How do you guys feel about low calorie frozen meals?

13

Replies

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    nooboots wrote: »
    nooboots wrote: »
    I do meal prep once a month and make 25-30 meals to freeze. It gives me variety, convenience, and full knowledge of exactly what I'm putting in my body. It's worth the couple of hours I spend cooking every few weeks.

    This is fairly the point we were trying to make. This is side shaming someone for not being able to meal prep food and eating "processed" food.

    Food is food, and while it might not be up to your personal standards, there's no logical or helpful reason to shaming and spreading misinformation.

    Also, don't assume that everyone has a few extra hours to prep that many meals at once, the capability of doing so, or even a lifestyle and finances that allow it.


    As well, having the ability to actually freeze 25 - 30 meals at once might be problematic for most.

    I keep a few Healthy Choice meals around for the nights where I'm on my own for dinner, want something calorically and nutritionally decent and don't feel like cooking just for me. :)

    Yes I currently have this problem, I cooked up some lentils recently and put them in the freezer, that took up space. I have tons of frozen fruit, veg and meat in the freezer so there is not much room. Then last night I spotted loads of half empty rice packets in the cupboard (this is my partners fault, opens something, has a bit of it, buys a new bag) so i thought, well I will cook it all up, measure it out and then I have some frozen portions of rice. But now I can barely pull the freezer drawers out because its too full.

    I had the same problem! I found a small chest freezer on Craigslist for $75 and it's been a perfect solution!

    Well we've got 2 fridge freezers anyway and theres only the 2 of us, so I think another one would be excessive!

    Time to clean out the freezers ;)
  • nooboots
    nooboots Posts: 480 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    nooboots wrote: »
    nooboots wrote: »
    I do meal prep once a month and make 25-30 meals to freeze. It gives me variety, convenience, and full knowledge of exactly what I'm putting in my body. It's worth the couple of hours I spend cooking every few weeks.

    This is fairly the point we were trying to make. This is side shaming someone for not being able to meal prep food and eating "processed" food.

    Food is food, and while it might not be up to your personal standards, there's no logical or helpful reason to shaming and spreading misinformation.

    Also, don't assume that everyone has a few extra hours to prep that many meals at once, the capability of doing so, or even a lifestyle and finances that allow it.


    As well, having the ability to actually freeze 25 - 30 meals at once might be problematic for most.

    I keep a few Healthy Choice meals around for the nights where I'm on my own for dinner, want something calorically and nutritionally decent and don't feel like cooking just for me. :)

    Yes I currently have this problem, I cooked up some lentils recently and put them in the freezer, that took up space. I have tons of frozen fruit, veg and meat in the freezer so there is not much room. Then last night I spotted loads of half empty rice packets in the cupboard (this is my partners fault, opens something, has a bit of it, buys a new bag) so i thought, well I will cook it all up, measure it out and then I have some frozen portions of rice. But now I can barely pull the freezer drawers out because its too full.

    I had the same problem! I found a small chest freezer on Craigslist for $75 and it's been a perfect solution!

    Well we've got 2 fridge freezers anyway and theres only the 2 of us, so I think another one would be excessive!

    Time to clean out the freezers ;)

    Theres nothing forgotten out there. All the food we eat is frozen, frozen meat, fish, veg and fruit. I have a virtual greengrocer in one of them. Actually while Im typing this I know that there is a bag of broad beans in one of them, I HATE broad beans and dont know why they're there. They can go.
  • HereToLose50
    HereToLose50 Posts: 154 Member
    edited August 2019
    I only like a few of them - usually the spicier options. I don't find them filling for the calories they have. In a pinch they are okay for me. If I can, I'll heat one up and dump it on top of some fresh greens so it's more food for not many more calories. I really try not to rely on them since it's such a tiny amount of food.

    One thing I love is the frozen precooked chicken breast strips. I can use those so many ways - with some quick steamed veggies and maybe a little soy sauce (can also be over a little rice that comes packaged as microwavable in little cups), put some strips in a quickly rolled wrap with some greens, on a salad, on a sandwich, etc. I get full on less of the strips and the calories are so low that the bread or rice or whatever calories fit just fine. Heat the strips before any of this of course.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited August 2019
    My husband works 2 pm to 10 pm, so they definitely have a place in my life. I only buy them when they are on sale. I can get the Michelin[a]s’ lean gourmet 10 for $10.00 on sale. I stock up then.

    This the brand I usually buy too, when I've eaten them. They're cheap enough but, like others, I just don't find them that filling and they take up too much room in my freezer, which is almost always filled to the brim w/meat & seafood that I buy on sale in bulk.

    So, I haven't eaten any of these frozen meals in a long time. Nothing against them but my idea of an "instant" meal is to boil some ramen noodles and add some defrosted shrimp and fresh veggies to it. Just takes a few mins and it fills me right up. So, much so that I really don't feel like eating anything long after.
  • kimondo666
    kimondo666 Posts: 194 Member
    frozen techniques are so advanced, heck even better sometimes than eating fresh vegetables that were in transit as frozen vegetables are ripe and frozen, while transit ones are picked barely young to survive transport. That's why local food is also best.
  • koalathebear
    koalathebear Posts: 236 Member
    I'm fine with them, although I prefer the taste of the 'fresh' ready to go meals like youfoodz (https://youfoodz.com/) and mymusclechef (https://www.mymusclechef.com/menu). I actually find their meals delicious - even my husband does and he's not trying to lose weight - and the fact that they're calorie controlled makes life so much easier for me. I'm really busy at work so I cook things during the week and freeze them but the youfoodz and mymusclechef meals have seriously made life so much easier for me plus helped me to monitor calorie intake during my fitness journey. I've lost 29kg since January so the calorie controlled meals have definitely helped.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,250 Member
    I suppose fresh ready made meals are good for those shopping on way home from work or such like - but would defeat the purpose for me.
    As the times I use frozen meals is as back ups; convenient if I am home alone because my husband is working overtime and occasionally at work if I haven't time/ items to take a lunchbox.
    Generally unplanned events and voila, find one of these in freezer

  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't really understand the contention by some that frozen meals are all "processed" in an evil, negative way. Many brands these days are recognizable food items, cooked in recognizable ways, then frozen. (Sure, some have some non-home-kitchen ingredients, but mostly not scary, and some brands don't have anything but regular home-kitchen food in them.) Putting them in a box and freezing them ruins nothing, vs. home-prepped same ingredients.

    For my needs (as a vegetarian), I find most types long on low-nutrient-density carbs, and short on protein and veggies. But the calories are low enough that one could supplement with added veggies (also frozen) and maybe some cottage cheese or something, and be just fine, nutritionally. And I think the meaty ones are often better on the protein side, so maybe only veggie (or dessert fruit) supplementing would be fine (and that's with my "eat way big amounts of veggies/fruit" prejudices).

    I like cooking from scratch, and find home-cooked foods tastier, but I'm retired and have the time so rarely eat the frozen meals these days (I did when working). I don't see why a good-quality frozen meal is "lesser", if in a context where one's full nutritional and caloric needs are met overall.

    While it wasn't me who previously mentioned processed foods, I'll respond. Some brands are super high sodium to fix taste quality problems. When I freeze meals I don't have to add 18 types of salt and sodium in order for them to be palatable when reheated.

    From the Salt chapter of Michael Moss's "Salt, Sugar, Fat":

    "In the world of processed foods, salt is the great fixer. It corrects myriad problems that arise as a matter of course in the factory.

    ..Among all the miracles that salt performs for the processed food industry, perhaps the most essential involves a plague that the industry calls "warmed over flavor,"

    ...One of the most effective cures for WOF is an infusion of fresh spices...But fresh herbs are costly. So manufacturers more typically make sure they have lots of salt in their formulas. The cardboard or dog-hair taste is still there, but overpowered by the salt.

    ...The same Hungry Man turkey dinner that listed salt nine times among its various components also had nine other references to various sodium compounds.
  • emmamcgarity
    emmamcgarity Posts: 1,594 Member
    I see frozen meals as another tool in my journey. When I first started tracking on MFP I relied heavily on them at the end of the day to keep my calories on track. My husband and kids were not interested in lower calorie meals and I needed something to help keep me away from the higher calorie family meals. I have portion control issues. Once I felt more disciplined I was able to adjust my strategy.

    Since the topic of meal prepping was introduced, I’ll admit that I am also a meal prepper. I do prep 20-40 family style meals when meats go on sale largely so that my teenagers can pop dinner in the oven while I am on my way home from work. It’s another tool that works for me. But I still keep 10+ frozen Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine meals on hand for me. Some weeks I don’t eat any. Other weeks are more hectic and I end up eating them daily.

    You do you. If you like frozen meals and they help you stay on track go for it. If you are inspired by meal prepping, do that. But they aren’t mutually exclusive. You can try lots of different techniques and keep repeating the ones that help you meet you goals.

  • IWillTakeBackMyLife
    IWillTakeBackMyLife Posts: 155 Member
    I'll try them once in a blue moon. I feel it's more worth it to cook your own food. My money feels better spent elsewhere, and they don't really leave me feeling satiated.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    edited August 2019
    Pretty much echoing others' responses...I think they're fine but wouldn't want to eat them regularly and definitely not daily. Lots of other food I prefer that is quick/easy to prepare. I do like them occasionally though and usually find I need to round them out with more vegetables, piece of fruit, or something else. I bought one this week to bring to work because I usually come home & eat a cooked lunch but one day I won't be able to do that. Normally I bring a packed lunch but I'm sick of all my usual options for that... I think they're great for similar situations.

    I tend to go for the "regular" ones with 300-450 calories instead of the lighter versions because 180-200 cal (for example) is definitely NOT enough for a meal, for me. This time I got a Swedish meatballs entree because that's not something we would ever cook at home. I'll bring raisins and/or an apple to go with it.

    Years ago, I ate a Lean Cuisine chicken enchilada suiza for lunch every weekday for an entire summer. I lost a few pounds (had many to lose at the time) and because of that I felt like they were magical. I was completely ignorant about calorie counting at the time and now I know that I could have just planned out a similar calorie lunch each day & enjoyed a lot more variety.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited August 2019
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I don't really understand the contention by some that frozen meals are all "processed" in an evil, negative way. Many brands these days are recognizable food items, cooked in recognizable ways, then frozen. (Sure, some have some non-home-kitchen ingredients, but mostly not scary, and some brands don't have anything but regular home-kitchen food in them.) Putting them in a box and freezing them ruins nothing, vs. home-prepped same ingredients.

    For my needs (as a vegetarian), I find most types long on low-nutrient-density carbs, and short on protein and veggies. But the calories are low enough that one could supplement with added veggies (also frozen) and maybe some cottage cheese or something, and be just fine, nutritionally. And I think the meaty ones are often better on the protein side, so maybe only veggie (or dessert fruit) supplementing would be fine (and that's with my "eat way big amounts of veggies/fruit" prejudices).

    I like cooking from scratch, and find home-cooked foods tastier, but I'm retired and have the time so rarely eat the frozen meals these days (I did when working). I don't see why a good-quality frozen meal is "lesser", if in a context where one's full nutritional and caloric needs are met overall.

    While it wasn't me who previously mentioned processed foods, I'll respond. Some brands are super high sodium to fix taste quality problems. When I freeze meals I don't have to add 18 types of salt and sodium in order for them to be palatable when reheated.

    From the Salt chapter of Michael Moss's "Salt, Sugar, Fat":

    "In the world of processed foods, salt is the great fixer. It corrects myriad problems that arise as a matter of course in the factory.

    ..Among all the miracles that salt performs for the processed food industry, perhaps the most essential involves a plague that the industry calls "warmed over flavor,"

    ...One of the most effective cures for WOF is an infusion of fresh spices...But fresh herbs are costly. So manufacturers more typically make sure they have lots of salt in their formulas. The cardboard or dog-hair taste is still there, but overpowered by the salt.

    ...The same Hungry Man turkey dinner that listed salt nine times among its various components also had nine other references to various sodium compounds.

    Y'know, since I no longer have BP problems (weight loss happily fixed that, for me), I don't worry much about salt: I love fermented foods like sauerkraut, kim chi, miso, etc., and many are super salty. I'm over MFP's default goal frequently.

    "Processed" and "too much salt" and "frozen dinners" would have a Venn diagram with some overlap, but not total.

    All frozen dinners (I think) are "processed", but if salt/sodium is a problem for someone, there are some fairly reasonable choices out there, especially in context of an overall decent diet that isn't all frozen dinners, all the time.

    Overgeneralization is a bit of a conceptual trap, IMO.

    Oh, I'm not objecting to high sodium levels per se - when I make Thai food the sodium is off the chart.

    My point was to illustrate that sodium can be used to mask taste quality issues (and other issues). The manufacturer cited was too cheap to use more expensive ingredients like herbs and spices that would have made the meal better, so they dump in salt instead.

    I don't have this issue with foods that I cook and freeze myself. I have a plethora of herbs and spices.

    ETA: Please note I did say "some brands" in my original post. This was meant to illustrate why some brands are high sodium, and was not meant to be a blanket indictment of all frozen meals.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
    I eat them a lot. When I've come home after the pub (not all the time), when my OH is on a late shift and I don't fancy cooking after 10 pm, many reasons really.