What do you think of froze diet foods?

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  • jillica
    jillica Posts: 554 Member
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    I love them. Yes they are often loaded with sodium but if you are drinking plenty of water a day this isn't that big of a factor. I have a friend that lost over 90lbs in a year and she ate a lean cuisine, smart one, or lean gourmet almost everyday for lunch and her trainer just advised her to make sure she was drinking plenty of water. In this busy world it is not always easy to "eat fresh" all the time so if you need to have these occasionally because your to busy to cook that is not a problem. Just remember WATER, WATER, WATER!!!

    Thanks for the reminder - I'm going to go drink some water right now!
  • cmgehrke
    cmgehrke Posts: 20 Member
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    anything processed is the enemy.
  • Tuffjourney
    Tuffjourney Posts: 971
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    Yep, I use them at times. :smile: I like the pizza ones, then I add my own peppers, mushrooms and such. To each their own, I do like them.
  • Lose_It_Leo
    Lose_It_Leo Posts: 91 Member
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    I imagine the only real safe frozen food is vegetables...!
  • tanniew78
    tanniew78 Posts: 602 Member
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    YUCK! Take a day and cook for the week, wrap and freeze your own meals. The month before my daughter was born (baby #2) I cooked for a whole week and FILLED the freezer with ready to eat meals because I knew that coming home, adjusting to life with 2 babies was going to be VERY hard. And it was. I was thanking God that He gave me the foresight to plan ahead because without that, we would have been living out of mcdonalds.... and thats not good. Bad enough I do now because I work there, but most days I attempt to make good choices.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    I use them, they help me monitor my weight and are convenient. Good enough for me. Now start the bashing,please :).

    We will be bashed together because I use them as well:flowerforyou:

    No one has been bashing though.. thats a good thing....

    I just cant medically handle the processing 'material' that preprocessed foods contain... I just dont like being sick and making the doctors richer... they make enough money off of me with my medical conditions! LOL!!!!!!
  • Showgirlbody
    Showgirlbody Posts: 402 Member
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    I'm single, I rarely cook. If I didn't have the frozen meals, it would be take out which is where my problem started. If I know I have something to eat at home then I won't grab something else. I don't eat them every day. I do what others do, cook extra chicken breast or pasta or chicken sausage. But I'm kind of a one skillet meal kind of girl, quick and everything in there. I don't want to do a main dish, then sides, etc. etc. The meals at least usually will have some vegetables (I am bad about eating them if they aren't served to me). I do buy some frozen steam or singles of veggies sometimes and just have that and some protein and a grain like quinoa. But I don't think there is a problem with the meals. I believe Healthy Choice may have less sodium than the others but I usually think Smart Ones taste better and have more types of food I like. And they certainly have less sodium than McD's or what I would get otherwise.

    The new larger portions bags are good. Chicken fettuccine with broccoli in the steam bag is good. Otherwise add a salad if there isn't enough food for you
  • AZackery
    AZackery Posts: 2,035 Member
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    I don't diet. I do believe in cooking, but sometimes, I do eat frozen foods and when I do buy a healthy dinner, it's a Healthy Choice dinner. A lot of people complain about the sodium in the frozen dinners, but what about the salt they use to cook their meals? If a person is not using no salt seasoning, then they need to wonder about the seasoning they are using that have salt in them. Not only that, they need to worry about the other foods they are cooking that have salt in them as well.

    Frozen dinners are real food.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I prefer to cook something myself because I can make something similar with a larger volume with less calories and better nutrients, and it will cost less than a frozen meal, too.

    But they're handy in a pinch or when you just don't want to cook. Read the labels before you buy them and look for ones with higher protein and lower sodium if that's a concern for you.
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
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    I don't use store bought frozen diet meals, to me they all taste yucky. I do like Innocent Pots tho, chilled not frozen and I can pronounce everything on the ingredents list.:wink:

    But I mostly cook from scratch. You cant beat homemade wholesome meals, even if, like me, you batch cook & freeze in portion sizes.
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    I don't use store bought frozen diet meals, to me they all taste yucky. I do like Innocent Pots tho, chilled not frozen and I can pronounce everything on the ingredents list.:wink:

    But I mostly cook from scratch. You cant beat homemade wholesome meals, even if, like me, you batch cook & freeze in portion sizes.

    we must compare chest freezers then! LOL!!!

    Meatballs - three varieties,
    individual meatloaves - three varieties
    soup stocks - five varieties
    bones from chicken pork, beef for soup stock making - bags, bags, bags
    marinara base
    tomato soup
    marinated, season rubbed, as-is meats that are preportioned for future meals
    two whole turkeys
    large cryovac pork loins
    cryovac eye round beef
    roaster chickens
    fresh frozen vegetables
    fresh frozen berries
    fresh herbs frozen in water-ice cube trays for soup making


    You name it, I got it sistah!!!! lol
  • karisma81
    karisma81 Posts: 71 Member
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    Of course fresh is best but we are imperfect and busy people so I think this is a middle ground for convenient food.

    Carb - individual portions of frozen: rice, pasta, couscous etc (boil a large batch one weekend and freeze individual portions)
    Protein - canned tuna or other seafood, frozen cooked chicken slices, boil some eggs on Sunday night and keep them (unpeeled) in the fridge for the work week.
    Vegetable - if I don't have any on hand, I feel less guilty if I add a legume e.g. canned chickpeas, black bean etc. Wash before using.
    Sauce - mustard, sweet chili sauce etc. Keep a few choices in the fridge to add flavour.

    Upping the convenience factor.

    1) Simplify, simplify! I realized that meals that seemed intimidating can usually be boiled down to ~5 basic ingredients. Use the internet to find ideas for "fresh food" alternatives that are quick and easy to prepare.

    2) freeze your own cooked foods (invest in a lot of tupperware)

    3) I try to always have on hand B-E-M (bread, eggs and milk). It's easier to stop at the grocery store if I tell myself this is all I'm going to get.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    I cook for my family about 99% of the time. When things are just too busy, we'll have a ready meal of some kind, but I don't usually bother with lean cuisine / weightwatchers.

    To be honest, I often find it more hassle to go out, buy, and heat a ready meal than it is to just make it. I keep a full fridge and store cupboard, and fresh food is quick and easy to prepare. And it tastes better. I'm a very busy professional, with a child to look after, and a biggish range of activities to engage in. But it's still pretty easy to cook for us most of the time.
  • getfitdiva
    getfitdiva Posts: 1,148 Member
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    I use to eat lean cuisines or smart ones every day for lunch for convenience when I started and still lost weight but over time I gained more knowledge and found ways to slowly swap out to less pre-packaged and process foods. There is nothing wrong with it as a backup or on days where you forget your food.

    The best thing to do is just get knowledgeable with healthier less sodium options. Also to prepare them in advance or have left overs is very helpful. We all live busy lives and we just need balance and moderation.
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
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    I cook for my family about 99% of the time. When things are just too busy, we'll have a ready meal of some kind, but I don't usually bother with lean cuisine / weightwatchers.

    To be honest, I often find it more hassle to go out, buy, and heat a ready meal than it is to just make it. I keep a full fridge and store cupboard, and fresh food is quick and easy to prepare. And it tastes better. I'm a very busy professional, with a child to look after, and a biggish range of activities to engage in. But it's still pretty easy to cook for us most of the time.

    :heart: :heart: :heart:
  • ewinkelly
    ewinkelly Posts: 6
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    I eat them. I love them. I'm a fan of the Steamers - just had the chicken margarita yesterday!

    Quite honestly - I sometimes work 60-70 hour work weeks, am often eating lunch (sometimes dinner) at my desk - and I just don't have the option of cooking. I do try to cook a lot on the weekends and portion out - but I'm single, I only need to cook so much...
  • meandpooh95
    meandpooh95 Posts: 14 Member
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    Ya gotta watch the sodium amount but i think in a pinch better than a burger from fast food.
  • candiada
    candiada Posts: 11 Member
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    Generally dislike but very occasionally will have Annie's, Kashi, or Ethnic Gourmet. Good in a pinch but that's about it.

    so do those have less sodium? and how is the flavor?
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Like Lean cuisine, weight watchers and the others don't come to mind at the moment. Do you use them? Do you think they help you lose weight with your menus food choices. Are you worried about the sodium count in them. Just wondering. Also if you do use them which ones taste good! No seafood tho..have allergies.

    I generally avoid ANY food that is marked "diet food." Also, for me, a Lean Cuisine is just a snack, not a meal. I could eat two of them, and it would still be a light meal. They are always too small. A couple of times I ate two of them and added some bread and butter. Another time, I ate one and added a couple cups of broccoli and a dinner roll.

    Frozen dinners are good to take to work when you don't have anything better to take. But still, I'm not a big fan. I'd rather have some leftovers, or even some cheese, meat and crackers instead.
  • slimsdown
    slimsdown Posts: 122 Member
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    i actualy ate them 6 days a week for dinner, i was a lazy cook and finshed work nearer 8pm so i wanted convienence over taste. i always added birds eye veg to it but i personally loved weight watchers chicken hot pot. its portion controlled and i used to eat them with a baby knife and fork so it took ages and it filled me up!

    i think they are fab!

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