Lean Cuisines

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Replies

  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,251 Member
    Some of them aren't bad.. but they aren't nearly filling enough for me. Maybe as a snack, but then they are way too many calories to be considered a snack for me either. I'd much rather choose something I can make myself that is more filling, than a tiny frozen meal. If I was in a bind and had absolutely no other option, I'd eat one.
  • nellyb2011
    nellyb2011 Posts: 167 Member
    BUMP
  • Mainebikerchick
    Mainebikerchick Posts: 1,573 Member
    Chicken Carbonara @ 240 isn't so bad. It's not my favorite, but it's pretty good.

    Why settle for sub par food when you don't have to?
    Chicken Parmesan is good @ 300 calories. A decent portion of chicken and some noodles to go along with it. Now, it has nothing on Olive Garden, but we're talking about sheer convenience and portion control (at a slight high price, I know)

    LOLOLOL.

    I also love the Mushroom Mezzuluna Ravioli @ 290 calories. It's a smaller portion. I tend to always want a little more, but it is truly enough to satisfy you.

    So you want more but it's satisfying? Contradiction.



    All that being said, I ate lean cuisines and smart ones when I first started losing weight. You'll learn that you can cook meals with reasonable cal amounts that are much tastier and don't leave you feeling hungry, though.

    ^^THIS!!! I had a Lean Cuisine for lunch today because I was running late and didn't have time to make a salad...well it's 3:35, I work until 5:30 and likely won't eat dinner until 6:30...and I AM STARVING RIGHT NOW!! :sad:

    Tasty? Yes it was. Filling? Definitely was NOT.
  • airen123
    airen123 Posts: 149
    I used to eat these every day, but I found that how much I was exercising (work out twice a day, lifting heavy, etc) that it isn't enough food for me. I would often feel SO hungry after the 5 bites it would take to clean out a LC pasta. I do like the taste of some (Potstickers FTW!)
    But, I now have figured out that either giant salads or homemade soups are what works for me.
    I make the soups on Sundays and freeze portions. Two soups I keep in rotation are:
    http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cha-Chas-White-Chicken-Chili/

    http://www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/healthy-soup-recipes-00412000070018/page93.html

    OH, often Michelina's light and lean line is 99 cents a meal-just fyi if you're on a tight budget.
  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
    I used to eat those but since I've started cooking, I just don't like the flavors anymore. I can get more food that I think tastes better if I just cook it myself. I'm the only one in my household that is trying to lose weight and I've found that I can cook low cal foods that everyone in the house enjoys. If I make prepare 4 ounces of grilled chicken breast with basil and rosemary, paired with half a cup of rice, and a side of stuffed eggplant, it'll run me about 300 calories or some cod and rogout runs me 174 calories a serving. Though I do get the convenience aspect of it-- especially if you don't enjoy cooking.
  • Tuffjourney
    Tuffjourney Posts: 971
    Lean Cuisines now has Salad Additions which I am using for lunch. You just add the lettuce. I think there are four different types: cranberry, asian, southwest, and bistro. All of them have chicken. I've enjoyed all except the bistro. I'm having that tomorrow. Each is at 260 calories. My sodium intake is normally pretty low so I don't pay a lot of attention to that. Today I had the cranberry and an apple for lunch. I feel stuffed.

    I've been interested in trying these. Glad you gave a review.:flowerforyou:
  • jakki_brown
    jakki_brown Posts: 142 Member
    To the critics: I do realize you can cook something better, but to be quite honest, I'm lazy sometimes. When you work a full time job, have a weekend gig, and go to school - all while planning a wedding.... things get a little hectic. I enjoy LC and they aren't for everyone, but the convenience trumps everything sometimes.

    This post wasn't for nay-sayers to explain to us that we can cook better, healthier options at home. This is for people that do eat them to talk about how they work them into their diets and which types they like.
  • chileheadmike
    chileheadmike Posts: 78 Member
    My wife eats them and likes them. They don't smell like food to me. Especially anything that has garlic in it. I don't know what they use for garlic on those thing, but it ain't garlic.

    I pass.
  • jakki_brown
    jakki_brown Posts: 142 Member
    Chicken Carbonara @ 240 isn't so bad. It's not my favorite, but it's pretty good.

    ***** "It's not my favorite" was a comparison to the rest of the LCs a like. As I said, it isn't my favorite lean cuisine (out of the LCs I like), but I like it and the calorie count "isn't so bad" @ 240 calories.

    Why settle for sub par food when you don't have to?

    **** It's not settling - it's what I WANT to eat.
    Chicken Parmesan is good @ 300 calories. A decent portion of chicken and some noodles to go along with it. Now, it has nothing on Olive Garden, but we're talking about sheer convenience and portion control (at a slight high price, I know)

    LOLOLOL.

    I also love the Mushroom Mezzuluna Ravioli @ 290 calories. It's a smaller portion. I tend to always want a little more, but it is truly enough to satisfy you.

    So you want more but it's satisfying? Contradiction.

    **** I struggle with eating past being full when I'm eating something I really like, which is partly how I became overweight. It's a decent portion that doesn't leave me hunger, but it does leave me craving more because I like it that much.



    All that being said, I ate lean cuisines and smart ones when I first started losing weight. You'll learn that you can cook meals with reasonable cal amounts that are much tastier and don't leave you feeling hungry, though.

    ***** I never said I was left feeling hungry. I do cook when I have the time or feel like it. And when I cook, I probably do enjoy what I eat more, but when I don't feel like cooking or don't have the time to cook.. I eat LCs and I enjoy them.
  • jakki_brown
    jakki_brown Posts: 142 Member
    Thanks for posting this thread. I never eat them because I'm afraid I'll hate the taste. I tried the Smart Ones Ravioli several years ago and it made me gag. So I haven't eaten any kind of diet frozen meal since. But with all your suggestions in hand, I might give it a try again. :)

    Another posted said that Marie Callendars had some entrees that weren't too horrible in calories and I have since ate some. There are quite a few that are under 400! Maybe that would help? :)
  • AMANDAJOY1104
    AMANDAJOY1104 Posts: 36 Member
    Parmesan Crusted Fish with Vegetables and Pasta!!! It's so yummy, but hard to find... I don't typically eat LC but I do like to have one or two in my freezer just in case. And if I ever see the Parmesan Fish, I buy 2!
  • credessa
    credessa Posts: 36 Member
    Love the broccoli cheddar potatoes @ 210 cals...helps for when I want a loaded baked potato. I also love the MC Spicy Chicken Alfredo@ 260 cals- I love spicy food and this has just enough heat to satisfy my spicy cravings.
  • jakki_brown
    jakki_brown Posts: 142 Member
    Ohhhh - I'll have to look for that spicy dish!
  • pcon1212
    pcon1212 Posts: 22
    I like Lean Cuisines better than Smart Ones for the most part but I have found the Smart Ones salisbury steak with mac and cheese to be much better than the Lean Cuisine. I like to bring frozen meals for lunch, pair them with a simple green salad and have a yogurt a couple of hours later. Keeps me satisfied until dinner most of the time.
  • Anthonydaman
    Anthonydaman Posts: 854 Member
    I eat the WW smart ones, pretty much the same thing. They are good in a pinch or at work for lunch
  • krystlepon
    krystlepon Posts: 13 Member
    I work in an office. Eat a quick lunch before or after I take lunch and go to the gym. I like the healthy choice ones. Ohh and the LC Pizzas with a side of steamed veggies. HC I like the turkey and meatloaf a lot. I also fell in love with the special K flat bread breakfast sandwiches.
  • b14a3w3
    b14a3w3 Posts: 61 Member
    Lean Cuisines now has Salad Additions which I am using for lunch. You just add the lettuce. I think there are four different types: cranberry, asian, southwest, and bistro. All of them have chicken. I've enjoyed all except the bistro. I'm having that tomorrow. Each is at 260 calories. My sodium intake is normally pretty low so I don't pay a lot of attention to that. Today I had the cranberry and an apple for lunch. I feel stuffed.

    I don't think they are worth the money. I tried the Cranberry and it was good but very small and expensive.
  • Ghiizhar
    Ghiizhar Posts: 10 Member
    If only they tasted as good as the cardboard they are packaged in!

    JUST KIDDING! I keep a few in the freezer at work for those times when I have to unexpectedly work after hours. I work in computer systems support and sometimes we have to work well into the night. Having these on hand removes the temptation to run down to the nearest fast food joint .........
  • erindh87
    erindh87 Posts: 94
    I love the Lean Cuisine pizzas! I don't buy pizzas from restaurants because they are a definite trigger food for me. Even though the Lean Cuisines are not that filling to me, I really like the taste and they take care of my pizza cravings without doing major damage to my calories for the day.

    Other than the pizzas, I usually stick with Kashi's frozen dinners when I'm in a hurry.
  • jxchambe
    jxchambe Posts: 49 Member
    I take meals like lean cuisine everyday for lunch. I like the all Green Giant Giant fresh steamers and Healthy Choice (The Asian and pastas are the better ones)
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    too much soduim in them
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I don't do LC, but I do have some frozen entree type stuff...think it's Marie Calendar's. It's emergency food only. I don't really consider myself a "clean" eater per sei, but the laundry list of ingredients and sodium content of pre-package, institutionalized foods freaks me out a bit.

    I don't think I've had one in about 3 months or so.
  • 1brokegal44
    1brokegal44 Posts: 562 Member
    Just had Lemongrass Chicken from LC. 240 cals. Yum.
  • jakki_brown
    jakki_brown Posts: 142 Member
    Lemongrass chicken sounds tempting, but I've kinda stayed away from the more adventurous lean cuisines because I'm afraid that they won't be any good!
  • deb2799
    deb2799 Posts: 45
    Don't you know frozen foods are the devil?

    ha ha ha

    I like some of the LC's, mostly the pizza. It cures my pizza craving. I haven't liked any of the Asian type ones.
    Healthy Choice is more of a favorite for me. I like the chicken tenderloins, meatloaf, and chicken parm
    The only smart ones I like are the BBQ Tortilla rolls and Spicy Chicken sandwiches

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