Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Dirty Diet Secret #1: Lean Cuisine

I'm going to start another series of related posts. I'm calling it 'Dirty Diet Secrets.' There are things I do as a dieter that I know may not be the healthiest options, but they work for me. These are choices I probably wouldn't talk about on a diet forum because I know the negative reaction I'd get.

To begin, I'm going to confess that I like Lean Cuisine. I'm not a good cook. I don't enjoy cooking. (That's why I go to restaurants so often!) I prepare meals for myself, and my hubby prepares his own. We don't like the same foods, so it's better for both of us to prepare our own meals, especially since we don't often eat meals at the same time.

I like Lean Cuisine frozen entrees because they don't take long to heat, the calories are already counted for me and I can have a different meal every day. Most of the varieties I buy have calorie counts that range from 170-320 calories per package.

Pictured: cheese ravioli Lean Cuisine (220 calories), with broccoli and butternut squash

The main criticism I've seen of Lean Cuisine is that sodium content is too high. If I had problems with sodium, I'd probably eat fewer packaged dinners, but sodium doesn't seem to be affecting me in any bad way at the moment.

My big issue with these meals is that many of them don't contain any vegetables. That's why I always make sure to add vegetables for my sides. Adding vegetables is a healthy way to improve almost any meal. It also adds volume without a lot of calories, which is great for people like me who like to feel that they're getting a lot of food for their calories.

2 comments:

  1. Looks really yummy! And I think there's nothing bad about eating your favorite foods as long as you keep yourself in your daily calorie limit. :)

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  2. Sorry for the very late reply! I was out of town for a few days. :-)

    I like Lean Cuisine (and other frozen meals) because of the variety and the portion and calorie control. It's much easier for me to stay within my budget when I eat those meals. I find that I eat more vegetables when I have one of those meals, too. That's always a good thing!

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