Frozen dinners?
briscogun
Posts: 1,138 Member
Have a new job that isn't friendly to my diet. Anyone have any suggestions for good healthy frozen dinners I can bring with me? Thanks!
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Replies
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Make something tasty on your days off and freeze into individual portions all week. It doesn't have to be complicated. Make some chili one day (mine makes 8 servings) and curried chick peas the next (4 servings). In no time you'll, have some variety of things to grab and go.6
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The Lean Cuisine Marketplace and Culinary Collection lines of frozen meals are actually very good, IMO. From the ones I've tried, they vary in calories from 250-310 and some of them have over 12 grams of protein. As with most frozen meals, they're high in sodium but I just make sure to drink a lot of water to compensate.2
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I like Healthy Choice Steamers. I opened a package yesterday and I saw green! The dinner actually had a fair amount of veggies (broccoli). I look for protein counts in the high teens/low 20's.
That said, I think most dinners are made for ladies (sorry). You are going to have less variety of meals with a good calorie count for you. Plan on bringing a side dish and a piece of fruit.
Lean Cuisine & Healthy Choice have good websites. LC let's you sort by nutrition stats, protein, sodium, etc:
https://www.leancuisine.com/products/search?orderBy=Calories
I would try Stouffer's (red box) & Marie Callender's too.4 -
I used to eat the Healthy Choice Steamers and they are good! I just got burnt out on them. I'll have to pick some more up on my next grocery run. Thanks for the reminder, @TeaBea3
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@Batemama I agree with your idea, but I've been working 12+ hour days 6 days a week, and with only one day off to do everything I need to do, its hard to spend it in the kitchen making food just for me (family of 5). I barely have enough time in the AM to make my turkey sandwich and throw some yogurt and a banana in a sack for lunch!
@TeaBea yes I think you're right, mostly a female market for these. But I did see that Stouffer's has a Fit Kitchen line of meals that seem to be gender-neutral, so I may try to grab one of those.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!0 -
I like the amy'sfood options in the natural food section...the Indian food and the lasagnas are awesome...but I've also discovered lean pockets recently and they are pretty on point http://www.amys.com/products/product-categories/entrees1
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brian_gunther wrote: »@Batemama I agree with your idea, but I've been working 12+ hour days 6 days a week, and with only one day off to do everything I need to do, its hard to spend it in the kitchen making food just for me (family of 5). I barely have enough time in the AM to make my turkey sandwich and throw some yogurt and a banana in a sack for lunch!
@TeaBea yes I think you're right, mostly a female market for these. But I did see that Stouffer's has a Fit Kitchen line of meals that seem to be gender-neutral, so I may try to grab one of those.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
I love lean cuisines and healthy choice meals. They are quite small though and never fill me up but taste good. What kind of job do you have?! I couldn't handle 12+ hours 6 days a week AND you have kids. I am so sorry, you must be exhausted.0 -
I second the Amy's meals. They have several options and so far I have loved every single one except one, and that was still preferable to any other frozen meal I've ever had.1
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I usually have a frozen dinner... Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, etc. They are often around the 230 - 300 cal range and have anywhere from 13 - 20 g protein. (My favs are Thai Peanut Chicken and Spicy Szechuan) I often will cook 5 chicken breasts on Sunday and then take an extra breast with me each day, cutting up the chicken into the dinner. It makes it a larger portion and adds additional protein.
Works great!1 -
Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »brian_gunther wrote: »@Batemama I agree with your idea, but I've been working 12+ hour days 6 days a week, and with only one day off to do everything I need to do, its hard to spend it in the kitchen making food just for me (family of 5). I barely have enough time in the AM to make my turkey sandwich and throw some yogurt and a banana in a sack for lunch!
@TeaBea yes I think you're right, mostly a female market for these. But I did see that Stouffer's has a Fit Kitchen line of meals that seem to be gender-neutral, so I may try to grab one of those.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
I love lean cuisines and healthy choice meals. They are quite small though and never fill me up but taste good. What kind of job do you have?! I couldn't handle 12+ hours 6 days a week AND you have kids. I am so sorry, you must be exhausted.
Ha! Well, not quite 12 each day, but close. 9-12 most days, but it can go 13+ on bad days. I'm in a commissioned sales role, so if I need to stay to make a sale, I stay. Today I'm on 9AM-9PM, but if things get goofy I've been known to stay until 10:30PM or later. It makes it hard to plan my meals and meal periods because if I'm in the middle of a sale, my food needs to wait. So there have been days I get home late and I'm so hungry I start plowing through everything not nailed down. That's why I thought having a few frozen dinners around would keep me on track better (I've put on almost 10 lbs since I started this job 2 months ago so need to get back on some sort of track here).
Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm going to try and pick up a few of them today and have them on hand for the bad days. Thanks!2 -
When I eat frozen meals I usually stick with Lean Cuisines because of the price, but next time Health Choice Steamers are on sale I'm loading up. The one I tried actually looked like the picture on the box and didn't taste half bad!
I tend to pair them with a salad or some fruit since they're never quite enough for me.1 -
Evol and Amy's in the natural foods frozen section. Aldo PJs burritos and Kashi.1
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Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm actually eating a Stouffers Fit Kitchen meal as I write this. It's pretty tasty! 30g of protein and 460 calories. I also grabbed a lasagna dinner from Atkins I think? Looked good so why not.
Some of the Lean Cuisines have just too few calories for me! I try to eat about 500 calories a meal, give or take, and then have a snack (or 2!), and those LC's are really skimpy, so I'm afraid I'll be hungry in like 2 hours!
Thanks everyone!3 -
I eat a Marie Callender now and then, way more food than a Lean Cuisine and usually 450-500 calories. Too much sodium of course. I make it a rare treat not a habit. Amy's are a little pricey for me, plus I'm a meat eater.0
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I like Healthy Choice Steamers. I opened a package yesterday and I saw green! The dinner actually had a fair amount of veggies (broccoli). I look for protein counts in the high teens/low 20's.
That said, I think most dinners are made for ladies (sorry). You are going to have less variety of meals with a good calorie count for you. Plan on bringing a side dish and a piece of fruit.
Lean Cuisine & Healthy Choice have good websites. LC let's you sort by nutrition stats, protein, sodium, etc:
https://www.leancuisine.com/products/search?orderBy=Calories
I would try Stouffer's (red box) & Marie Callender's too.
Yassss Healthy Choice0 -
Your new job sounds very hard work ! Good luck with it...
Why not do a mix - have some ready made meals, sure. But if you or whoever are already cooking a big family meal - why not ask them/plan youself to make it extra big or even double size a couple of times each week, and freeze the leftovers in portions. It's not much more effort if you are cooking already...and much healthier.
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I make my own-- batch cook on the weekend, then freeze meals for the week. Bought a bunch of covered freezer-meal type trays on Amazon.1
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gentlygently wrote: »Your new job sounds very hard work ! Good luck with it...
Why not do a mix - have some ready made meals, sure. But if you or whoever are already cooking a big family meal - why not ask them/plan youself to make it extra big or even double size a couple of times each week, and freeze the leftovers in portions. It's not much more effort if you are cooking already...and much healthier.
This is a good idea! Just cook larger portions. Some meals this wouldn't work, but others it could be a good option!
Thanks!0 -
brian_gunther wrote: »gentlygently wrote: »Your new job sounds very hard work ! Good luck with it...
Why not do a mix - have some ready made meals, sure. But if you or whoever are already cooking a big family meal - why not ask them/plan youself to make it extra big or even double size a couple of times each week, and freeze the leftovers in portions. It's not much more effort if you are cooking already...and much healthier.
This is a good idea! Just cook larger portions. Some meals this wouldn't work, but others it could be a good option!
Thanks!
Yeap, that's how I do it these days. I tend to work 12-16 hours per day, so premaking larger meals on the weekend, and diving them into smaller containers is a major time saver.0 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »brian_gunther wrote: »gentlygently wrote: »Your new job sounds very hard work ! Good luck with it...
Why not do a mix - have some ready made meals, sure. But if you or whoever are already cooking a big family meal - why not ask them/plan youself to make it extra big or even double size a couple of times each week, and freeze the leftovers in portions. It's not much more effort if you are cooking already...and much healthier.
This is a good idea! Just cook larger portions. Some meals this wouldn't work, but others it could be a good option!
Thanks!
Yeap, that's how I do it these days. I tend to work 12-16 hours per day, so premaking larger meals on the weekend, and diving them into smaller containers is a major time saver.
I've done this for 8 years now. Total lifesaver. I just grab whatever meal that I'm in the mood for (they're all within a 100 calorie range) and eat that.1 -
hannahsadler_tn wrote: »I used to eat the Healthy Choice Steamers and they are good! I just got burnt out on them. I'll have to pick some more up on my next grocery run. Thanks for the reminder, @TeaBea
I agree they are good but I got burned out and I didn't feel full off them0 -
brian_gunther wrote: »Have a new job that isn't friendly to my diet. Anyone have any suggestions for good healthy frozen dinners I can bring with me? Thanks!
The home cooked ones you put in the freezer?0 -
Maybe think about having some healthy snacks that you can quickly munch while at work and not have to take a lot of time. I keep protein bars(love the zoneperfect bars), trail mix, and nuts in my desk. Especially before going home. I find that a snack an hour before I leave work helps me not eat all the things when I get home. Good luck!0
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I think the taste on the healthy choice steamers is the best but they always piss me off because they are just not a meal. Most of them are well under 300 calories which means I have to worry about packing a side or snack...I feel like that defeats the purpose of the frozen meal.1
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enterdanger wrote: »I think the taste on the healthy choice steamers is the best but they always piss me off because they are just not a meal. Most of them are well under 300 calories which means I have to worry about packing a side or snack...I feel like that defeats the purpose of the frozen meal.
I agree if I eat one I have to take a Yoplait so I'm full enough.0 -
On shop Saturday and cook on Sunday. Tub of hard boiled eggs. Tub o chili or soup with bitter greens, beans and lots of veg. Meatloaf, Salmon loaf. Snack all week. Bring nuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs, dried fruit. Eat off of salad bars. Bitter greens, beans, onion, mushroom, berries, seeds. They work together to catalyze their nutrients to fight disease. It's not just cico, its nutrients in. Best.1
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I find that many of the frozen meals are tasty and when served over steamer bag veggies they are a filling meal. They are, however, usually too high in sodium to fit my day. As others have mentioned, batch cooking and freezing into portions is a great idea. Soups, stews, lasagne, any sort of casserole, chili, meat and potatoes- whatever suits your taste and goals.1
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brian_gunther wrote: »Thanks for all the great suggestions! I'm actually eating a Stouffers Fit Kitchen meal as I write this. It's pretty tasty! 30g of protein and 460 calories. I also grabbed a lasagna dinner from Atkins I think? Looked good so why not.
Some of the Lean Cuisines have just too few calories for me! I try to eat about 500 calories a meal, give or take, and then have a snack (or 2!), and those LC's are really skimpy, so I'm afraid I'll be hungry in like 2 hours!
Thanks everyone!
Fit Kitchen is AWESOME! I love them! I only eat the ones with less than 400 calories for lunch bc I like a big dinner
You can friend me and look at my food diary if you want to see the stats on the ones I have found. Can't wait for them to have more variety! The healthy choice steamers are pretty good but you have to make sure to pick the ones with a good amount of protein. They have some steamers called Simply that have very low net carbs and so low calorie, I've used them as snacks (watch for sodium though). All the Fit Kitchen meals have 25g of protein or more. 0 -
When I'm at home, I'll usually just throw a piece of frozen salmon into the toaster oven along with some pre-chopped root veggies, take a 30 minute nap, and then wake up to a hot, yummy, healthy meal. Just as easy to prepare, and I get more food for my money and calories.
I like Amy's frozen meals, in a pinch though. They're great for when I'm on vacation somewhere since they let me avoid having to go out to restaurants, even with limited kitchen tools. Cedarlane, Udi's, and Evol make some pretty good frozen entrees, too. And Feel Good Foods makes really good asian-style meals. And Blake's makes an amazing gluten-free chicken pot pie.1 -
For higher calorie meals, Boston Market brand is ok. Their chicken/broccoli/rice is good, around 450 calories and a decent amount of protein. I keep these in the freezer for long work then gym days.
Also, regular Stouffer's lasagna is good (meat or cheese). I get the smaller one for about 350 calories, but I think they also make a larger size around 550-600.
I do get sad about Lean Cuisine portions, especially when they have low cal vegetables in them. Why are you giving me 5 green beans when you could give me a bunch more for like 20 more calories?0
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