In perhaps one of the most excruciating taste tests known to mankind, BiteClub has suffered through countless diet frozen dinners, choking down everything from rubbery orange “flavored” chicken to Swedish meatballs to bring you the best of what can only be called “utility meals” for individuals seeking to punish their gastrointestinal system into submission.
I do it for you.
+++++++++++
The Results:
- Overall, Lean Cuisine tended to be the most consistently edible. Followed by some standouts by Healthy Choice (especially in the Cafe Steamers) with Weight Watchers Smart Ones struggling to come in last in my taste tests (with the exception of their Swedish Meatballs).
- When it comes to taste, comfort classics like macaroni and cheese, Swedish meatballs and simple pasta dishes (cheese ravioli) tend to be the safest bets. More exotic (orange chicken) and attempts at “gourmet” food (butternut squash ravioli) can be minefields for the tastebuds. The horror. The horror. The exception to this, however, are Mexican-inspired dishes like Enchiladas Suiza and beans and rice. Almost all of these were highly flavored and delish.
- It’s worth really looking at the nutritional content. Though diet meals can be low in fat and calories, they can often be ridiculously high in sodium (how do you think they make them edible?) A few topped 700 mg, a whopping 30% of the recommended daily intake.
- Portion sizes tend to be paltry for a hungry adult. One of the difficult things about eating diet meals is that you’re rarely full or satisfied afterwards. If you’re serious about dieting, supplement the meal with a yogurt or fruit. Or, if you’re like me, end up eating two Twix bars an hour later and wondering why I didn’t just eat a Big Mac.
- The Ultimate Favorite: Lean Cuisine Chicken Enchilada Suiza. Packed with seasoning, flavor, cheese and yummy goodness, I’d eat this without being forced.
| Battle of the Diet Frozen Entrees | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fat | Cal | Carb | Sodium | Taste | Portion | Looks | Size | |
| Weight Watchers Fruit Inspirations Orange Sesame Chicken | 8 | 320 | 48 | 680 |  |
;| |  |
9oz |
|
Healthy Choice Cafe Orange Zest Chicken |
4 | 300 | 49 | 380 |  |
|
|
10.1oz |
| Lean Cuisine Orange Chicken | 7 | 300 | 49 | 580 | |
;| | |
9oz |
| Lean Cuisine Cheese Ravioli | 5 | 229 | 33 | 620 | |
|
|
8.5oz |
| Weight Watchers Ravioli Florentine | 5 | 250 | 40 | 720 | |
|
|
8.5oz |
| Lean Cuisine Canelloni | 6 | 240 | 30 | 690 |  |
|
|
9oz |
| Lean Cuisine Enchilada Suiza | 4 | 270 | 47 | 550 | |
|
|
9oz |
| Weight Watchers Enchilada Suiza | 5 | 290 | 49 | 640 | |
|
|
9oz |
| Lean Cuisine Santa Fe Rice and Beans | 5 | 300 | 52 | 550 | |
|
|
9oz |
| Lean Cuisine “Spa” Pumpkin Squash Ravioli | 7 | 280 | 43 | 490 | |
|
|
9+oz |
| Healthy Choice Pumpkin Squash Ravioli | 6 | 300 | 52 | 600 | |
|
|
9.2oz |
| Weight Watchers Swedish Meatballs | 5 | 270 | 35 | 730 | |
|
|
9.1oz |
| Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs | 8 | 300 | 34 | 620 | |
|
|
9.1oz |
| Weight Watchers Mac and Cheese | 5 | 270 | 35 | 730 | |
|
|
9.1oz |
| Lean Cuisine Mac and Cheese | 8 | 300 | 34 | 620 | |
|
|
9.1oz |
| Stay tuned for more… | ||||||||
For all frozen entrees; check out the amount of sodium which is in it, too much sodium each day is not good for anyone. Being healthy is a lifestyle, not a diet. There are many good tips on how to achieve permanent weight loss; none of them includes gimmicks, diets, or diet pills. To assist with weight control; keep a daily food journal and every time the urge to snack is felt, first drink a large glass of clear water. The major reason so many people in America are overweight is because we eat too much for comfort! It does not hurt to treat ourselves with something special once in a while, what is necessary is that we limit our portions and do not overeat! It is also necessary to keep our body properly hydrated, so drink a full glass of water with each meal or snack. Being overweight ******, but after reading a book, I lost 85 pounds! Words can not express how good I feel! This is a comment which I recently received about the book Lose Weight Using Four Easy Steps
Thanks for putting this list together- and “taking one for the team” in trying them all. IMPORTANT NOTE: Oliver’s has the Lean Cuisines on sale through today- $1.99 each including the Enchilada Suiza. I picked up a couple yesterday.
Funny. I actually think the Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli is the best tasting one. Definitely my favorite. Good flavor and has lot’s of veggies for such a small thing. The Thai chicken is also a good one. I can’t stomach much of the others, especially most of the Italian dishes, they are just awful.
Funny. I actually think the Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli is the best tasting one. Definitely my favorite. Good flavor and has lot’s of veggies for such a small thing. The Thai chicken is also a good one. I can’t stomach much of the others, especially most of the Italian dishes, they are just awful.
Many of the diet frozen meals are too skimpy. I prefer healthy organic frozen meals like Kashi and Amy’s Kitchen to the “diet” meals. Check this out…
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/avoiding-1-diet-mistake
I don’t like frozen meals myself, but I was pleasantly surprised by Kashi’s frozen entrees, esp the chicken with lemongrass. It actually had texture and flavor. i never buy them unless they are on sale, though, since they are pricey.
I’m surprised you left Amy’s off the list. Although not technically “diet” food, their calorie counts, fat counts etc are basically the same (unless you’re talking cheese enchiladas). In fact most of their dinner entrees are less than 350 calories, which is a small dinner by anyone’s count. They are more expensive, but oh my gosh good.
Trust me, I’m no going for the sympathy vote on the single parent thing. I have it luxurious compared to many. Just trying to point out that I’m as guilty of eating convenience food as anyone.
see 2nd from bottom post. Bite Gal describes her single mama status
MARK:
Bite Club gal said in her post on this very same comment page; it is below Coastaldweller’s:
“Trust me, as a single mom, I do rely on frozen meals to get me through after a long day of work. And I really do understand (after taking an 8% pay cut over the last two years) how tight things can get.”
to reply to the person who wanted to know “wtf my single parent comment had to do”…I was replying to the Bite Club gal herself and her post…If you read it maybe it will make sense. Except I think your comment to me has been blocked, now. Some people grow weary of the “I am a single Parent…” line.
Minnie not to be harsh but wtf did your last comment have to do with ANYTHING?
My sister is a widow. She became one tragically & unexpectedly. She truly is a single mom. She told me once that when someone claims to be a single parent, but actually two parents still exist and are able to contribute to the children, then they are not really a single parent. They are single in marital status but not alone in the parenting.
I think frozen dinners are 100% better than what they were only a few years ago. I rely on frozen lunches and dinners in a pinch and when I am too exhausted to figure out what to make from scratch myself. My mom let us pick out a TV Dinner (as they were then called), every Wed. in summer, as that was shopping day. I am sure she LOVED not having to figure out dinner at least one night a week during the summer months. Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine and Amy’s (not low cal) are the best.
Also do you REALIZE the fat and sodium content in a restaurant meal? Even a great high quality restaurant meal, which makes a person look oh so sophisticated and cool eating, is probably very high in sodium? Come on. Enough with snobbery! Convenience foods are just that: Convenient. If you buy them at Target or Grocery Outlet then they are also CHEAP! We all can’t be 24/7 gourmands.
1. Gag-Off: Hilarious!
2. I feel like I wrote this blog entry! The LC chicken Enchiladas Suiza is the most edible to me, too, and I’ve noticed that the mex food ones in general are the most bearable.
3. When I was on Weight Watchers I used to saute mushrooms, zucchini, onions, or whatever and put them in small tupperware and would add them to certain frozen diet meals. Helped fill me up due to the small portions and veggies are zero points.
4. And yeah–tough economic times make these meals affordable and easy and I have them in my freezer too, but a $.75 serving of chili made by ME does seem to be the safer bet.
Supplement with yogurt & fruit or, a green salad & veggie (a better diet choice perhaps due to fiber and nutrient content versus sugars or carbs and no fiber in the yogurt).
Lean Cuisine Basil Cream Chicken is not as “gag-able” as some of the others.
Good luck and stick to it – I am talking to myself when I say all this.
Wanted to chime in with a thought here. I did this piece on KZST this morning and a caller was upset that I was making fun of frozen meals in these hard economic times.
Trust me, as a single mom, I do rely on frozen meals to get me through after a long day of work. And I really do understand (after taking an 8% pay cut over the last two years) how tight things can get.
But I also think that we need to be a little more honest with ourselves about what we’re actually eating and the true price of it. I’m not the world’s best cook, but i find that convenience foods are actually much more expensive in the long run than cooking at home. I can make a huge pot of chili for less than 75 cents per serving. Or spaghetti. Or a grilled cheese sandwich. Or sloppy joes.
And I know what kind of products I’m putting into those meals. I’m not trying to preach, because I still love Trader Joe’s frozen entrees (Tikka Paneer, OMG) but convenience food isn’t always the alternative.
I think many of us (including me, because I’m on a pretty tough diet right now) could do with less ease in the kitchen and more conscious effort. It makes the results so much more satisfying.
Before I started making the effort to actually cook healthy foods for myself, I used to eat the Safeway brand “Eating Right” diet frozen dinners. They were less expensive than the big names and as for the taste, well about as good as could be expected. I did like the chicken enchiladas with “verde” sauce.