Frozen "Healthy Meals"

I have either a Lean Cuisine or a Smart Ones meal for lunch every day during the week.

I don't usually buy frozen meals, but I do buy Gardein. I find it's great, so long as I don't use the sauce. (The sauce is wonderful, but the reheated leftovers are not. I do a lot better either buying the fish filets, which don't come in sauce, or their other products just baking or sauteeing them plain and adding them to stir-fries, wraps, etc.)

They can be handy when you're short on time but it's not worth it to me. Lean cuisine has good selections even those aren't the greatest. It's better cooking big portions at once and separate to freeze. Just focus on the nutrition labels as they can be loaded with sodium and sugars. Packing your own salads can be a great choice you can get creative with dressings and toppings, bag steamed microwave veggies, cooking pasta I love the ones made of brown rice and quinoa they don't take much time, making sandwich wraps or pitas.. then for sides yogurt and fruits are great. just plan ahead in advanced what you want to make for work.

sammyjo0218 wrote: »

They can be handy when you're short on time but it's not worth it to me. Lean cuisine has good selections even those aren't the greatest. It's better cooking big portions at once and separate to freeze. Just focus on the nutrition labels as they can be loaded with sodium and sugars. Packing your own salads can be a great choice you can get creative with dressings and toppings, bag steamed microwave veggies, cooking pasta I love the ones made of brown rice and quinoa they don't take much time, making sandwich wraps or pitas.. then for sides yogurt and fruits are great. just plan ahead in advanced what you want to make for work.

I agree with all of this. I find frozen meals to just taste too fake to me and lack flavor. I always find myself adding salt and pepper to try to salvage the meal when I do try to eat one. I'd much rather make my own lunch of stuff I know I like. It's worth the effort to me.

Love Atkins. I keep them in the freezer as "just in case" meals when I'm short on time, probably eat them once a month. I like the teryaki beef stir fry, beef Merlot, meatloaf and mushrooms, and sesame chicken

Probably the only frozen lunch style meal that I will eat is the Lean Cuisine chicken ranch club flatbread. It cooks up really well and taste like normal food and only 370 calories

I keep some on hand for days when I don't have leftovers to bring for lunch. My favorite brands:

Healthy Choice Steamers
Weight Watchers Smart Made (newer than the Smart Ones - they have some interesting combinations and less preservatives)
Stouffer's Fit Kitchen - tend to be a little more filling, higher protein
Evol - more expensive but some interesting combinations - I think these are the best tasting.

I also sometimes find them not so filling, so I often bring extra precooked sliced chicken breast or a single serving frozen vegetable pack, or get a salad from the work cafeteria.

You asked if they can be healthy for you - unless you have a specific reason to restrict sodium (and even some of these are not particularly high in sodium) - I don't think they are unhealthy. I also think canned soup is a great quick back up for me for work lunches, I usually keep one and a clean tupperware in my desk drawer in my office.
Otherwise I mostly bring leftovers from dinner the night before, I always try to grill an extra piece of chicken or make some extra veggies. I also like the Birdseye Protein Blends (mix of grains, beans, and veggies) in the freezer section and just throw some chicken or shrimp in with those.

I like Lean Cuisine from time to time- the Vermont Cheddar Mac and Cheese is one of my favorites. I do this when I want to eat some comfort food without overindulging.

Has anyone tried the Evol stuff? I haven't yet but I have heard some good things.

Penthesilea514 wrote: »

I like Lean Cuisine from time to time- the Vermont Cheddar Mac and Cheese is one of my favorites. I do this when I want to eat some comfort food without overindulging.

Has anyone tried the Evol stuff? I haven't yet but I have heard some good things.

Yes, I like Evol. They are a little more expensive, but the choices are a little different and I think they are tasty. Chipotle Chicken Mac n Cheese is really good, as is the Butternut Squash Ravioli.

For my preferences, they usually have too many calories for the amount of protein, and too many carb-y add-ins where I'd prefer more veggies for the micros/fiber. Especially when in a deficit, this doesn't help me accomplish my goals:

This is partly because I'm vegetarian, but I've spot-checked some of the meat/fish ones, and found many of those not a whole lot better.

Protein & high-volume/low-cal foods are what's satiating for me, and I want to be getting around 25g of protein in a meal at minimum.

Overall, I can get much better satiation and nutrition by eating regular foods, even things that require little or no prep. Clearly, others' mileage differs.

Amy's frozen meals taste great, but they cost more than a lot of them.

But they also taste better than Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, etc IMO.

I eat one everyday for lunch during the work week! I also just started putting them on a plate (makes me feel like I'm eating more) and adding a serving of chicken and it keeps me fill up until dinner! I love it!

I used them to kick off my weight loss. I love pizza and the French bread pizza fills me up and feeds the urge. I keep them in the freezer for days I don't have anything easy to prepare.

Now I weigh and measure "real" food. Yet they do come in handy if I'm running out the door or want a snack, most of them have less calories than a chocolate bar.