Frozen meals

KateTii

Pros: Easy to cook, log & eat
Cons: Can be expensive & can be a little "hit and miss" with quality.

Personally, I loved them but were far, far too expensive where I live, so I made my own

Queenmunchy

OP, I've been freezer cooking for 8 years and never looked back. Is there a reason why you need to buy the meals instead of making them and freezing them yourself? Boredom doesn't happen when you have a full freezer full of different meals that you can choose from. Just pick a recipe, portion it into equal servings, and freeze. Super easy and really cheap. There is a technique to freezing items like pasta or rice (flash freezing), but it feels great to have meals that you've customized at your disposal.

cbelc2

I usually buy Amys frozen meals. I'm way careful with any meat I consume. Amys is vegetarian.

sllm1

Convenient to log - easy to keep within a set calorie plan - high on sodium (but that doesn't prevent weight loss).

CattOfTheGarage

RoxieDawn wrote: »

Frozen meals have to be preserved in order to stay "fresh" and have long shelf lives.

?
That's what the freezing is for.

Frozen is the closest thing to fresh, good frozen food is great, but unfortunately the "buying blind" aspect means manufacturers can get away with bad ingredients, which they try to cover by adding sugar etc, hence the bad reputation of frozen prepared food, which is a shame.

OP, nothing wrong with frozen meals, but they're expensive. if you want to make your own why not change it up a bit? I've been taking inspiration from the Japanese bento idea to pack pretty packed lunches for myself, with portions of protein, fruit, veg and carbs all laid out nicely. It's good fun and brings more variety to lunch without shelling out for ready meals. Plus I can use leftovers in my lunch box.

Spliner1969

I like the stouffer's fit kitchen meals, high protein low cal. However, as with all frozen 'healthy' meals, they are full of sodium so be wary of that. Too much sodium and you can gain water weight which might make you think your efforts are not working which won't be the case. Just drink lots of water if you're going to eat frozen meals and pay attention to your sodium macros. If you go way over on sodium ignore any temporary weight gain.

RockinTerri

As others have mentioned, they're great for convenience. But if you have a reason to watch your sodium intake, look very closely at the label for that in particular.

One of my favorite lines is the Lean Cuisine brand. They have a lot of variety, and for the most part the portions are pretty decent. I do however like the Healthy Choice steamers. You can pair it with a small salad and it works great for lunch or a light dinner.