Smart Ones and Lean Cuisines

I eat them frequently for lunch at work. They're easy to grab, pre portioned, and some are pretty tasty. They are better than getting takeout at the mall every day (both on the pocketbook and the waist!).

You must eat very small amounts!! I cannot eat these tiny meals because if you look at the calories per gram it is actually very high on the calorie scale! I have to eat more food due to the workouts (weight lifting) and I get so hungry. I opt for fish, chicken breast, turkey chili, greek yogurt, etc. Veggies are great also! I found I can eat much more food for a lower calorie content. My rule of thumb is to not eat more than 100 calories per hour. I burn approx 2500 per day so with workouts it is perfect. My typical day I consume about 1700-1800 calories per day but as I get even more toned I will up it to 2000-2200 per day!

I have used them in the past with great success, yes. They have a lot of sodium, so if that's a concern - you will want to know that. They are processed foods for sure, but if that's not a big deal... they work great for portion control and are relatively satisfying.

Agreed!

I used to eat these every day - for quite a few years, actually. They certainly are convenient, but aside from that, they really don't have much going for them. They are expensive, the meat has the consistency of rubber, they don't taste very good (compared to "real" food, that is), and as others have pointed out - they are loaded with sodium and fillers (chemicals, soy, dyes, and other things that I can't even pronounce)..

I switched to a Whole Foods diet 3 months ago and the first week I lose about 5 pounds in sodium weight I was carrying around. Within a week or two I saw real changes in my weight, the way my clothes fit, and how I felt both physically and mentally. Yep - eating whole foods is more work - but it is worth it in so many ways. I work 60 hours a week, have two young children, and go to night school - SO - I totally get that cooking takes time. I do a lot of weekend, evening, and crockpot cooking and then I freeze individual serving sizes that I can just reheat during the week. It's just as convenient as pulling out a lean cuisine, but the taste and quality is WAY better. Maybe give it a try for a few weeks!

I eat frozen meals for lunch most days at work, but not these brands. When I started my weight loss program, I ate Banquet and Michellinas. I wouldn't recommend Banquet - they truly taste bad. Michellinas was OK for frozen food, not great. This time around, I'm finding the lower-calorie meals from Marie Callenders and Hungry Man. Same price as Smart Ones and Lean Cuisine, but more food (by weight), so I'm more satiated after lunch. And they taste pretty good, considering.

They are a good stand by for a last minute meal or if you are in a rush, but probably not the best bet for healthy weight loss. My husband and I ate them religiously for about a year. We didn't really lose much at all. I even tried Sensa with little success. In fact, niether of us started to see results until we ate healthy meals made with real food and visited the gym on a regular basis. If you are looking for easy, freezer friendly food I recommend Skinnytaste.com. I like her crock pot meals.

I eat them for lunch 2-3 times per week. I tend to eat Lean Cuisines or Healthy Choice (the steamers are super tasty) because I find they have generally more calories and less sodium then the Smart Ones. I look for the meals with 18 or more grams of protein and as close to 300 calories as possible. I also don't find the sodium to be super crazy high - no more than 600 and usually 400-500 so it easily fits into the recommended 2500. It's the stouffers or the "old school" frozen dinners that pack crazy sodium - 1000 or more.

I eat them regularly. My sodium is always under 2,500 mg for the day. The Safeway brand, Eating Right, cost $2 each. Works for me.

I'll buy a few when they're on sale and throw them in my freezer for days I haven't prepared and need to grab a lunch for work. They don't taste great to me though, so I usually remember to be prepared.

All things in moderation.

When I want mac n cheese or lasagne I am glad can grab one of those to target that comfort food craving in relatively safe way!

For me they are a nice break from soup/salad lunches but I try not to eat more than two per week.

I havent tried those ranchero ones yet, now i will!

I like the smart ones pizza bagel things. I also like the potatoes with cheese and broccoli.

I used to bring these to work for lunch all the time. The sodium is ridiculous, and I would always need something else along with them - leftover roasted veg, a salad, some fruit, etc. I stopped buying them when I discovered My Fit Foods - pre-prepared single fresh refrigerated healthy meals. I ate a lot of those, and ended up with so many reusable containers that I just started making my own when I cooked on the weekends. I keep my own home-cooked meals stocked in the fridge and freezer. So much better tasting and filling than the supermarket ones.

When I want to change things up I'll grab a couple of Amy's Organics meals. I LOVE the brown rice/veg bowl and their tofu scramble. They still have a lot of sodium, but I only eat them once in awhile. They're handy, as another poster mentioned, if you have a craving for mac and cheese or lasagna or something like that.

I love the convenience of them....being able to scan them. Portion size everything's already done for me. Doesn't take long to heat.