Opinions on Lean Cuisines?

KseRz

IN for the comments on processed food. Because cooking, adding seasonings and preservatives then freezing it is processing it. Like peanut butter, pickles, and pretty much any sandwich.

ETA: My fat finger hit enter too fast. My issue with frozen packaged meals are that they dont fit into my macros. Too high in carbs and fat. I might as well have a small brownie. Lean cuisine, smart ones and healthy choice should ADD MORE PROTEIN

notwhatyouthink

Cedarlane is great. Not dietetic, but healthy and filling.

wheird

My personal opinion on them?

Taste bad
Kinda pricy
Convenient
Packed with sodium
Not very much food
Easy to make


Overall, if the convenience is good for you, because of the ease of buying, storing, cooking, etc, then there is no reason why you cannot include them as part of your day.

nikkohli

I don't think they are worth the cals for the taste and portions. Plus I find the meat in them to be suspect :sick:
I think having it on hand for a quick meal is beter than diving into a bag of chips but I wouldn't make them a regular part of my diet.
I buy the one serving quinoa (they have brown rice too!) bowls for emergencies at work when I forgot my lunch, have to stay late, etc. They are filling, I love the taste, and they are shelf stable. I also keep some almond packets, Quest bars, etc. I'd rather eat any of those than a diet meal.

nikkohli

ETA: My fat finger hit enter too fast. My issue with frozen packaged meals are that they dont fit into my macros. Too high in carbs and fat. I might as well have a small brownie. Lean cuisine, smart ones and healthy choice should ADD MORE PROTEIN

I agree. For the calories I don't want to still be hungry when I am done! :laugh:

mmerry5

I like them. On week days, I take one nearly every day for lunch. I will make my "own" dinners when there are leftovers, but that doesn't always happen. I'm not a huge sandwich fan. I prefer hot lunches, so I buy the Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals mostly. I have my favorites. Some are very good. Yes they are processed and a bit high in sodium, but I check the labels and try to get the best tasting, best nutritional values that I can. It works for me. I actually like the taste of the ones I buy regularly, or I wouldn't buy them. I prefer to eat and enjoy the occasional "processed" meal than eat a ho-hum sandwich. (Don't get me wrong some sandwiches are delish!) I eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and home cooked dinners, so I see no big deal having them for lunch when I'm working and don't have the leftovers to take.

Meerataila

Two miserable tasteless little bites of food. Two and a half if you scrape the sides really good.

47Jacqueline

I eat Lean Cuisine occasionally. They have less sodium than WW Smart Ones. But all in all, I tend to get the non-GMO frozen meals like AMYs or from Trader Joe. They are healthier and the Trader Joe ones are cheaper. I don't need the low calories any more because I'm actually trying to gain weight, but even on mantenance, I don't look for low cal.

baba_helly

I would rather go to taco bell for the same price

wheird

I would rather go to taco bell for the same price

Ugh, I hate that every time I go to Taco Bell I end up with gastrointestinal pain. Even the freakin' chicken soft tacos do it to me now.

_runnerbean_

Two miserable tasteless little bites of food. Two and a half if you scrape the sides really good.

Lol, I thought it was only me that spent ages scraping the last bit out of the tray!!

baba_helly

I would rather go to taco bell for the same price

Ugh, I hate that every time I go to Taco Bell I end up with gastrointestinal pain. Even the freakin' chicken soft tacos do it to me now.

I thought that was a myth since it's never caused me problems... guess not

DellaWiedel

I don't think they're "bad" but they're really not very much food for the money you spend on them. I would eat them, then be hungry again later and end up snacking, so I don't know that they ever did much to help with dieting. lol

wheird

I would rather go to taco bell for the same price

Ugh, I hate that every time I go to Taco Bell I end up with gastrointestinal pain. Even the freakin' chicken soft tacos do it to me now.

I thought that was a myth since it's never caused me problems... guess not

It is heartbreaking!!! I just used to deal with it because I didn't know what caused it until I heard other people making jokes about Taco Bell and needing a toilet handy. Then I did some experiments and it was indeed true. :grumble:

DellaWiedel

I would rather go to taco bell for the same price

Ugh, I hate that every time I go to Taco Bell I end up with gastrointestinal pain. Even the freakin' chicken soft tacos do it to me now.

I thought that was a myth since it's never caused me problems... guess not

It is heartbreaking!!! I just used to deal with it because I didn't know what caused it until I heard other people making jokes about Taco Bell and needing a toilet handy. Then I did some experiments and it was indeed true. :grumble:

Taco Bell does the same to me unfortunately. Even just the plain old regular soft tacos. It didn't used to be that way... I don't know if I'm getting old or their food quality is just going down the tubes... LOL

KimiSteinbach

I prefer the Atkins ones for a quick lunch...

geneticsteacher

This made me curious. Sodium was 25% of DV and ingredients actually not too bad! Here is the nutritional info and ingredients for one of my favorites:

Szechuan Stir Fry with Shrimp
Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 1 (0 ounces)
Servings Per Package: 0

Amount Per Serving:

Calories 240
Calories From Fat 20

%Daily Value*
Total Fat (g) 2.50 4 % Cholesterol (mg) 50 17 %

Saturated Fat (g) 0.50 3 % Sodium (mg) 570 24 %

Trans Fat (g) 0 Potassium (mg) 430 12 %

Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1.50 Total Carbohydrate (g) 42 14 %

Monounsaturated Fat (g) 0.05 Dietary Fiber (g) 5 20 %

Protein (g) 12 Sugars (g) 13

Diet Exchanges 1 1/2 Lean Meat, 2 Starch, 1 Vegetable

*
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Calories: 2,000 2,500
Total Fat Less Than 65g 80g
Sat Fat Less Than 20g 25g
Cholesterol Less Than 300mg 300mg
Sodium Less Than 2,400mg 2,400mg
Potassium Less Than 3,500mg 3,500mg
Total Carbohydrate 300g 375g
Dietary Fiber 25g 30g

Vegetable Servings** 0
**The USDA Food Guide Pyramid suggest 3-5 one-half cup servings of vegtables a day.
Weight Watchers® PointsPlus™ *** 6
***Not endorsed by Weight Watchers®. PointsPlus™ calculated by Nestlé.

Nutritional information is subject to change. Please see label of product on store shelves for the most current information.
Ingredients:

Blanched Whole Wheat Vermicelli (Water, Whole Durum Wheat Flour), Shrimp (Water, Salt, Sodium Phosphates), Water, Snap Peas, Baby Corn, Carrots, Red Peppers, Yellow Carrots, Brown Sugar, 2% Or Less Of Sea Salt, Soy Sauce (Water, Wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Apple Cider Vinegar, Modified Cornstarch, Chili Garlic Sauce (Salted Chili Peppers (Chili Peppers, Salt), Garlic, Sugar, Rice Vinegar, Water, Modified Cornstarch, Acetic Acid), Soybean Oil, Brown Sugar Syrup, Ginger Puree (Ginger, Water, Citric Acid), Garlic Puree, Dehydrated Soy Sauce (Soybeans, Salt, Wheat), Potassium Chloride, Caramel Color, Spice, Sesame Oil, Yeast Extract, Lactic Acid, Calcium Lactate.

Contains:

determinedbutlazy

I had one for lunch today, it tasted crappy and was a tiny portion. I'm still hungry.
I could have had a HUGE salad with tuna or chicken breast for the same (if not less) calories and been completely stuffed.
I would only have one again if I had it with a huge side serving of veggies (microwave steam bags of veggies are life-savers).

Honestly, just boil a bunch of chicken at the start of the week and use it for lunch/lazy dinners with steamfresh veggies and some rice or pasta... Minute rice is great for dinner in a hurry.

determinedbutlazy

I would rather go to taco bell for the same price

Ugh, I hate that every time I go to Taco Bell I end up with gastrointestinal pain. Even the freakin' chicken soft tacos do it to me now.

I thought that was a myth since it's never caused me problems... guess not

It is heartbreaking!!! I just used to deal with it because I didn't know what caused it until I heard other people making jokes about Taco Bell and needing a toilet handy. Then I did some experiments and it was indeed true. :grumble:

I can walk PAST a Taco Bell and get diarrhea.

SherryTeach

Too expensive.
Not enough food.
No fresh produce.
Too much sodium.

Definitely all of this! I cook batches of recipes and put them in Zip Lock screw lid containers. They are lined up in my freezer, easy to use. Much cheaper than Lean Cuisine, considerably more food for the calories, and really tasty.

DataSeven

I have a frozen meal maybe 3 times a week for lunch while I'm at work. My current favourite is a butter chicken one that's a store-brand where I live. A little over 300 calories and tastes great, with not too much sodium. I get them for 2.50 when the store brand dinners are on sale, and that's not prohibitively high for me. I would not want them every day or for more than one meal a day, but a few times a week is fine for me. I really don't have the patience to cook curries or other meals from scratch and freeze them; then have to eat the same thing every day before it goes bad.

zcb94

Forgot to mention this: you probably know those wierd desserts that they offer. Well, Dad just taught me not only the salad method, but he then proceeded to BLOW ME AWAY by topping a scoop of healthier vanilla ice cream with the WARM, LUSCIOUS cherry-blueberry goodness. I was in hog heaven!