If you could only buy packaged or "just heat" foods...

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  • marycmeadows
    marycmeadows Posts: 1,691 Member
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    Frozen veggies & fruits -- without added seasonings, syrups, or sugars are fine. anything else is a waste. So overloaded with sodium and sugar and crap. don't eat them.

    Same thing with packaged meals (i.e. hamburger helper, chef boyardee, etc).
  • Spice_4_Life
    Spice_4_Life Posts: 225
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    For veggies, I like fresh. I just put them in a veggie ziplock bag with a couple paper towels, and make sure most of the air is out. The paper towels help to soak up moisture in the bag. They usually stay for quite a while. As for frozen stuff...There is only one that I eat that has decent protein, and lower sodium. It's Healthy Choice Modern Classics/Golden Crusted White Fish - 360 cals, 17 protein, 6 fiber, 10 fat, 51 carbs, only 390 for sodium. Good luck on your search :))
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    Why is your food spoiling though? Are you buying too much to begin with? Poor supply at the store (produce that spoils less than 3 days after you buy it)? Relying too much on take out because you are tired and don't feel like cooking?

    Generally speaking, I do not buy any frozen dinners anymore. I used to buy them frequently and use them as lunches -- the week I cut them out, I did nothing else radical to my diet and lost 3 pounds in a week. I'm close to my goal, so a loss like that is huge for me. The sodium is just off the charts -- and for the same calories, I can make a MUCH larger meal.

    I use packaged foods -- among my favorites are Morning Star Black Bean Burgers, Rotel Canned Tomatoes, and Swanson Canned Chicken. But I make full meals out of them using fresh ingredients. I also keep a supply of frozen veggies in the freezer.

    I know you say you don't like your own cooking -- but honestly, I'd google "recipes that freeze well" and try that before buying tons of prepackaged food.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    package food = toxic preservatives = cancer

    EEK! Well that certainly puts things into perspective. I buy lean cuisine and weight watcher frozen meals. This makes me think twice. Not even joking....that could be a public announcement poster.

    But it's mostly not true:

    http://www.cancerwa.asn.au/resources/cancermyths/food-additives-myth

    Oh Geez! Stop spreading stupidities and use your brain. Nobody is talking about salt and vinegar. Look at the ingredients on processed food and do a thorough search. Your link is totally irrelevant. I bet the FSANZ is as sold out as the FDA. Do you really believe the big companies are going to admit that their preservatives are responsible for cancer? Come on! It would mean a loss of billions and billions of dollars for them. They have too much power.
  • leah379
    leah379 Posts: 11
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    I love egg salad and saw someone saying to substitue greek yogurt instead of mayo. Is there a conversion for that or do you just use as much greek yogurt as you would mayo? Does it taste the same??
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,829 Member
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    I buy all my veggies in those steamfresh bags (the kind that doesn't have sauces or spices or anything, just the veggies). They're AWESOME! 5 minutes in the microwave and I've got nicely steamed veggies to go with whatever else I'm fixing for dinner (typically chicken or fish). Fruit is a hot commodity in our house (seriously, we go through an entire bunch of bananas in like 2 days), so I don't typically worry about it going bad, but frozen fruit is a good option too. That's really the only type of thing I'll buy in pre-packaged form. I batch cook enough chicken breasts for a few days at a time, and really the longest I spend cooking dinner is 30 minutes (you can bake a filet of salmon or some chicken breasts in like 20 mins or less).

    Most frozen entree options are loaded with sodium and preservatives, so I just stay away. I really don't spend much time on food prep and I eat pretty clean foods. It's not realistic for a lot of people to shop entirely fresh when it comes to produce, and frozen produce (as another poster said--that doesn't have any added sugar, preservatives, syrups, etc) is perfectly good to eat and a lot more practical for many people.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    I buy all my veggies in those steamfresh bags (the kind that doesn't have sauces or spices or anything, just the veggies). They're AWESOME! 5 minutes in the microwave and I've got nicely steamed veggies

    Don't cook your veggies in those plastic bags. I know it's convenient, but plastic leeches toxic chemicals in the food.

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