Is all convenience food bad?

stringcheeze

Joining MFP has opened my eyes to a lot of issues I've had over the years while trying to lose weight. I feel like I'm on the right path now (hey, 14lbs gone; can't be doing too bad).

One of the things I have gotten much better at is reading food labels, including ingredients, not just the nutrition panel. I've also tried to make a mantra out of "if it didn't have a mother or wasn't picked from the ground, don't eat it," but that can get a little time consuming when I'm trying to prep lunch in the morning.

So my question is this: is convenience food still considered bad if all of the ingredients are whole food items instead of unpronounceable food by-products and contain low or no added salt? I've stopped buying Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice products because of these extras and general weird stuff that goes into their frozen food (not to mention all the sodium!).

I have fallen in love with a line of frozen soups (Tabatchnick's) and I was wondering if I was doing myself a disservice by eating them.

rml_16

Kashi makes very healthy "convenience" food. I think as long as you're reading labels and you know what's good and bad, you can make good choices.

I find, though, that convenience foods are rarely that good and I'd rather make a big batch of something (chili, casserole, whatever) and eat leftovers. You have to take the extra step of measuring it out into a container, but otherwise, it's as convenient as something frozen.

I do like Ethnic Gourmet Indian food, though.

EDIT: If you have any blood pressure issues, check the sodium content on those soups. Generally, store-bought soups and many frozen oods can be high in sodium. This can also cause water retention, which will affect the scale, even if you're losing weight.

dothompson

I don't think so, look at the stats for what you are eating, I know the sodium is a little high, but we just need to keep that in our stats.

I certainly don't want to eat them everyday, but I think a little moderation is heathy and keeps us understanding that this is a lifestyle change and not a diet.

GingerDarlene

Also Check out Amy's organic's in the frozen section, their stuff is good and yummy. The ingredient list is good as well.

stringcheeze

EDIT: If you have any blood pressure issues, check the sodium content on those soups. Generally, store-bought soups and many frozen oods can be high in sodium. This can also cause water retention, which will affect the scale, even if you're losing weight.

Yep, I do check the sodium...there's quite a few flavors with 260mg or less of sodium. I try as best as I can to keep my total consumption under the 2500mg max, but occasionally it doesn't always work out that way.

Thanks for the replies, y'all!

iplayoutside19

I always though bananas and apples were pretty convienent.