With most people trying to gain as many work hours as possible, skipping lunch becomes a common practice, but cheating your body of much needed calories midday is not a smart idea.
Rating Frozen Lunches
Stroll down the frozen food aisle section of any grocery store, or even low-cost stores like Wal-Mart or Target, for a variety of meal choices. The most important feature a buyer seeks in frozen lunches is taste; second, nutritional value and third, serving size. Here, five different lunches, each from health conscious companies were compared for the top three features of taste, nutrition and satisfaction.
The Lunch Contenders
The following lunches were rated on calories, fat, cholesterol and sodium. Average recommended sodium intake: 2400 mg. a day or less. Prices are typical.
- Lean Cuisine Chicken Enchilada: 270 calories (from fat 35); 4 grams fat; Cholesterol 20 mg.; Sodium 550 mg. ($3.29)
- Healthy Choice Café Steamers Sweet & Spicy Orange Zest Chicken: 290 calories (from fat 40); 4 grams fat; Cholesterol 30 mg.; Sodium 480 mg. ($3.79)
- Amy’s Indian Palak Paneer: 270 calories (from fat 80); 9 grams fat; Cholesterol 5 mg; Sodium 680 mg. ($3.99)
- Weight Watchers Smart Ones Lasagna Florentine: 290 calories (from fat 80); 9 grams fat; Cholesterol 30 mg.; Sodium 580 mg. ($3.19)
- Kashi Lemongrass Coconut Chicken: 300 calories (from fat 70); 8 grams fat; Cholesterol 10 mg; Sodium 680 mg. ($4.89)
Lunch Results: Pros and Cons
Although these lunches all serve up one proportional size, let’s be honest. Not many feel full with one small enchilada, even if it comes with a side of rice. It’s suggested that along with the lunch, eat a fruit, have yogurt with granola or maybe a small salad.
- Lean Cuisine: Instructions say to cook for up to nine minutes, but this is for 50% microwave power. Not sure about microwave power? Cook it for half the time; otherwise the meal is crispy and overcooked. Cons: lacks flavor. Add salsa or a few dashes of hot sauce. Pros: Calories and fat grams on front of box for easy viewing, six grams of sugar, 12 grams of protein, Weight Watchers points. Lean Cuisine offers tons of varieties, the most of any other healthy frozen lunches (pizza!).
- Healthy Choice: 4 minutes cooking time. Cons: Double-plate packaging inconvenient. Small and few pieces of chicken; tasted like a typical frozen lunch. Pros: Nutrition information printed on box front, food pyramid recommendations, Weight Watchers points, free healthy-habits-program websites, high protein (17 g). Sweet sauce tasty, even if the amount of food was skimpy.
- Amy’s: 4 minutes cooking time. One of two no-meat lunches. Cons: higher fat calories than enchilada or orange chicken combined; high sodium (680 mg). Pros: Organic ingredients. Tastiest lunch of the five, didn’t taste like a frozen meal. Cheese chunks and beans provided the meat-substitute texture and protein. Highest amounts of Vitamins A (50%), C (25%) and Iron (15%).
- Smart One’s: 6:20 minutes cooking time. Other meal with no meat. Cons: Long cooking time. Don’t overcook or cheese will be charred. Pros: Good spices; Weight Watchers points; nutritional information on box front.
- Kashi: 4 minutes cooking time. Cons: Priciest, most calories, high sodium (680 mg). Pros: Pleasant lemon scent, bit spicy, grainy and crunchy texture, more chicken than Healthy Choice, most protein (18 g) and fiber (7g).
With so many healthier lunch options, you can expand from carrots and rice cakes --- or burgers and fries --- without feeling deprived, or guilty.
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