Many people opt for a quick meal and choose a ready to eat
frozen meal. The good news is many of
these frozen meals are a healthier choice than they used to be. Consumer Reports has a great review of frozen
meals. They reviewed 30 different
frozen meals and rated them for price, packaging, nutrition, and flavor. In their article, they noted the sales of frozen
meals have soared, up a whopping 48% compared to last year.
Choices – so many healthier options are now available. Frozen meals used to be focused on meat and
potatoes or low-calorie dinners for the dieting crowd. Now there are many options to choose from.
Processed Foods – frozen meals are processed but the good
news is, manufacturers are now offering options less processed ingredients which
usually means a healthier choice. And,
manufacturers haven’t given up on taste in their less-processed frozen meal
offerings.
What are some healthy ingredients to look for?
- Whole grains – look for brown rice,
quinoa, red rice, farro, and some have wheatberries. - Additives – look for real, whole food in
the ingredient list, such as vegetables, beans, lean chicken, lean beef,
seafood and not a list of chemicals that are hard to pronounce. - Spices – any spice in the ingredients is
a good thing as spices as Johns
Hopkins notes “Spices are concentrated sources of antioxidants.” And as I written
about before, (Antioxidants
and good health) antioxidants have many positive health benefits. Some super healthy spices
include turmeric, ginger, garlic, and cayenne but all spices have some health
benefit. - Sodium – many frozen meals can be high in
sodium. Americans are almost always “over
the limit” when it comes to the amount of sodium in our diets. Look for frozen dinners that have 600 mg of
sodium or less. - Added Sugars – one wouldn’t think
that frozen dinners would have added sugar, but many do. Luckily, new food labels are better at
informing consumers how much added sugar in now in a packaged food.
What are some frozen dinners recommended by Consumer
Reports? Vegetarians will like
some of the top recommendations. Meat
lovers, not so much. So, I have broken
out the recommendations for vegetarians and for those who like their meat and
poultry.
·
Vegetarians may like:
o
Amy’s
Light and Lean Quinoa and Black Beans – my daughters and others have often
said Amy’s makes a good frozen dinner.
Consumer Reports says this dinner has “hints of garlic and ginger”. Not only does it have whole grains (quinoa),
but also some healthy vegetables and 2 spices full of antioxidants- ginger and
garlic.
Performance
Kitchen So Cal Kale and Bean – some say Kale is a power food as it is full
of good nutrients. Personally, I am not
a fan, but if you are, this is a good choice.
Interesting, this dinner contains mushrooms and raisins. And it provides some whole grain as it has
red rice.
Kashi
– Bowl – Sweet Potato and Quinoa – I noted in a blog that sweet
potatoes are an anti-inflammatory food. They also provide so many vitamins
and minerals like the all-important beta-carotene (vitamin A), so important for
healthy skin. Red Quinoa, is the first ingredient and brown
rice is an ingredient so this dinner provides a serving of whole grains.
o
Healthy
Choice Power Bowls – Falafel & Tahini – This is not only for
vegetarians but also vegans. Whole grains include red rice and black barley.
·
Meat Lovers – some of the frozen dinners rated
by Consumer Reports have meat (actually poultry) but many are so low in
calories, the entrée would not fill up many people.
Frontera
Chicken Fajita Bowl – Does have
chicken along with some vegetables: tomatoes, black beans, onions, red peppers,
yellow peppers, etc. Has a blend of some white rice and the whole grains, brown
rice and red rice. Pretty low in
calories at 260 calories a bowl. Many
people will need to supplement this entrée with other courses to add some
calories to their meal.
Healthy
Choice Power Bowls Chicken Feta and Farro – This dinner offers a few more
calories at 310 per serving. It provides
a good amount of protein at 23 grams. Ingredients
include chicken cooked in olive oil which is healthy. Another ingredient is Farro,
an ancient grain, that not only is a
whole grain but is more like quinoa in that it is higher in protein than white
rice or brown rice.
Saffron Road
Chicken Pad Thai with Rice Noodles – ingredients include roasted which chicken
meat and sauteed vegetables including carrots, celery, onions. It does have garlic – so a good antioxidant spice
is included. And this dinner provides
more calories than other frozen dinners at 430 calories per serving.
Consumer Reports did note that portion sizes in many frozen
dinners are small. I told my husband how few calories some of the frozen
dinners had but they were healthy. He said
he would still be hungry after eating some of these frozen dinners and would
head to the pantry to polish off a box of Cheez-Its
and then maybe a sizeable dessert like chocolate cake. My daughter says she has been eating a lot of
home delivered vegetarian meals. She
noted there is a lot of chewing in vegetarian meals and although there seems to
be enough food, afterwards she is still hungry.
It is good that manufacturers are cutting back on additives and sodium
and offering more frozen dinner options.
However, be prepared to supplement the frozen dinners with an appetizer,
a side of bread and butter, and a dessert so you take in enough calories that
you aren’t hungry after the meal.
Sources: frozen
meals , Johns
Hopkins , Antioxidants
and good health , spices
, Amy’s
Light and Lean Quinoa and Black Beans, Performance
Kitchen So Cal Kale and Bean, Kashi
– Bowl – Sweet Potato and Quinoa, sweet
potatoes, Healthy
Choice Power Bowls – Falafel & Tahini , Frontera
Chicken Fajita Bowl, Healthy
Choice Power Bowls Chicken Feta and Farro , Saffron Road
Chicken Pad Thai with Rice Noodles
Image sources: Amys , Frontera
Chicken Fajita , So
cal
source https://betterweightloss.info/what-are-some-healthy-frozen-meals/
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