Lean Cuisine?

astow8

Anyone know if Lean Cuisine is actually healthy for you or if it will help you with weight loss? I've been relatively overweight my entire adult life (currently 21 y.o female, 5'7 and my biggest is 182 lbs. Hoping to get to 130 lbs) I've never had much knowledge on healthy food or what makes a healthy diet, and I bought a few lean cuisines from the market today for days when I get home late from work. They seem pretty harmless in terms of their nutrition facts, other than the sodium being about 30% of your daily amount but I figure if you're having one for dinner then that's not all too bad.


Also, any tips on healthy dinners and how to get a quick dinner if I don't get home until 10pm some nights?

Thanks!

brynnsmom

Well, I will confess that I love Lean Cuisines- espescially the pizzas, paninis, and flatbread melts. They satisfy my craving for "junky" foods. You will lose weight if you stay under your calorie goal, so if eating these helps you accomplish that then the answer to your question on weight loss is yes. In regards to healthy, I'm sure they're fine in moderation but as you pointed out high in sodium.

For quick dinners in our house we do a lot of salads and soups. I try to plan ahead and freeze some things (stew, chili, lasagna, etc) so we can have good homecooked meals without much prep time. When you control the ingredients, you can definitely cut down the calorie count on meals that could be perceived as unhealthy. Frozen and canned veggies are always great when your in a crunch, too. Grill a sandwich on whole-grain bread or make low-cal quesadillas with leftover chicken and salsa.

I have a one year old, so time for cooking is very limited- especially on weeknights!

CAWStar

Lean cuisines are great for quick and easy meals. They are a no brainer to log and taste really good!

jeccalou

I can't comment on the lean cuisine because I have never had one. The sheer amount of ingredients scare me. I work alternating shifts at work, 3 days and 2 nights per week. So twice a week i also get home between 10 and 1030. On those nights i usually have a bean based dish because it is so quick and easy when i have to get right to bed to be back up at 6. So i do black bean burritos, with avocado or black bean tacos. I also do quick veggie qusasillas with abot 1.5 ozs. of organic cheese. Beans are easy because whether they are frozen or canned they are heat and eat ready--not much prep time.

blytheandbonnie

I'm no expert at dieting but I was a cook for years. Many things can be prepared and stored. Vegetables can be cut up and stored in the fridge. Cook a whole chicken and you can portion up the meat and freeze or refrigerate it, or take your raw chicken and portion it out. Then if you like, say, a stir fry, you can just pull the meat and veg out and stir fry it up quick. I like to cook my brown rice and quinoa in batches and it will keep in the fridge. You can even portion it up into baggies or containers and that's just one less step. I like to make batches of soup (you can figure out the calories on here in 'recipes') and then I put it in pint or half pint canning jars and freeze it. It's better, cheaper, and way less expensive than canned soup. Get some tortillas. Wraps are quick and, with a ton of veggies, good for you. Just a few ideas to start you out. hope it helps and best of luck on your journey.

astow8

I can't comment on the lean cuisine because I have never had one. The sheer amount of ingredients scare me. I work alternating shifts at work, 3 days and 2 nights per week. So twice a week i also get home between 10 and 1030. On those nights i usually have a bean based dish because it is so quick and easy when i have to get right to bed to be back up at 6. So i do black bean burritos, with avocado or black bean tacos. I also do quick veggie qusasillas with abot 1.5 ozs. of organic cheese. Beans are easy because whether they are frozen or canned they are heat and eat ready--not much prep time.

What kind of tortillas do you use?

Also on an unrelated note...how do I put my ticker as my 'signature' on here? I'm new so I don't know how! haha.

Thanks!

tequila09

we have similar stats!! i'm between 5'7/5'8 and goal weight is 130 my current weight is about 160. i love lean cuisines!! i go to school during the day and work at night so i never have time to make dinner during the week! i eat healthy during the day with fruits and veggies some nuts here and there and i love jamba juice or starbucks smoothies. for dinner i usually have a lean cuisine and if i have calories left which i usually do i also have one bag of the plain broccoli steam in a bag. its delicious!!!

Slinkybaz

I keep Lean Cuisines in the freezer for the odd night that I'm so tired I really can't be bothered but that's only a couple of times a month now. I do really like the meals, and tend to add some salad.

But my quick and easy meal I'm addicted to currently is Scrambled Eggs on Pita Bread. I toast my mini pitas (2) and then scramble 5 eggs with 25g of Cheddar cheese (I don't use any fat in the pan or anything else). Delicios, quick and 608 calories for the ingredients I use. Yumtastic!

Slinkybaz

Delicious even!

douglasmobbs

Not sure if they are here in the UK, but some of the super market healthy eating ready meals are great for me.

Not only are they easy to log and give a good variety in types of meal without having the cupboards bulging with ingredients tempting me they also help so much with portion control.

Natihilator

I ate Lean Cuisines all throughout my chubby teen years (my fave was chicken in wine sauce) but now I wouldn't touch one, reasons being:

- High sodium levels (excess sodium is obviously bad and also makes you retain water which is bad for weight loss
- Just not enough food to satisfy me as a meal. Lean cuisines are higher in carbs and low in fat which means I got hungry again within 1-2 hours after finishing one (my meals now are lower in carbs and higher in good fats and keep me fuller much longer)
- All of the crap they put in it to make it taste good and not like "boring diet food" freaks me out.
- Cost. If you don't buy them on a deal, they can get really expensive to eat all the time.

So to summarize, they didn't help me lose weight due to the high carbs needed to make them "diet" and because they didn't sustain me so I snacked.

Sure, grabbing a Lean Cuisine is better than grabbing pizza for lunch, but unprocessed meals which don't have all the additives are always the better option. My advice would be to take your favourite Lean Cuisines and adapt them to a fresh, healthier version using lean meats, veggies and brown rice/quinoa/sweet potatoes as the starch with your favourite seasonings, that you make yourself ahead of time and freeze in individual portions.

LemonDiva

I think its been said you'd be better off with real food
Next time you are tempted try and separate the ingredients and weigh them... there really is not much real food in them
I tried them exclusively for a while and was seriously depleted in vital nutrients and minerals...
I couldn't understand it surely this was 'real' food... you really can do better as has been said with much less salt...

Soadrokr

They aren't the greatest thing on earth for you but they are good for a quick meal. I keep some in my freezer for those days when i come home from work and just don't feel like cooking, so instead of hitting a bag of chips I microwave one of those. If you really want to eat healthy then teach yourself a few easy recipes so you can control what goes in it. It is a god idea to try and eat a lot of lean proteins and green veggies. Some of my favorites are tuna sandwiches on whole grain bread with some chopped up green onions and jalapenos, a salad with fruit in it instead of dresssing to still give it a great taste but a lot less fat, and just plain old chicken. I buy packs of drums and thighs when they are on sale and just freeze them in ziplocks. Before I head off to work i I put one in the fridge to thaw and then when I get home I just put a little seasoning on it, throw it in the oven and eat it along with some broccoli. You can just google "cheap healthy recipes" and pick a few to try.

AbiNichole

I'm going to side w/ @cloudbustr on this one. I try to stay away from them unless I"m having a serious craving for some watered down mac and cheese or pizza. If I ever buy them I only buy 1 at a time. Don't want to get in the habit of eating packaged stuff often.

Alternatively, I've found that frozen, steamable veggies are just as fast and so much better for you! I enjoy the Green Giant varieties along w/ some lean protein and a fruit. There are cheesy flavors too so if you're ever desperate for something that tastes cheesy gooey and you want to get more valuable nutrients in then try them.

Random fact: Healthy Choice is the only frozen entree that is FDA approved to have "healthy" in the title. Gotta be a reason.

But overall I've never seen a "fit" person eat a Lean Cuisine everyday. Have you?

hawkeygal

In theory yes, they are "healthy" but the sad reality is that they're so processed and full of chemicals that they're not healthy for you in the long run.

Do what I do--cook one day out of the week (usually all day Sunday) to plan your meals for the next two weeks. I put them in tupperware containers. Stash what I need for the week in the fridge, and then put the rest in the freezer. I have meals planned (healthy ones at that) for the next two weeks with minimal extra "ickiness" that processed foods can give you.

I realize everyone has a hectic lifestyle, but you need to MAKE the time to invest in your heath and MFP goals.

kfox15

Have you tried Kashi frozen dinners? They have more fiber than most of the LC's and they are delicious. On most days, I do more smaller meals so their portion size of 290-380 is perfect for me. I agree with everyone about fresh foods but these have saved me from poor choices when I'm tired or stuck at school.