Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones etc.
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I keep Lean Cuisine Pizzas in my freezer. I spice them up with some Rotel and eat them for a quick meal when I'm running late. I like them!0
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They're definitely not for me, but I'm also in the clean eating camp and live by it.
Also, having to eat that junk would make me feel like I'm on a portioned diet. And that is neither fun nor sustainable...
Exactly how I feel about these.
I basically grew up on these things because my mom wasn't much of a cook and was always going on and off Weight Watchers. I despise them now. I'd much rather cook something that I know exactly what is in it and I can control. I treat these as if they were fast food and don't eat them. If anything, I'll eat Amy's Kitchen light meals like maybe twice a year in a pinch.
Plus, my body just feels so much better eating clean, homemade food.0 -
I eat a Michelina's of some sort almost every work day. They cost $1 or less. There are varieties that I like and others that I don't. I have lost 65 lbs and kept it off over a year eating this way. It is a personal choice. It might not be the healthiest choice, but it works for me!0
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If you like them, eat them. Do what works for you.
I don't eat them because they don't fill me up. Sometimes I'll take a package of Steamfresh vegetables to work though with a can of chicken or tuna. Similar price and seems to work a little better.0 -
Unless you have a medical condition you don't need to worry about sodium.
I normally prepare all my foods myself but sometimes I am lazy... Lean Cuisine to the rescue! Better than me going to a fast food drive through. Can't resist fries.0 -
Aside from the large amount of sodium and how you have to balance that, they taste like salt. I used to eat lots of those things. They're easy to take to work and don't require bringing home a container. Then I reduced my sodium to the amount the doctor advised, so they were out. When I had one long after, it just tasted like salt. Even slightly "burned" my lips the way McDonald's fries do.
There are things in some of those that our bodies don't need and more calories than are really necessary for such a small amount of food.
If you don't care about eating processed foods, don't care about sodium and find them tasty, then there is no reason to avoid them.
But I bet you could make the same dang thing! It would be cheaper, healthier and taste Oh, so much better. If you wanted to try that.
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Unless you have a medical condition you don't need to worry about sodium.
I normally prepare all my foods myself but sometimes I am lazy... Lean Cuisine to the rescue! Better than me going to a fast food drive through. Can't resist fries.
Except that a lot of sodium will cause you to retain water, aka water weight.0 -
Unless you have a medical condition you don't need to worry about sodium.
I normally prepare all my foods myself but sometimes I am lazy... Lean Cuisine to the rescue! Better than me going to a fast food drive through. Can't resist fries.
Except that a lot of sodium will cause you to retain water, aka water weight.
Some of us don't really mind, as weight fluctuates daily anyway. The water weight from sodium retention isn't usually more than a couple of pounds, and as long as the scale goes down pretty consistently, a little water doesn't bother me.0 -
Am I the only one who LOVES Lean Cuisine? Not all of them, but overall, I think they're awesome.0
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If you can stand the taste then eat them and count the calories.0
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Are these dishes THAT terrible for you? I realize sodium is probably pretty high on these meals but I'm eating atleast one a day and my sodium is still fine. I don't like cooking and these are so fast and easy and the calories are pretty low!
Thoughts?
I personally think they're terrible because they're so expensive! I haven't had one in the longest time...well over a year and a half. I personally have found I can can get more for my dollar and more bulk if I make the meals myself. I've found that they don't keep me full, and they aren't as fun.
If you don't like cooking, have you thought of picking one day where you do a bulk meal prep of fridge/freezer meals for the week?
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I eat a Banquet dinner almost every day at lunch together with some fruit and yogurt. It provides me something hot and cheap for my lunch. The Banquet dinners are $1 at Walmart and only 89 cents at Save-a-lot. Some other choices like Smart Ones don't seem much different in ingredients but way higher in price. I've had them all at one time or another.0
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missiontofitness wrote: »Are these dishes THAT terrible for you? I realize sodium is probably pretty high on these meals but I'm eating atleast one a day and my sodium is still fine. I don't like cooking and these are so fast and easy and the calories are pretty low!
Thoughts?
I personally think they're terrible because they're so expensive! I haven't had one in the longest time...well over a year and a half. I personally have found I can can get more for my dollar and more bulk if I make the meals myself. I've found that they don't keep me full, and they aren't as fun.
If you don't like cooking, have you thought of picking one day where you do a bulk meal prep of fridge/freezer meals for the week?
They are expensive. I only buy them occasionally when they're on sale.0 -
I will buy them occasionally when they are on sale so I have something in the freezer for "just in case". My favorite are the Lean Cuisine Cafe Steamers because the bowl is perfect for heating things in the microwave and the steamer basket makes a nice small strainer for washing things like berries. I like to keep a couple of the bowls in the cupboard and will eat another meal when I have to throw out an old bowl.0
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I buy them for the freezer at work to have them when I'm in a pinch for lunch. Some of them are pretty good. The deep dish mushroom pizza and spinach ricotta pasta are my favorites. I don't think there is anything wrong with them if you like them. When they're on sale, you can get them for super cheap.0
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I'm far from a clean eater, and I do rely on these frozen meals in a pinch but as others have said, they don't fill me up so I often supplement them with a salad or some extra protein from my work cafeteria. Would I prefer a home cooked meal, sure, and most of the time I bring leftovers from my own cooking (which does often start with some convenience foods), but if I don't have anything else or if I'm running late I keep a stash of Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisines in my freezer.
I posted this in the clean eating thread a bit ago because I'm fascinated by the distinction that clean eating means staying away from the middle of the grocery store and that you shouldn't eat frozen meals because of all the mystery chemicals and ingredients you can't pronounce.
Here's one I pulled out this morning. I really don't see these mystery, scary ingredients that everyone is always railing on about. I made something similar for dinner last night: rigatoni in meat sauce. It had pasta, canned tomatoes, dried herbs, ground beef and Italian sausage, and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese. How is that so different than what's in this little box?
Also, the sodium debate... I don't track sodium because I don't have a medical reason to be concerned but I looked at this box and it says it has 23% of the RDA for sodium. That's less than a quarter. My breakfast of Greek yogurt and coffee shouldn't add much, so unless I go crazy at dinner at a Mexican restaurant, I don't see how this little box would be a sodium demon either?
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Also, the sodium debate... I don't track sodium because I don't have a medical reason to be concerned but I looked at this box and it says it has 23% of the RDA for sodium. That's less than a quarter. My breakfast of Greek yogurt and coffee shouldn't add much, so unless I go crazy at dinner at a Mexican restaurant, I don't see how this little box would be a sodium demon either?
I think that the sodium becomes an issue if you make frozen meals your primary food source. I also think that the food companies have started making them with less sodium in the last couple of years so they aren't as bad as they used to be. I am not on a reduced sodium diet but I do have to watch it so I don't go over the recommended amount very often. Frozen meals on occasion (just like hard cheeses on occasion) are just fine.
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I use these dinners because I have a problem with portion control. Even when I cook the healthiest food and try to measure everything if there is more left I will eat more. Of course I am trying to break these bad habits so these dinners help so much. I have no leftovers to pick at and no guess work and they are easy to track too!0
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I use these for lunches to take to work when I've been too busy/ill/forgetful to prepare something. Quite a few of them aren't awful on the sodium front. Not great, but not awful. (I do have to monitor sodium for medical reasons.)
They're generally better than hitting up a restaurant for lunch. So, y'know, they're an okay option. And I see them on sale pretty often.0
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