Frozen entrees: yes or no?

amandastardust89

In a busy world of kids, work, socializing...we could all use a little convenience; especially for those who are working extra hard to remain fit.

What are your views on microwavable meals?

I use them as a good base for my weight loss strategy since they are pre-packaged, single-serving, and provide all nutritional information right on the package. However, they are high in sodium and preservatives!

Fresh food is ideal. It's all of your basic needs that can be cooked, seasoned, and constructed to your specific taste. It tastes better, too; but, cooking all your own food can be time consuming. Also, it's hard to track every serving of every ingredient of said meal.

Thoughts?

dsboohead

I see nothing wrong with using them but dependency on them regularly...not so much. I always keep a few of my faves on hand for when I feel the need to. Do be aware of salt content of frozen entrees!

kommodevaran

I would say I was duped into buying the idea of convenience food, that cooking was difficult, boring and time consuming, that somehow cooking for one was pointless and/or sad, and I imagined that large scale production meant savings and value for the customer. What I didn't consider, what that those who produce and sell convenience foods, want me to think just that, that cooking at home means I'm in control of both taste and nutrition, that cooking food I like, can be easy, quick, healthy and fun, that being the only person in my household means that I get to decide what's for dinner every day, that my inability or reluctance to follow recipes didn't mean that I'm a lousy cook, but rather indicates that I can cook, that planning meals and a little creativity (which is fun) means that I'm down to almost no food waste, and saving a lot of money, while eating better than ever.

hroderick

crock pot or modern pressure cooker, planning, planning, planning. cook days (maybe same day as laundry day). try platejoy.com free trial to make planning easy

Omnimous69

Simple answer for me is a hard no.
It is more time consuming and work to do it the right way, but you will need to learn that it is a part of your life now if you want to really adopt the lifestyle. Microwave meals to me say "Good enough, right?" I understand we all have kids and lives, but no one said life would be easy. Be cautious. Meal plan, batch cook on weekends and then portion that up into microwavable meals...THAT I can get behind. Our rule is if the "food" comes in a box, we mostly avoid it.
Good luck!

seska422

I am lazy. I work with that rather than fighting against it. If I had to cook in order to lose or maintain weight, I would not succeed.

I used MFP's macro suggestion to build a comfortable way of eating that incorporates pre-packaged frozen meals. I have managed to lose ~145 pounds and stayed at my lowest adult weight (in the normal BMI range) for far longer than I ever have before. I aim for 80% of my calories from nutrient-dense foods and 20% from treats which puts my nutrition at a level better than ever before even with the "processed" foods. I do use the lowest sodium versions of things that I can find and that lets me hit the recommended sodium goal or get close to it.

If a plan doesn't work for you over the long term, then it doesn't work and you need to find a way that does work.

If you like cooking/prepping and have time to do so, go for it. However, it is not a requirement for success. Using frozen meals is not a second-class way of doing things that you need to eventually alter.

L1zardQueen

Frozen bean burritos FTW!

DragonHasTheSapphire

I always look at the nutrition facts and ingredients before I toss any food into my grocery cart (unless I already know everything in the food is alright because I purchased it before.)

I don't use microwavable food much, except when I'm going to school or work and need to pack a lunch. I always meal plan the day before, too. If I do eat a prepackaged meal, I chose either Amy's Kitchen Mushroom Risotto or the Black Eye Peas & Veggies (same brand). It's organic, but some I find have a lot of sodium, so when I do eat them I keep track of sodium. The calories are bad at all, only bad thing is that they don't keep me full.

I love to cook and prepare my own foods, but frozen meals I have lost weight on and don't plan on stopping eating them.

mph323

I like frozen meals. The ones I choose fit easily into my calorie and nutrition goals and taste good to me. I usually add a side salad or extra veg and usually eat them when my husband is working late or I need a quick lunch.

ZoneFive

I don't have a problem with them, and I keep a few in the freezer. Amy's Kitchen and Saffron Road, mostly. I do cook from scratch a lot, and I enjoy it, but there are times when I simply don't feel like doing prep work. Add a veg or two and I'm good to go.

estherdragonbat

I seldom buy whole convenience meals. But tossing some Gardein or sliced up veggie dogs into a stir-fry or burrito? I do that a few times a week. It's a help.

marissafit06

Frozen meals are totally fine as long as they fill you up. Sometimes I’ll buy frozen meat from Trader Joe’s and pair it with a big serving of veggies for an easy meal. Totally microwaveable meals don’t work as well for us because often times they are more expensive and my kids are still hungry afterwards. We are big fans of tacos and other things you can throw together last minute.

AnnPT77

It's hard to generalize: There's a huge range, from not very nutritious to pretty decent, from additive-enhanced to just basic food, from high fat or high sodium to pretty moderate.

These days, I rarely buy/eat them myself, but see nothing wrong with them in the abstract, if they fit in a person's individual calorie/nutrition plan, and they certainly can be quick/convenient for busy people.

The reasons I don't use them have to do with my personal needs and preferences:

* As an ovo-lacto vegetarian who likes protein on the higher side, I find that many of the vegetarian choices "cost" too many calories for the amount of protein, unless they rely on TVP/fake-meat ingredients that I mostly don't find tasty.

* I like eating lots of veggies, and I'm not very interested in common starch sides like rice, pasta, grains. Starch sides are common in vegetarian frozen meals, and veggie portions scant for my preferences.

* Some foods freeze and reheat really well, but others don't. Frozen meals often include some of each, so can seem to me a little sad and tired as a whole compared to having some freshly-cooked or even raw components.

* I like to cook, and have time to cook. Things that I think freeze well, that I use often, I either freeze myself (have a basement chest freezer), or buy as frozen individual foods rasher than as a part of meals.

* I enjoy a lot of variety in flavors and food combinations. While I have certain general dishes/meals I make regularly, they're different every time. For example, I eat bean/pea soup often, but it might be spicy or mild, tomato-y or not, different veggie add-ins, flavored with cumin and cocoa vs. miso and chile paste vs. basil and garlic (or whatever). Frozen meals can get same-y.

I ate more frozen meals in the years between my husband's death and my retirement. I kind of lost interest in cooking, life was busier dealing with a household solo while working full time (plus), and I was cheerfully obese at the time, so the nutrition/calorie tradeoffs were different.

I still eat one occasionally, either as an expedient or a way to eat a particular food I enjoy that's time-consuming to make and hard to get in restaurants around here (like sweet corn tamales).

I think people who demonize them across the board (as "processed junk", "full of additives", etc.) are seriously over-generalizing.

rheddmobile

To me they aren't very filling for the number of calories, and they tend to be high in carbs and low in protein. I'd rather do a quick stir fry and save some leftovers.

I do like steamer bags of veg though.

paperpudding

Omnimous69 wrote: »

Simple answer for me is a hard no.
It is more time consuming and work to do it the right way, but you will need to learn that it is a part of your life now if you want to really adopt the lifestyle. Microwave meals to me say "Good enough, right?" I understand we all have kids and lives, but no one said life would be easy. Be cautious. Meal plan, batch cook on weekends and then portion that up into microwavable meals...THAT I can get behind. Our rule is if the "food" comes in a box, we mostly avoid it.
Good luck!

This seems rather sanctimonious to me

There is no one right way and there is no one right lifestyle to adopt

I dont think anyone is suggesting living entirely on frozen pre made measles

However for me they are good as part of an overall balanced diet - when I work late and my husband is on afternoon shift - ie I am having dinner by myself
Also I keep spare one in freezer at work so if I forget to take my lunch or reps are suppossed to be providing lunch but they cancel
I would eat, on average,1 or 2 per week.
Rest of my diet consists of plenty of other things including fresh fruit/veg so I think that is good balance for me.

kimny72

I eat one or two frozen meals per week, usually with a serving of frozen veg added. I'll also have some frozen veggie burgers or even a *gasp* Hot Pocket every once and awhile. I eat plenty of whole nutritious food. My occasional frozen meal and Coke Zero hasn't killed me yet.

I would think for best health you wouldn't want your entire diet to be frozen meals, but I don't see any reason why using them strategically would be a problem. Some frozen meals actually have pretty balanced macros and nutritious ingredients.

Just like with "clean eaters" some people like to think that if you don't always want to spend time batch cooking and meal planning you are lazy or have an immature palate or something. Sometimes I make the time, sometimes I dont. People can judge if they want.

And being a healthy weight is one of (if not the) most important thing you can do for your health. If a few Lean Cuisines or an Amy 's burrito bowl help you get there, I think that's fine :drinker:

Lounmoun

If you don't have a medical condition requiring you to limit or avoid certain things then these things are not a problem. It is preference.
My preference is less but not zero convenience foods.
I don't think frozen meals or convenience foods generally taste as good but some are fine. I like to cook and prepare meals from home every day.. I don't find logging homemade foods difficult. I can eat dinner leftovers for lunches instead of frozen foods. I don't own a microwave so have to heat things on the stove or in the oven anyway.
I use some convenience foods like jarred spaghetti sauce, dry pasta, canned soups, frozen burritos, frozen pizza, granola bars.

bbell1985

I eat them if I'm not cutting carbs low. I need to basically put any frozen meal over a bag of spinach or veg. Not enough food otherwise.

AnvilHead

Omnimous69 wrote: »

Simple answer for me is a hard no.
It is more time consuming and work to do it the right way, but you will need to learn that it is a part of your life now if you want to really adopt the lifestyle. Microwave meals to me say "Good enough, right?" I understand we all have kids and lives, but no one said life would be easy. Be cautious. Meal plan, batch cook on weekends and then portion that up into microwavable meals...THAT I can get behind. Our rule is if the "food" comes in a box, we mostly avoid it.
Good luck!

Sounds like a very polarized, binary approach which completely ignores context and dosage.

amandastardust89

I work overnights at a convenience store that specializes in fried food, so there is a lot of temptation! It's so nice to just grab something that I don't have to think about. But it is true, they do leave me wanting more, sometimes.

I buy one or two meals that Lean Cuisine offers, but not much else. High in protein, low in calories. I will have to try the "add a veg" option many of you have suggested. Steamable bags for $1 for the win!

I cook dinner for the family most nights, and if it's my day off (or I'm feeling particularly energized) I'll go the fresh food route for lunch. My husband works all day, and my toddler hardly eats anyway...so I don't have to worry about sharing, thankfully. I'm just happy convenience meals are there to get me over the humps!

Francl27

The main thing is that you don't know how many calories you're really eating, as they're allowed by law to be 20% calories off per serving (on top of weight discrepancies in the package itself). So you could be eating 30-35% extra calories without knowing it... which can get a big deal if you're eating packaged food a lot.

Otherwise, as long as you don't have medical conditions that can be affected by high sodium, they're fine. I have one once in a while but I haven't found any that I loved enough to spend my calories on in months. I'd rather cook and make extra and have leftovers than a frozen meal.