Is there a good diet plan similar to Lean Cuisines?

itskatelynbitch
itskatelynbitch Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
I was previously on a Lean Cuisine diet (I actually ate some Lean Pockets and Smart Ones meals a lot, too). I lost about 15 pounds before I gave up and started eating whatever I want, which, has me currently pushing 200 pounds. My regular eating routine involves a Venti Starbucks Frappuccino every single day. I'm seriously addicted.

I've recently started eating the Lean Cuisines again, and while I actually like them, I'm having so much trouble not eating junk food and sweets at the end of the day. Maybe its because I know I'm on a "diet". I was wondering if anyone knows of any other pre-packaged meals, perhaps that are refrigerated instead of frozen, that are also on the healthier side? Something similar to Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones.

I'm going grocery shopping soon and I'd like to find some kind of meals like that. I'd also like to find some healthy snacks. NOTE: I don't want to buy regular healthy food and make my own meals because I never know what to make and the food ends up going bad. I like having the calorie count and nutrition information right there on the package. Plus, I work a lot at varying hours and I just don't have time to cook.

I'm also not too worried about the sodium in these meals. Its nothing compared to the unhealthy way I've been eating and I drink a lot of water already, so I'm not too concerned with sodium. I also drink green tea three times a day, once with each meal to help with weight loss.

Does anyone know of any meals similar to what I'm looking for?
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Replies

  • Odinisgod
    Odinisgod Posts: 46 Member
    I try to stay away from processed foods. I can't stand lean cuisines. Not that they taste bad, but they leave me feeling starving. I feel more satisfied if I cook my own meals using whole foods.
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    At some point, maybe you should learn to cook. It's not that hard and it's an important life skill. Start with a few easy recipes that will freeze well and then portion them out into individual containers. I do almost all my cooking in batch so I only end up cooking once a week or less. Then I have a freezer or fridge full of single serve choices that are full of good nutrition and usually more filling than those packaged meals.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    At some point, maybe you should learn to cook. It's not that hard and it's an important life skill. Start with a few easy recipes that will freeze well and then portion them out into individual containers. I do almost all my cooking in batch so I only end up cooking once a week or less. Then I have a freezer or fridge full of single serve choices that are full of good nutrition and usually more filling than those packaged meals.
    Pretty much this. At some point, learn to eat FOOD. learn to cook to an extent, learn to fuel your body. I'm not a great cook, but I can cook well enough to eat well, to eat healthy foods, to fuel my body. This has made all the difference in the world for the LONG HAUL.
  • ajff
    ajff Posts: 986 Member
    You could probably just go down the freezer aisle and try a few new prepackaged meals. Sorta like an experiment?

    But, maybe you could also get some fresh fruit/veggies? if you know you get the munchies, have some watermelon or carrots and hummus on hand in the front of your fridge. Then you can have a balance of processed food and fresh? At some point you may find a recipe or two that you can branch out into? Aside from being way better for you, it is way cheaper to cook for yourself.
  • Unknown
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  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    OMG, there are tons of them in the grocery stores. I started losing weight with frozen dinners - Stoiffer's regular and Lean Cuisine. The orange boxes generally don't have very many more calories than the Lean ones, either. It was a huge help with portion control (as long as you don't buy the big ones, lol.)

    I still cave on occasion and get them, but I'm working on it because they aren't a good option for me any longer. I think I've finally kicked them to the curb. I think, lol. I have a bunch of dietary restrictions and sometimes I rebel and eat things I should NOT, but sooo much better all the time. :)

    But if you're cool with them, the store is full of them! They're awesome for portion control, easy as hell and taste good! (A little too salty once you're low-sodium, but if you're still cool with salt, they're really good.) I was a big fan of the hot pocket, Meatball & Mozzarella. Ham & Cheese was pretty good, too.

    There's a Lean Cuisine with chicken and cranberries and...either rice or pasta...that was VERY good, IMO.

    Just go to the frozen aisle. There's a bodrillion. :)

    Snacks:
    Fruit, especially grapes when watching TV, you don't have to pay grapes much attention and can eat them like popcorn
    Special K popcorn chips and salsa
    Special K cracker chips (weans you off potato chips slowly, lol)
    Rice cakes
    Rice thins
    Reduced fat Triskits (sp)
    Craisins

    That's all I have.

    Good luck!,
  • iggyboo93
    iggyboo93 Posts: 524 Member
    The following webpage gives some good tips/recipes for making your own frozen dinners. Personally, I love bringing leftovers for lunch the next day - they taste so much better than the pre-fabricated frozen meals and are more hearty.

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=762
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    At some point, maybe you should learn to cook. It's not that hard and it's an important life skill. Start with a few easy recipes that will freeze well and then portion them out into individual containers. I do almost all my cooking in batch so I only end up cooking once a week or less. Then I have a freezer or fridge full of single serve choices that are full of good nutrition and usually more filling than those packaged meals.
    Pretty much this. At some point, learn to eat FOOD. learn to cook to an extent, learn to fuel your body. I'm not a great cook, but I can cook well enough to eat well, to eat healthy foods, to fuel my body. This has made all the difference in the world for the LONG HAUL.

    This! I started with whatever I could pan fry and then branched out to a pot with whatever stew/rice/chili concoction I could think of, then I went on to a slow cooker. It's not as scary as it seems. Although maybe I should have started with the slow cooker. Lots of good recipes and easy to follow instructions online.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    The only sustainable eating plan is to eat what you want while staying within your calorie goals.

    The Lean Cuisine Diet is not magic, the only reason you lost weight is because you ate less calories than you burned. You can do that with any foods, including Lean Cuisine and your special coffee. :smile: I suggest cooking your meals so that you have enough left over for a few days into the week. i don't especially like to cook, but I do it so that I will have some dinners for the rest of the week.

    I am not big on packaged meals, and can't eat many of them due to soy products and dairy, so I don't have an answer as to the best ones.

    There is also nothing wrong with snacks either. I think your coffee drink sounds delicious. Each morning I make my own mocha: 5 grams of unsweetened chocolate, 5 grams of sugar, coffee, and 1/2 cup of fat free steamed lactose free milk (the reason I use fat free milk is because it foams so well when I steam it with my espresso machine). It's really good.
  • buzz3d269
    buzz3d269 Posts: 87 Member
    I happen to have a lean cuisine factory in my town, so can get "seconds" for $2.50 each. So, for now, with a busy lifestyle, this is mainly what I eat. What I do though, is mainly buy pasta type dishes, and then add my own steamed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli and pumpkin mainly) - doesn't add many extra calories, doesn't take much extra time, but gives the whole dish extra flavour, extra good stuff and leaves me completely satisfied. If I'm going ok on calories, I'll also add in chia seeds and avocado too. Yum :)
  • FancyPantsFran
    FancyPantsFran Posts: 3,687 Member
    I like the Healthy Choice Steamers. I have them for lunch.

    Maybe you could start learning to cook.. start out small. It will save you a ton of money you will be eating healthier and lose weight quicker

    Chicken breast are easy to make on the grill or oven 4oz 120 calories
    Steam broccoli in the microwave one cup 25 calories
    sweet potato around 140 calories small one. you can buy them prewrapped and pop in microwave or buy a small bag and wrap them in plastic wrap cook for around 4- 5 minutes in microwave
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member

    sweet potato around 140 calories small one. you can buy them prewrapped and pop in microwave

    Good idea. They make regular microwaveable potatoes, too. Buy a jar of salsa for topping, you're all set.
  • HellyFaye
    HellyFaye Posts: 202 Member
    At some point, maybe you should learn to cook. It's not that hard and it's an important life skill. Start with a few easy recipes that will freeze well and then portion them out into individual containers. I do almost all my cooking in batch so I only end up cooking once a week or less. Then I have a freezer or fridge full of single serve choices that are full of good nutrition and usually more filling than those packaged meals.

    I would check out some websites like pinterest to find resources to learn to make your own freezer meals. The biggest problem you're having is that meals like Lean Cuisines do not have enough REAL nutritional value to keep you full. You need to be getting fiber into your diet.
  • forkofpower
    forkofpower Posts: 171 Member
    Do you specifically have to eat those prepackaged diet plan meals? I used to eat those because I didn't know what else to do, and it sucked. They taste kind of gross and they're expensive. Also, unless you plan to eat them for the rest of your life, this isn't really an effective diet plan, imo.

    I couldn't (and still can't) cook, besides using the microwave and boiling water for pasta/eggs, but I make do with tons of avocados, cheeses, sandwiches, eggs, fruits, deli meats, etc ... which is cheaper, tastier, and more filling. 'Cooking' for yourself doesn't have to involve fancy, complicated recipes. Can you make a sandwich with deli meat, packaged spinach, and avocado? Can you slice up bananas and strawberries? Then you're cooking fresh food for yourself.
  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    I started out my diet here on MFP with the Lean Cuisines and Smart ones. I gradually learned to make my own simple meals. Yep, I am a 64 year old woman who doesn't know how to cook!!!! I know it isn't the best way to do it but we eat every one of our evening meals out. Please don't throw things at me!!! I started my diet 10/2012 and have lost 59 pounds and still going. It's a plan I can easily live with, my B/P is down, off one of my medicines, off my cholesterol medicine completely and my diabetes medicine is cut in half. I have gone from a size 22 to a size 12. I'm happy with it, it works with my lifestyle. As you can see with my picture, I am smiling. 20 months ago I wasn't, never allowed my picture to be taken although some people did and I am glad because now I have some pictures to compare. Some day I will figure out how to get them all together and post my success story here.
  • kmh0617
    kmh0617 Posts: 51 Member
    You don't have to cook know how to cook to make salads. Buy a big container of healthy field greens or baby kale, top it with lots of goodies and lean protein (smoked salmon, beets, feta, and cucumber is my fave). Chicken, avocado and strawberries or steak, bleu cheese and red onion. Yum!
    I agree with other posters- stop eating yucky food from a box that leaves you hungry. Learn to cook a few meals with whole food ingredients.
    That said- When I don't feel like cooking I like Amy's meals with added lean protein and fresh veggies (sautéed or steamed).
  • Swiftlet66
    Swiftlet66 Posts: 729 Member
    Think long term, like for the rest of your life long term. Do you really want to eat a diet of frozen meals for the rest of your life? Most people think a diet is temporary and mostly for weight loss but this often leads to weight gain afterwards when they return to "normal" foods. That is yo-yo dieting. The only way to break away from this is (IMO) to make your diet+exercise a lifestyle! That is the best diet plan. Like a lot of what other people have said, put effort into making your own diet plan now (ie. cook/assemble together the foods you like and weigh/calculate calories and macros) and when you get the hang of it, it's practically no work at all.

    I hold down a full time job plus night classes and the only time I have to cook is weekends so I make a big batch of meals and refrigerate for the week. My go to meal is salted and pan fried salmon with rice and a side of some type of steamed green vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, etc), lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and pickled vegetables. The only thing I had to cook here is the salmon and steamed veggies (fresh and frozen). I also like to assemble together easy things like salads (spinach/lettuce/cheese/fresh juicy fruits), wraps (hummus/chicken, different types of leafy veggies and cheese), and pita pockets (same as others). That's practically no work either and they taste great. Fruits and nuts are automatic snacks. No prep at all; just grab a portion and eat.
  • eslcity
    eslcity Posts: 323 Member
    Or you could be me... and marry someone that loves to cook... ^^
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    "Is there a good diet plan similar to Lean Cuisines?"

    Good? HAH! No.

    Similar? Oh yeah. Nutrisystem is one.
  • sshintaku
    sshintaku Posts: 228 Member
    I know there are easy microwaveable things that are healthier than pre-packaged foods and cheaper too. You can buy precooked, microwaveable chicken breast strips, microwaveable rice, microwave broccoli and green beans. Throw all this together and you have 3ish meals ready to go that is still easy, microwave friendly and cheaper.

    If forced to do microwave meals, I prefer the Healthy Choice steamer variety,
  • itskatelynbitch
    itskatelynbitch Posts: 5
    You guys really don't seem to understand.

    I explained exactly why I eat LC's. I already KNOW how to cook. Its not something I need to "learn". I just don't have the time or money. You say its cheaper, but I just made the list of everything I would need for making my own frozen meals and there's no way I can afford that. And like I said, I work at various times, so cooking really doesn't work for me. I just wanted to know if there was a healthier version of Lean Cuisines...
  • christinalong1991
    christinalong1991 Posts: 74 Member
    safeway has their own brand now called eatingright that it's significantly cheaper andhas a lot moreveggies in it. I think its more satifying than smart ones and lean cuisine for sure, I can feel full off of some of them. but sometimes I also add my own veggies or somethingto them. but I agree with others, I lost 20 lbs using smart ones, but I did eventually learn to cook real food. I worked full time and went to school full time and took care of my elderlyfamily member, I understanf not having time but you have to make timefor yourself and your health!
  • Imadorkable
    Imadorkable Posts: 442 Member
    You guys really don't seem to understand.

    I explained exactly why I eat LC's. I already KNOW how to cook. Its not something I need to "learn". I just don't have the time or money. You say its cheaper, but I just made the list of everything I would need for making my own frozen meals and there's no way I can afford that. And like I said, I work at various times, so cooking really doesn't work for me. I just wanted to know if there was a healthier version of Lean Cuisines...

    You could try the boxed salad at the grocery store and cook a package of chicken at the begining of the week and take that. I used to eat lean cuisines but I got tired of them. I now make my own frozen meals at the start of the week. If I make about 5 chicken and bbq mushroom wraps and a salad with chicken it is about $15. Each wrap is about 500 cal. I also started to price match in order to save more money.
  • BBBBB99999
    BBBBB99999 Posts: 13
    itskatelynbit- You may want to consider checking out the art of bento. Bento is designed specifically by people with little time and money to get the most out of your home-cooking. When not done simply by a hobbyist, it's a very well-organized system that involves a few hours worth of prep all at once as well as a schedule to have the least amount of prep time to keep you moving throughout the weak so that you never have to stop in your kitchen.

    There is a lot of cute frivolity attached to bento boxes, but the true focus for daily bento is maintaining a balance between portioning, freshness, low prep time, portability and health.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    How much time do you have? Do you have 1 hour a week do to food prep?

    Once a week, usually Sunday, I take a couple of pounds of bone-in chicken breasts ($1.29/lb on sale), season them to my liking, put them I a dutch oven, bake at 350degrees for about 1 hr. While the chicken bakes, I cook 1-2cups of couscous (takes 5 minutes), wash and cut up salad greens, carrots, mushrooms and other salad fixings and store in a large plastic container in the fridge. I might do a stir-fry with fresh squash, zucchini, whatever. Once the chicken breasts are cooked and cool to touch, I put each in a small ziplock freezer bag for storage.

    Lunch takes about 30 sec each morning to make - grab a handful of salad greens, a chicken breast, a tomato and maybe some avocado - put in a plastic container.

    Dinner takes just a couple of minutes - grab some chicken, steam some fresh veggies, couscous - and I'm ready to go.

    So much tastier (and less sodium) than packaged food.
  • Unknown
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  • jmkmomm
    jmkmomm Posts: 3,247 Member
    We have a local gymn here in town that has a health food department incorporated into it. It's regular foods just made in a healthy way. All you have to do is go buy it. I don't think you can buy several at a time. I think they make two kinds every day. You don't have to be a member to buy it either. There may be something like that where you live.
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    You guys really don't seem to understand.

    I explained exactly why I eat LC's. I already KNOW how to cook. Its not something I need to "learn". I just don't have the time or money. You say its cheaper, but I just made the list of everything I would need for making my own frozen meals and there's no way I can afford that. And like I said, I work at various times, so cooking really doesn't work for me. I just wanted to know if there was a healthier version of Lean Cuisines...

    I could understand this argument if you were eating Banquet frozen meals and ramen noodles. I really could. Being currently in poverty and all.

    However, LC are not cheap. Three LC's a day woudl run you what, 9 bucks?

    I could make dinner, breakfast, lunch, and have some to spare on 9 bucks.
  • azucenazalbrethsen
    azucenazalbrethsen Posts: 3 Member
    Hi :)
    I'm new here. How do I get a weight loss tracker?
    Thanks,
  • itskatelynbitch
    itskatelynbitch Posts: 5
    You guys talked me into setting time aside once a week or so to make my own freezer meals. I made about 2 weeks worth of breakfast sandwiches and I made these chicken wraps I like for work. I'm just worried that they have more calories than LC meals do. I calculated the calories with the recipe tracker on here and they seem high (around 300).

    For dinner I'm going to start making zucchini pasta and alternating between sauces so I don't get bored. Would you suggest making a large amount of noodles in advance and freezing them or making them as I go (to keep them as fresh as I can for as long as possible)?

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