I think I'm eating too much processed food. HELP!

mb1883

I'm finding that I can't stop eating pre-made, processed foods, especially when I go to work. I bring a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner for lunch every day because it's easier than trying to make something before work and it's already portioned out for me. I bring fruit and other healthy foods with me to work, but my main meal is always a frozen dinner. Are they bad for you? What other EASY alternatives can I bring with me instead. By the way, I hate sandwiches!

psarah

Processed foods have tons of sodium...

marianmaj

yes it is bad for you! always too much sodium plus who knows exactly how high the quality is? Take your day off like Sunday and devote time to making a couple of big healthy meals and put them in containers to bring to work....once you become used to it you will not think it's a big burden..after all you are worth it! FRESH IS ALWAYS BEST!

SoFLYFireman

Processed foods can be horribly bad for you, especially considering that they are packed with preservatives to keep it from getting old, which is why the expiration dates on them are so long. Try going to Trader Joes and seeing what you can find there, i've found it really easy to make things in bulk and refridgerate them and take them to work. My favorite is Trader Joes turkey chili with beans, no preservatives, and really fast to heat up in the microwave.. hope this helps

NightOwl1

Okay, so here comes my defense of processed food, or at least my defense of meals like Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice. The truth is, they're pretty much healthy. All of those meals are packed with nutrition, and are low on calories. Plus, the sodium worry is overblown. Alot of them are 600-700 mg of sodium, which isn't great, but is only about 25% of your daily limit. I find when I have regular meals, they usually contain at least that much. Not to mention, that most healthy frozen dinners contain a ton of Potassium and Fiber, which are both necessary for diet and a lot of people are missing from theirs. So the high potassium offsets the high sodium.

Don't feel bad about having them. While it would be healthier if your meals were nothing but flax seed oil/organic kale shakes, completely clean eating is not practical for many lifestyles. Do not feel bad about having frozen dinners.

reneeot

I make a lot of skillet meals. Meat w/ veggies and add pasta's or rice if I want.

4 oz chicken
marianara sauce or classico fire roasted spaghetti sauce (1/4 cup only)
1 serving of pasta
broccoli
and tiny bit of mozarrella cheese sprinkled on top



Brown rice(success/steamfresh)
onions chopped (green onions are good)
4oz of pork or chicken (sauted in 1/2 T of soy sauce)
shredded carrots
scrambled eggs
1/2 T soy sauce



Ground Turkey
cumin
garlic
ground red chili
remove from skilliet Mix into leafy greeens w/carrots
sprinkle with cheddar cheese


Pork sirloin diced and browned
add red chili
add some water and little bit of flower to make red chili thick
simmer for 15 minutes
Little bit of cheddar if you want and eat with corn tortilla if you want or not

schpanks

I take a lot of salads, which only take me a few minutes to put together, and you can make them ahead of time, too. Cottage cheese and tomatoes, yogurt, bananas. The sodium in one item isn't too terrible if you can break even with the rest of the day. I wish I'd made myself a salad for tonight...:happy:

msbanana

yes it is bad for you! always too much sodium plus who knows exactly how high the quality is? Take your day off like Sunday and devote time to making a couple of big healthy meals and put them in containers to bring to work....once you become used to it you will not think it's a big burden..after all you are worth it! FRESH IS ALWAYS BEST!

^^THIS!!!^^ I actually do this on sunday and make a bird or something that I can take and heat up with some frozen veggies in the microwave at work. Sometimes I'll do a big pot of soup or curry and section it into serving size containers and put it in the freezer for emergency lunches. OO! Assembling a big salad w/spinach, cooked chicken, craisins, and some nuts and keeping it in a big airtight bowl so all you have to do is dish it and grab dressing is another of my favorites. Nights later in the week (when I've eaten all of what I cooked sunday or I'm sick of it) I cook extra, before I serve myself I drop the extra in a container for lunch the next day/ EASY PEAZY! Also wraps are a great solution- (lettuce or a tortilla) and you can make them up a day or 2 in advance and just wrap them and keep them in the fridge for a quick grab. (I wouldn't assemble the lettuce wrap until you're ready to eat it but you can have the ingredients ready to go).

katschi

Could you consider cooking up a batch of chicken breasts or some other protein beforehand in batches?
I do this and add some frozen veggies to each dish.
You could also add a small portion of rice or sweet potato.
and voila, you've made your own portion controlled take along dinners.
Making several dinners takes just as much time as one.

I like the 100 calorie cups of hummus and fresh cut up veggies to dip.

edited to add: Well I guess I should've read everyone's post before I added my 2¢, eh? lol

TwistedLemonade

I agree to stay away from them. Theres usually chemicals and what not in there that just really probably arent good for you. When you go home and make dinner.. Make a little bit more and put the left overs in a clean small Tupperware dish. Something about the same size. If you want something comparable in size.. dont fill it anymore then half way full. Remember.. A serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards .. Home made is always best.

mommacool

Try making extra at dinner time and packing your lunch then. That is what i do for my husband all the time. Or if you are making a salad at dinner time, make extra. The key is to have it all ready the night before.

Make a big pot of vegetable soup on the weekend. Use low sodium broth. Then you can add some different things to it every day, leftover chicken or turkey, pasta, rice, beans, cheese, etc. to change it up. Soup is very filling and you can eat a lot of plain vegetable soup. Another option is to make vegetable chili, and then add to that.

Once you get in the habit of it, it will get easier!

I am not a fan of sandwiches either!!

nilisabel

mix it up, but if you can't help it, that's life. think of what your biggest health concern is, for most people on this site it's problems related to obesity. fix that, then clean up the rest - at least that's my motto

kiannlouise

Do you like wraps? they're great )
- leftovers
- chicken and salad
- foccasias
?

Good luck!

jessieinblue

Okay, so here comes my defense of processed food, or at least my defense of meals like Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice. The truth is, they're pretty much healthy. All of those meals are packed with nutrition, and are low on calories. Plus, the sodium worry is overblown. Alot of them are 600-700 mg of sodium, which isn't great, but is only about 25% of your daily limit. I find when I have regular meals, they usually contain at least that much. Not to mention, that most healthy frozen dinners contain a ton of Potassium and Fiber, which are both necessary for diet and a lot of people are missing from theirs. So the high potassium offsets the high sodium.

Don't feel bad about having them. While it would be healthier if your meals were nothing but flax seed oil/organic kale shakes, completely clean eating is not practical for many lifestyles. Do not feel bad about having frozen dinners.

This advice is well-intentioned but misguided.

If you read the ingredient list on a Lean Cuisine, there is much more in there than what you appear to be eating. Let's take one of my old favorites from when I used to eat these: Grilled Chicken Primavera. "Grilled white meat chicken with aspargus,tomatoes & whole wheat pasta in a creamy garlic sauce": only 200 calories, 3g fat, 5g fiber, 580 mg sodium, and lots of diced veggies. Not too bad, right?

But here are the ingredients:

BLANCHED WHOLE WHEAT VERMICELLI (WATER, WHOLE DURUM WHEAT FLOUR), COOKED WHITE MEAT CHICKEN (WHITE MEAT CHICKEN, WATER, MODIFIED TAPIOCA STARCH, CHICKEN FLAVOR (DRIED CHICKEN BROTH, CHICKEN POWDER, NATURAL FLAVOR), CARRAGEENAN, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SOYBEAN OIL, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SALT), SKIM MILK, ASPARAGUS, BROCCOLI, TOMATOES, WATER, 2% OR LESS OF SEA SALT, PARMESAN AND ASIAGO CHEESE BLEND WITH FLAVOR (PARMESAN AND ASIAGO CHEESES (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), FLAVOR (ENZYME MODIFIED PARMESAN CHEESE {CULTURED MILK, WATER, SALT, ENZYMES}), WHEY, SALT, CELLULOSE), PARMESAN CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), ROASTED GARLIC, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, SOYBEAN OIL, BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, BASIL, GARLIC PUREE, SUGAR, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT (YEAST EXTRACT, SALT), CHICKEN FLAVOR (YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVORS, WATER, CHICKEN POWDER, CHICKEN FAT, SUGAR, SODIUM LACTATE, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID, ASCORBIC ACID), POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, LACTIC ACID, CALCIUM LACTATE, SPICE.

If you made this dish at home, would there be any "corn syrup solids" in your list of ingredients? How about "autolyzed yeast extract"? Or maybe some yummy "enzyme modified parmesan cheese"? Which, by the way, is code for extremely low-quality cheese being injected and molested with cheese "flavor" so it tastes like you're getting the good stuff.

There are some great suggestions in this thread. Eat real food!

Grokette

I'm finding that I can't stop eating pre-made, processed foods, especially when I go to work. I bring a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner for lunch every day because it's easier than trying to make something before work and it's already portioned out for me. I bring fruit and other healthy foods with me to work, but my main meal is always a frozen dinner. Are they bad for you? What other EASY alternatives can I bring with me instead. By the way, I hate sandwiches!

Do you cook meals in the evening time or over the weekend?

if so, make extra and bring leftovers, portioned out in rubber maid containers to eat for lunch. Make a crock pot of soup or stew with lots of veggies, some beef or chicken and portion out in individual containers.

You can do this!!!

modernfemme

Something I like to do is make a big batch soup using fresh, or frozen, vegetables and whatever else you want to put in. Then I portion it all out in Tupperware and send my husband off to work in addition to some healthy fruit and other snacks.

Hope this help!

Prepared foods just has a ton of preservatives and sodium like the others were saying, that isn't the best for you. It just doesn't pack the same punch. When I eat fresh foods, I just have so much more energy.