bought Amy's cheese enchiladas to try. I like Red's Natural Foods burritos. 270-290 calories. I bulk it up some with lettuce and Pace Picante Salsa - 10 calories for 2 tablespoons. I have been using Pace for salad dressing. I bought Red's rice bowls try this week.

I tried making my own frozen rice bowls but haven't gotten it right yet. Going to try again.

murp4069

Totally agree about Amy's, and particularly the cheese enchiladas! Just about the entire Amy's line is very good, just more expensive than other brands and depending on the dish more calories as well.

I typically have Lean Cuisine for lunch, as for me personally having the bulk of my calories at dinner works best even though I've known people who don't like Lean Cuisines because they aren't filling enough. I like the spinach and cheese ravioli and the Vermont white cheddar mac and cheese the best. The garlic chicken spring rolls are also very good! I also like to get Smart Ones occasionally, lasagna florentine is by far my favorite of that brand.

As for larger dinners we also sometimes do the Michaelangelo Eggplant Parmesan. It's very tasty and if you're like us and within my calorie range for dinners.

ktekc

Love amy's bowls. also the lean cuisine breakfast scrambles. . .with toast.

stefanyjoy

I have to have a lean cuisine pizza in the freezer at all times. Simply because I can't just have one slice of pizza and walk away. Pizza is my kryptonite. I have to have an individual size pizza to where there is no more after I eat it all. People can tsk tsk all they want about frozen dinners and the frankenfood that it is, but you just don't understand my unhealthy obsession with pizza. It is my heroin...

emilycat214

Frozen entrees from Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine are fine for lunch, but I find them a little disappointing for dinner. Thanks to this thread, I've become aware of brands I didn't know about before. I love Indian food. Amy's Saag Paneer and Saffron Road's Lamb Saag are both wonderful. I just zap some frozen green veggies to fill out the plate.