Anyone else love the healthy choice and lean cuisine meals?

Losingthedamnweight
Losingthedamnweight Posts: 536 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I started my diet and calorie counting by eating these and they make it so easy by tasting so damn good. Can't believe I didn't try these sooner. I just assumed since it says healthy on the box it must taste like crap
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Replies

  • omgoozles
    omgoozles Posts: 23 Member
    be careful though, they have tons of sodium! Make sure to drink EXTRA water when you eat those....
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,407 Member
    Wow...I find most of them to taste like crap EXCEPT the Lean Cuisine Alfredo, Chicken and Broccoli meal...yum yum.
  • LaLaAlways
    LaLaAlways Posts: 50 Member
    I like them too...some of them. but yes watch sodium. they are super convenient
  • wildaaron
    wildaaron Posts: 163 Member
    Mccain Healthy Choice - Tender Beef In Seeded Light Mustard - pretty flippin tasty and it has veges in it. I was happy
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    Too many things on the ingredients that I can't identify. If I don't know what it is, or pronounce it, I try not to eat it. :ohwell:
  • brit_ks_89
    brit_ks_89 Posts: 433 Member
    processed & too high in sodium = NO THANK YOU ! but the op has nice eyes :)
  • jenna715
    jenna715 Posts: 201
    They definitely helped me when starting my new lifestyle because of the definite calorie counts. Ive been using mfp for over a year now, and I'd say for the first 8 months or so I'd eat at least 1 frozen meal a day. I ended up getting a food scale and eventually I felt confident eyeballing my servings of fresh foods. Eventually I drifted away from frozen meals and now I prepare most of my own meals.
  • katerinajulia
    katerinajulia Posts: 89 Member
    YES I LOVE THEM
    i don't care what anyone says about the sodium content
    i love them and am totally okay with eating them
  • chatondoux
    chatondoux Posts: 38
    Lean cuisine salisbury steak with mac and cheese... I am in love :love:
  • unicornhug
    unicornhug Posts: 68 Member
    uhhhmmm YES... Especially when walmart has them for a dollar..... pretty awesome... but yeah.. look at the ingredients... they're pretty carb-alicious... and full of sodium... but on those days where you are SUPER hungry and need a human sized meal, they are pretty helpful!
  • Markguns
    Markguns Posts: 554 Member
    I started my diet and calorie counting by eating these and they make it so easy by tasting so damn good. Can't believe I didn't try these sooner. I just assumed since it says healthy on the box it must taste like crap

    Just because it says "healthy" doesn't mean it is... some of those have too much fat (calories) / sodium. Read the labels. Better yet, buy chicken, seafood, fruits, vegetables and make your own. Cheaper and better for you.
  • twistygirl
    twistygirl Posts: 517 Member
    If it floates your boat more power to you. I have met lots of people on here that eat them twice a day and lose weight. I would if I could but im one of those people watching there sodium intake......... glad you found something that works for you.
  • JeneticTraining
    JeneticTraining Posts: 663 Member
    Too much sodium
  • Emtabo01
    Emtabo01 Posts: 672
    I like them, for a while, then I get sick of them and don't eat them for a year or so, then like them again. I've had the same 5 out in my garage chest freezer for over 6 months.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    I eat frozen meals every day...I wouldn't say I love them, but they're pretty good. I never go over my sodium because of them either. These days I've also been throwing in a few Marie Callender's frozen dinners - some of those aren't too hugely high in calories (450-550ish) but they're so much tastier than the diet stuff. I do enjoy the convenience and variety of frozen meals - I'm not much of a cook.
  • daphne_m
    daphne_m Posts: 84
    I love them, but then I have a taste for institutional food. Give me some gloopy vegetables, unidentifiable meat product and a starch and I'm in food heaven.
  • majope
    majope Posts: 1,325 Member
    Favorite Lean Cuisine is the Butternut Squash Ravioli--this isn't just okay for a frozen meal, it's GOOD. Healthy Choice has a Pumpkin Squash Ravioli, but it's not as good--sauce is a little sweet, and it doesn't have the tons of veggies that the Lean Cuisine does. It isn't bad, though. I have yet to find a Healthy Choice I really love.

    Kashi does some nice, veggie-loaded meals. The Mayan Harvest Bake is really good, and so is the steam in a bag Sesame Chicken.

    Also check out Marie Callender's--not marketed as diet food, but they have a bunch of meals under 400 calories. The Steak and Roasted Potatoes dinner is quite tasty, and is a lot of food for 350 cals.

    Another line I discovered at my local Target: Garden Lites veggie souffles. The Roasted Vegetables one is very nice. Low-calorie, though (that one was only 140 cals), so you need to build a meal around it by adding a hearty salad and/or some bread. Or use it as a dinner side dish.

    The "oh noes! too much sodium!!!!" thing is generally overstated (although I'm sure there are exceptions). Most of the frozen meals I buy have under 600mg sodium, which would make them easy to fit into a 2500mg day if you need to worry about staying under your MFP allotment (I don't). As always, check labels and see if something works for you.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    good for you bud. i HATE the healthy choice steamers, but eat a lot of lean cuisines... i usually throw one over a cup of spaghetti squash to make it more filling..
  • cook6609
    cook6609 Posts: 182 Member
    I like them. They were a good starter for me when I first started using MFP. I still eat them every once in a while. I especially get the pasta ones, paninis, and quesadillas (I haven't been successful at making a good panini or quesadilla :tongue: )
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
    I like some of them better than others. I especially like the comfort meals and the spa cuisine.
  • Tinkerbell1010
    Tinkerbell1010 Posts: 134 Member
    Loving the new healthy choice options. Great for a meal when you are short on time :)
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    I like some of them. I like a few of the Smart Ones breakfast items too. I am very picky when it comes to which ones I buy. I stick to the ones that have 600mg of sodium or less. If they are higher than 600mg I pass, no matter how yummy it looks.
  • angelnectar69
    angelnectar69 Posts: 18
    I love the lean cuisine's. They are the best as far as taste, easy for work and have the most variety. Healthy Choice, I feel lacks taste it's bland. Smart Ones are not so bad depending what you get. :smile:
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
    Yes I love them very much but only eat them once a week due to the sodium.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    They are made with crap, and they make up for the lack of fat by adding loads of sugar. Check out the ingredients list. You'd do far better with some grilled meat or fish and a big pile of veg.

    I saw this documentary on them the other day, and the test subject put on 3lbs in two weeks eating low-fat ready meals as they left her ravenous and feeling grotty:
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yrvhg
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  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Nope.
  • KimberlyDCZ
    KimberlyDCZ Posts: 525 Member
    The Lean Cuisine "culinary collection" are the tastiest, though a bit more pricey. I like the herb roasted chicken and the panini sandwiches. I only eat them at lunch on work days bc of the sodium content. The salad additions are awesome as well. Bistro chicken comes with a bacon viniagrette dressing that's to die for!
  • bermudamel
    bermudamel Posts: 212
    I used to eat them a lot but they are now an "every now and then" thing for me. I gotta watch the sodium! Actually I cut back too because a lot of the ones I used to love they stopped making (this always happens to me lol). One I like now that is cheaper is the Aldi's Fit and Trim Chicken Florentine Alfredo, it cooks up nicely and the chicken doesn't have that gummy texture to it I find a lot of the meals have.
  • kwilliam2
    kwilliam2 Posts: 35
    Those are all extremely processed (look at how long the ingredients list is) and as such I would never eat one. If something is completely premade and that cheap it pretty much means it has a bunch of cheap additives and you could be eating much more healthy things. The shorter the ingredients list, the better it is for you (in most cases), I truly believe that a mostly paleo diet is the way to go for long-term and short-term health and those meals certainly don't subscribe to it (though I don't agree with the hardcore paleos who throw away dairy, legumes, and grains).

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