Healthy frozen food dinner options?

Ashlove5
Ashlove5 Posts: 152 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I usually eat lean cuisines or healthy choice from target they promise to be health conscious and also low in calories but i am worried these meals can hinder my weight loss in the process. Do you guys like lean cuisines and healthy choice? What do you guys think about Trader Joe’s frozen meal options such as the chicken tikka masala.

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    There's nothing magically bad about frozen meals. If they add up to the right number of calories and meet your nutritional goals, they're fine for weight loss. Well, actually - only the calorie total matters directly for weight loss. If they don't fill you up, or they don't add up to good overall nutrition (in context of other things you eat), there's an outside chance they could have an indirect effect by making it hard to stick to your calorie goal (if not filling) or by triggering fatigue (by under-nutrition tanking your energy level) . . . but you'd notice that, right?

    I don't use many frozen meals, because they're generally too low in protein for my goals, and too low in vegetable volume for my desires. But if they add up to what you target and need, they're fine. (NB: The protein issue is probably mainly that I'm vegetarian, and many of the meals that are vegetarian are too low in protein for someone who's athletically active or aging . . . and I'm both.)

    Try the ones you like, log them, see if you feel full and happy, see whether your nutrition and calories add up well (on average over a few days to a week). If you can hit the goals that matter to you, they're fine.
  • BeanieBean93
    BeanieBean93 Posts: 55 Member
    If you like them, and they fit your goals, they're fine. We usually keep 1 or 2 on hand but I've found it's so much easier to just keep frozen veggies, frozen chicken and different sauces around. In the same 5 minutes it takes to warm one up, I can microwave our own food and it tastes so much better.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    samathes wrote: »
    Be careful to not rely solely on frozen meals or foods. They typically tend to have more than a day's worth of sodium packed in which affects both your weight loss and your heart in the long term.

    Well, the weight loss effect is about water retention, not body fat.

    I agree that too much salt can create health risk, but individuals' risks and needs differ. The MFP or government generic limit may be unnecessarily restrictive for some (though it will give most everyone adequate sodium), in the sense that more won't materially increase heart risk (or other major risks - anyone should speak with their doctor about this in context of their own health history, of course)..

    If OP reads labels and logs foods, it will be possible to monitor and manage the sodium intake.
    BeanieBean93 wrote: »
    If you like them, and they fit your goals, they're fine. We usually keep 1 or 2 on hand but I've found it's so much easier to just keep frozen veggies, frozen chicken and different sauces around. In the same 5 minutes it takes to warm one up, I can microwave our own food and it tastes so much better.

    Yeah, I agree with this, too. I do some of this, since the frozen meals don't work for me protein-wise and veggie-wise . . . though my major protein source is usually some combination of tofu, tempeh, seitan, calorie-efficient cheese, and the occasional egg.

    This general approach does tend to be more balanced and tastier, and if the vegetables are chosen carefully, avoids the excess sodium issue. (Noting that rotisserie chicken among other types can be relatively high sodium.)
  • Ashlove5
    Ashlove5 Posts: 152 Member
    samathes wrote: »
    Be careful to not rely solely on frozen meals or foods. They typically tend to have more than a day's worth of sodium packed in which affects both your weight loss and your heart in the long term.

    It is packed with lots of sodium and unnecessary crap but now they are making more health conscious frozen meals without a lot of added sodium which feels promising enough to have a couple of times a week for now. I usually cook or do take out salads and chipotle with healthy options and alternatives ofc.
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 2,226 Member
    I have a bag of frozen veggies with some chicken breast thrown in for dinner a couple times a week. There are several different ones you can get. California Blend, etc. Low cal, filling, no salt and lots of fiber and decent protein.
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,353 Member
    Nearly everything I make at home is frozen. I don’t do the Lean Cuisine type meals. I keep frozen veggies and frozen meat on hand. I may have frozen pasta or rice, but usually I use the 90-second ready bags. I just dump some of everything in a bowl and put flavoring or sauce on top and zap it all for 3 minutes or so. It’s probably no less palatable than frozen meals, but lets me adjust the amounts to fit my calories and appetite.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Before I started eating a lot of salt, my blood pressure was low enough that I used to get dizzy when standing and even passed out a few times. To reiterate, I eat a lot of salt. Most of this comes from salt I add, making Thai recipes that include triple sodium bombs of soy sauce, fish sauce, and oyster sauce, or eating other high-sodium Asian foods.

    However, after reading Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us I would be concerned about packaged food that contained a lot of added sodium as one of the reasons for this is best quoted directly from the book:

    "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, ” whose acronym, WOF, is pronounced something like the dog’s bark. WOF is caused by the oxidation of the fats in meat, which gives meat the taste of cardboard or, as some in the industry describe it, damp dog hair, when the meat is reheated after being precooked and added to soups or boxed meals. “Once warmed-over-flavor gets going, you are pretty well dead in the water, ” said Susan Brewer, a professor of food science in the University of Illinois’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Science. “People can smell or taste it at very low levels...”

    This is where salt comes in. Once WOF sets in, salt becomes a convenient antidote for the processed food industry, which is heavily
    reliant on reheated meats. One of the most effective cures for WOF is an infusion of fresh spices, especially rosemary, which has antioxidants to counteract the meat’s deterioration. 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 it is overpowered by the salt."

    ***********

    I do have sodium-bomb Campbell's chicken noodle soup on hand. But I consider it a low quality food. It's for rare occasions like one of us is sick or he's hungry after being out snow-blowing. Interestingly, I accidently bought the low sodium version one time and found it inedible, even after adding salt.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 8,457 Member
    @kshama2001 now that’s really interesting.

    I thought it was only me who didn’t care for reheated meats. Never even thought about it being a universal issue.

    Don’t mind at all eating leftover chopped meats chilled, much prefer over reheating.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    @kshama2001 now that’s really interesting.

    I thought it was only me who didn’t care for reheated meats. Never even thought about it being a universal issue.

    Don’t mind at all eating leftover chopped meats chilled, much prefer over reheating.

    I can eat leftover cooked chicken breast for days longer than leftover chicken thigh. Now I add rosemary to leftover chicken thigh; problem solved!
  • ronicaw57
    ronicaw57 Posts: 117 Member
    I am 6ft, 176.3 pounds, normal BMI. I use frozen meals. I probably wouldn't be at goal without them, to be honest. A frozen meal is healthier than pizza, wings, or burgers. In addition, brands like Healthy Choice, and Amy's have reduced sodium. I use frozen meals because it gives variety and it helps with portion sizes. It is a choice however.
    P.S. I started MFP at 268 in August 2018. I am a former insulin dependent diabetic.
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    I personally find that most are too small to be very satisfying, and could use a bit more protein. As others have mentioned above, I too prefer more vegetable bulk and more protein in my supper... so I find it works better to have half a bag of microwaved frozen vegetables and a serving of some batch-cooked frozen meat or a serving of previously frozen batch-cooked stew/soup/chili.. which is closer to my preferred meal volume, calorie total, macros. I'll pick some up frozen-meals every once in a while if in the mood for something very different though.
  • Corina1143
    Corina1143 Posts: 3,631 Member
    When I started trying to lose weight, I used them a lot and lost weight.
    As I learned to make my own low calorie food, I used them less frequently and lost weight.
    Now I always keep 1 in the freezer for emergencies, but rarely eat it, still losing.
    Best wishes on having a happy journey to your weight goal.

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