Frozen Food Diet? any luck?

atdeal94

I started out researching meals to plan to help control my appetite for wanting to eat out all the time. I came up with nothing. Some of the meals approximated over 2 hours to prepare. I just don't have that kind of time especially when I truly need 2 prepared meals a day.

So I continued my research and found the frozen food diet. This is simply eating one of those Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Weight Watcher etc. frozen meals for lunch and another for supper.

Has anyone had any luck with this method? Any tips to go along? and lastly, how much weight did you lose on this?

bugaboo_sue

You can't take 2 hours out of your weekend to make a meal that can be portioned out for the week? What do you eat for your other meals? What is so hard about making some food on a Saturday or Sunday and portioning it out for your lunch and dinner the rest of the week? I used to do that and it worked out fine. Sure it takes a bit of time the day you're making the food but then you don't even have to think about it. Just grab and go.

Honestly the problem with those pre-packaged meals is they have a ton of sodium in them. They're great in a pinch -- I have a bunch in my freezer for when I don't feel like make something to eat -- but I wouldn't eat them for two out of my three meals.

Ninkyou

What complicated meals are you making that take 2 hours? Even a casserole only take an hour. You could easily make a casserole and portion it out for the rest of the week. Or make sandwiches. Heck, I had a bacon grilled cheese sandwich for lunch today. 12 minutes to cook the bacon in the oven and another 5 to grill the sandwich.

Meals don't have to be complicated or take forever to cook... unless you're doing like a full on Thanksgiving dinner. Stick to the simple and easy stuff. The tried and true stuff you've probably been eating, just less of it (AKA moderation).

And I agree with the previous poster. Freezer meals are fine in a pinch, but they contain alot of sodium. And generally, they're not very filling. I personally would not want to ever eat freezer meals 2x a day. There are too many yummy foods out there to bother with that, lol.

atdeal94

Yikes! Did not mean to make so many people angry over this. I work 2 jobs and go to college. So my weekends are spent resting for 13+ hour work days Monday - Saturday and doing my college work. This leaves very little time to look up recipes, and make meals for an entire week. I am a very picky eater - which I hope to change soon. I did not do full blown research on these meals as I simply looked up meals and was astonished by the time that it had listed for preparing them. I also really do not have a place to keep my meals. One of my jobs has a grocery store next door that I could go grab a quick frozen meal and heat it up in the microwave. Which is why I asked if any luck. Are sandwiches a good meal? I have always thought you were supposed to stay away from bread.

Hoping this post will help clarify why I was so persistent on freezer meals. Its not that I do not want to make meals but its that I truly just don't have the time.

bgoodsmile

You could easily buy frozen veggie mixes (inexpensive, healthy & easy) & stir fry them with chicken tenderloins (packages are reasonably inexpensive - I buy organic ones from Walmart) which require very little prep work. I also keep a bag of frozen shrimp around (like $6 a pound) as well. Just add seasoning - watch the sodium there - I have no salt added fajita seasoning that is great - or sauce - again read labels for sodium. Anywhooo, that is an easy, cheap meal for you!

atdeal94

I am a very picky eater and that sounds good! Thanks for the advice

SoDamnHungry

Frozen dinners are a perfectly acceptable food. Just watch your calories and macros and try not to get too crazy with the sodium. Look up easy cheap recipes and eat the leftovers for lunch.

Ninkyou

Yikes! Did not mean to make so many people angry over this. I work 2 jobs and go to college. So my weekends are spent resting for 13+ hour work days Monday - Saturday and doing my college work. This leaves very little time to look up recipes, and make meals for an entire week. I am a very picky eater - which I hope to change soon. I did not do full blown research on these meals as I simply looked up meals and was astonished by the time that it had listed for preparing them. I also really do not have a place to keep my meals. One of my jobs has a grocery store next door that I could go grab a quick frozen meal and heat it up in the microwave. Which is why I asked if any luck. Are sandwiches a good meal? I have always thought you were supposed to stay away from bread.

Hoping this post will help clarify why I was so persistent on freezer meals. Its not that I do not want to make meals but its that I truly just don't have the time.

No one is angry, believe me. It's just that meals, even homemade ones should never take more than an hour to make. Unless it's some special occasion event something or other.

There's nothing wrong with bread, or any other food for that matter. It's all just food. When part of a balanced diet, it's perfectly fine. Carbs, Fat, Protein etc are all good for you. As long as you reach your daily calorie goal (and macros too), you can literally eat anything you want. The sky is the limit. Eat all of the foods you love, in moderation.

I get 40 calorie/slice bread made by Arnold. It's tasty and keeps my sandwich calories lower. And it makes for some pretty yummy sandwiches. I even use it for french toast. So many yummy bread goodies to be had!

ETA: You can also make some crockpot recipes. Obviously they take longer to 'cook' but it's like a set it and forget it type of thing. Then you can just portion it out into some bowl tupperware etc and reheat it at work/school.

atdeal94

Thank you for both of your replies. I will definitely try eating sandwiches and will look at the sodium content on packages of frozen food before buying.
Any other tips that have aided in your weight loss thus far? I am pretty new at all of this.

SoDamnHungry

Thank you for both of your replies. I will definitely try eating sandwiches and will look at the sodium content on packages of frozen food before buying.
Any other tips that have aided in your weight loss thus far? I am pretty new at all of this.

My best advice is staying within your calories, but also don't eat too little. Eat sufficient protein, fiber and fat to feel full. Don't deny yourself occasional treats. I eat a lot of eggs and tuna. Partially because I'm lazy, partially because I like them, and partially because they're good for me. Also, stay hydrated.

auddii

Honestly, I've tried the lean cuisines, and beyond being pretty high in salt, I just felt hungry after finishing one. However, I can make my own frozen meals for the week that's mostly just protein and veggie based and be full for the same or fewer calories.

My go to right now are shredded salsa chicken, green beans, and an apple or what I call Italian stew (essentially a spaghetti sauce with tons of veggies in it and no pasta) with an apple. I don't mind eating the same thing for lunch every day as long as I can mix it up for dinner. I make huge batches on the weekend and freeze in pre-portioned containers. And super easy because I throw everything in the crockpot and then forget about it for 8 hours.

The shredded chicken is great because I can use it so many ways; it can be served with veggies on the side, add some BBQ sauce and have a pulled chicken sandwich, serve it on a salad, make tacos, mix with mustard/mayo for a chicken salad sandwich. The possibilities are endless, and after the initial cooking and shredding, it's super fast to prepare everything else (and again, crockpot, so not much to the cooking and shredding is simple after cooking for that long; it just falls apart).

knitapeace

Making meals really does go faster once you've been doing it for a while. You get to be an efficiency expert regarding what to do first (start the rice in the steamer because it takes half an hour) and when to move to the next step so everything is ready at the same time. Just find some simple meals that sound yummy and practice.

Sometimes when I'm making the evening meal I'll pull out the ingredients for the next night's dinner and get them going, esp if it's a crockpot meal. For instance for beef stew I can sear the meat, saute the veggies, and put everything in a ziplock to be ready to dump in the crockpot with broth and seasoning before I walk out the door the next morning. I'm cooking and cleaning up anyway so it's hardly much extra work.

I guess you're really looking for advice about the frozen food diet but I'd say work a few homecooked meals into your schedule and you may find it's not as hard as it looks on paper. Rachael Ray has a really good cookbook called "Express Lane Meals" and I love her original 30 Minute Meals cookbook.

kmbrooks15

You don't have to spend 2 hours prepping a meal. I'm a single, working mom with two teenagers (one of whom has multiple disabilities) and a dog. Dinners have to be quick and simple with our schedule!

One of the easiest meals I prepare is to take a lean protein (fish, chicken tenderloins-they cook faster than a whole breast, pork chop, etc.). I season it with whatever seasoning strikes my fancy (there are tons of options, but garlic pepper is one of my favorites). I put it in the oven on 350. While it's baking, I take some frozen veggies and either pop them in the microwave (if they're the steamable bags) or do my favorite prep, which is to drizzle a saute pan with a little olive oil, throw the veggies in there, season them, and toss around until they're done. Only takes about 20 mintues. I'm cutting back on carbs, so I skip the bread, potatoes, or rice. Instead I'll have some fruit. I also allow myself some Carb Smart ice cream for dessert. Healthy, balanced, yet allowing for a treat. It's quick and easy to prepare, too. You can even cheat and line your baking sheet with aluminum foil. When you're done baking, just toss the aluminum foil and voila...no cleanup needed! Then it's only the one skillet to wash if I used that.

The frozen meals can be a decent substitute once in awhile when you're in a pinch, but they are VERY high in sodium, which can affect your health in negative ways. Plus, eating fresh foods always tastes better. You'll find that you can vary it quite a bit by trying different seasonings, different veggies, etc. I don't know where you're getting your recipes, but toss them. No college student has 2 hours to prepare a meal every day! I'm a grown woman and don't have that kind of time! If you do have time on the weekends, you can prepare large amounts of a dish and divide it up into smaller containers for the week, but my problem with that is I get bored eating the same thing every night. That's why I like doing what I detailed above...I can change my meat, veggies, and seasonings to fit my taste for that night and not get bored.

veganbettie

frozen meals are generally not enough food to fill me up....

I would try making soups and freezing, or just take about 30 minutes and chop up some veggies for salads for the week. It really does not take much time. Most of us are super busy and can make it work.

That said, I do love me frozen meals, I love that type of crappy processed food, and you can lose weight on them, but you really don't necessarily have to do that if you're short on time, there are other ways.

atdeal94

Hopefully in the near future I will be able to get into the rhythm of preparing my meals. So I will take in this information to be used later. Right now I am looking for quick things. First on the list are sandwiches, frozen meals, and I found some yummy looking "sandwiches" that instead of break they are rolled up in tortillas.

Need2Exerc1se

No one is angry, believe me. It's just that meals, even homemade ones should never take more than an hour to make. Unless it's some special occasion event something or other.

Should never take more than an hour?? Where did this rule come from?

I agree it's not necessary to ever spend an hour on a meal, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't if you want to.

bugaboo_sue

I didn't see any angry responses. I just don't understand how you can't squeeze in some time to make something. You could throw some chicken breasts in the oven to bake while you study, cook up some vegetables which doesn't take too long. Toss some lettuce, veggies and what have you in a big bowl for a salad for meals.

You have the same amount of time in a day as everyone else. There's no reason why you can't spend half an hour -- or even an hour -- preparing some meals for the week.

auddii

No one is angry, believe me. It's just that meals, even homemade ones should never take more than an hour to make. Unless it's some special occasion event something or other.

Should never take more than an hour?? Where did this rule come from?

I agree it's not necessary to ever spend an hour on a meal, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't if you want to.

My dad and I spent 3 days making a rather complicated meal for his friends including a mole sauce from scratch. It was delicious and definitely worth the many hours spent. I've also done it once in my life...

Anonycatgirl

Crockpots. Crockpots, especially ones with timers, are the busy person's friend.There might be a bit of prepping and chopping, but then it's basically "dump into crockpot, set timer, come back to a vat o' food you can eat for several days." I'm not sure my husband and I would have survived 2012 without a crockpot.

Frozen meals get expensive unless you catch a great sale--and personally I find most of them unsatisfying and weird in texture, except for some of the Kashi ones. But if you don't mind them, they're quick, simple and the calories are right there for you to check, and those sound like things that will be helpful for you right now.

BTW, a lot of recipes include actual cooking time in the "prep time." I cook a lot, and I can't think of any dishes that involve two hours of hands-on prep. (Unless you're talking about canning a year's worth of tomato sauce, which isn't something you're likely to tackle at this stage of your life.)

radmack

I started out researching meals to plan to help control my appetite for wanting to eat out all the time. I came up with nothing. Some of the meals approximated over 2 hours to prepare. I just don't have that kind of time especially when I truly need 2 prepared meals a day.

So I continued my research and found the frozen food diet. This is simply eating one of those Lean Cuisine, Kashi, Weight Watcher etc. frozen meals for lunch and another for supper.

Has anyone had any luck with this method? Any tips to go along? and lastly, how much weight did you lose on this?

This diet was very hot when I was in college. It works until you get sick of eating the frozen food.:yawn:

WinoGelato

I really don't know what recipes you are looking at that take 2 hours to make. I work and have two little kids, and although I love to cook, 2 hour prep meals are something I would never have time to do.

As others have said, there are lots of things that can be made ahead of time that can be portioned out and reheated during the week. If you look up 30 Minute Meals, or Make Ahead Meals, or Cook Once Eat Twice Meals... you can google these or you can look on Pinterest, there will be tons of suggestions.

As far as meals that will help you - it just kind of depends on what you like and what your goals are. You can eat pretty much anything you want, if you fit it within your calorie goal for the day. You don't have your diary open so we don't know what you are currently eating, so it is difficult to make suggestions. I don't know your stats (height/weight/goal weight/calorie goal) so it is also difficult to tell you if what you're doing is going to be successful.

Lastly, there really isn't anything wrong with the frozen foods, or other convenience foods. I use them once or twice a week for lunch, and ate them more often when I was younger like you. I don't find them particularly filling, so I would probably supplement with a salad, or some fruit, or bread. Someone suggested sandwiches, and yes, those are totally fine. So are canned soups, again, might have to watch the sodium, but unless you have a medical reason to be concerned about sodium, most of the processed foods are probably fine.

AskTracyAnnK28

I eat the occasional frozen meal throughout the week (I prefer Amy's Organic - Lean Cuisine always smells like stinky cheese to me), but eating them all the time isn't so good for you.

It only takes a few minutes to heat up a veggie burger, toss it on a bun and put together a nice salad or bake a potato.

Not sure if you like seafood, but shrimp is really easy and quick to prepare as well.

WinoGelato

Oh and I just thought of something else. I think when you said "frozen foods" you were talking specifically about the meals for one, things like Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Kashi, etc that come in a box? You may also want to look at some of the skillet meals that are available in the frozen section. Lean Cuisine has some, Voila, Evol, Bertolli, even restaurants like PF Changs and Macaroni Grill have them. These are usually 2 serving portions, and what I will do with those on a busy night when my husband is out of town is make them for my dinner (usually take less than 10 minutes) and then save one portion for leftovers for lunch the next day. They are really tasty, and I think, slightly more filling than the traditional "frozen meals" in the box.

5stringjeff

I eat a frozen meal for lunch nearly every workday (yay office life!). In fact, as I'm typing this, my Hungry Man meal is cooling down so I can eat it. I enjoy the convenience of the meals, and the fact that I know the calorie/macro count. Yes, you 'll need to take sodium into account, but if you're drinking enough water, you'll be all right. One frozen meal a day won't keep you from meeting your weight loss goals.

stealthq

I end up doing a mix of frozen meals and homemade.

I have a regular job, but spend 1-1.5hrs a day working out, and am out of the house 100% of the weekend, so I have to make meals in a short amount of time, too. Plus, when I get home from work, cooking is not my idea of fun.

Frozen meals are just fine. You'll have better luck if there's a toaster oven available to you - baked is always much better than nuked. Some frozen meals are better with tuna or other extras (like veg) added in. Boosts the nutrient value, and the taste.

Make one or two meats/fish a week - enough for a couple of days of leftovers. Mix it up by having with different veg, or fruit, or in a taco or sandwich.

Hard boiled eggs are a good meal addition. Fast to prepare, easily make lots at once, store for a pretty long time. You can buy tuna in a packet and bring the makings for tuna salad with you.

Bring a selection of cheeses, cured meats, pickled veg, some crackers or bread, olives, fruit, some honey - instant charcuterie board, no cooking necessary.

Ninkyou

No one is angry, believe me. It's just that meals, even homemade ones should never take more than an hour to make. Unless it's some special occasion event something or other.

Should never take more than an hour?? Where did this rule come from?

I agree it's not necessary to ever spend an hour on a meal, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't if you want to.

It's not a rule... that would just be silly. But in everyday life... that just is not going to happen. I'm lucky if I have 15 minutes to myself to take a shower. More than an hour to make dinner? Heck no. Not going to happen. Not in this lifetime. So no, it's not a "rule" per se, BUT if I look at a recipe and see it's going to take more than an hour to make... more than likely I'm going to toss it out the window and come up with something else. I have other things to do with my time. I'd say it's more of a "guideline" than a rule :flowerforyou:

pixelatedsun

I'm not gonna lie, I eat frozen food several times a week, almost once a day, because my job is just busy and ... well, excuses. I manage it anyway. The key is making sure your breakfast and dinner are lower-sodium, and if you can manage that, then the rest will fall into place. Some frozen meals are "better" than others, but if you have one "bad sodium" food you can still lose just fine: you get an allotment of 2300 sodium, and the average Lean Cuisine has maybe 900 max - that leaves you with 1400 to play with, which means you can even eat two of the suckers if you really want to.

stacyjh1979

I never thought of it as a "frozen food diet" but I suppose that is what people would say I am on and it's working for me. I was told in the past by my nutritionist that depending on the frozen meal they can be an excellent choice. The portions are correct for what we "should" be eating and not all of them are high in sodium. I eat frozen meals every single day and I am within my sodium limit probably 98% of the time.

I do put other food with it sometimes, my go to sides are steamed broccoli, garden tomatoes, and fresh fruit usually banana or watermelon. I do also make a huge pot of vegetable soup on occasion and eat it for practically every meal for a week lol. I am not bothered by eating the same things a lot and I find I can actually get greater variety with frozen meals that I would if I cooked. I work in an office and this is what is easiest for me. It may not be right for everyone but this isn't about anyone else so do what works for you. For me there are several factors: I'm lazy and don't want to/like to cook, it's convenient and easy to track calories and macros and I can get a variety of foods without cooking many different meals.

My absolute favorite is Lean Cuisine Fiesta Grilled Chicken...I literally have about 5 of those in my freezer right now and I could eat that every meal. Do what works for you and tweak it as needed. As long as you are watching your calories and macros you will be fine!

reachingforarainbow

Uncle Ben's express rice - 2.75 servings approx of rice in a package. Only takes 90 seconds in the microwave. Cheap. Low salt if you buy the unflavoured kinds.

130 calories per serving.

Add some frozen veggies and a can of tuna or can of chicken or eggs (sounds weird but I think its yummy) or cheese
Could even add spices or sauce, but you can also just keep it simple

scraver2003

I eat them on occassion! (In fact, I *should* have brought one to work today) I buy Ziplock's "Zip n Steam" bags. I chop up a zuchini or throw in some broccoli and add that to my frozen meal - it REALLY helps to bulk up the meal, help me get my veggies in, and keep me fuller longer.

s_pekz

Slowcookers are amazing. To make shredded chicken super easy: two chicken breasts, some bbq sauce, a few spices and turn it on. IN a few hours you have a weeks worth of lunches and dinners.