Frozen dinners freak. me. out. This is partially due to my dislike for using a microwave, but I also get a weird feeling when I think about eating previously-cooked food that has sat on a freezer shelf for who knows how long. This is the same feeling I get about canned cheese and ranch dressing – how can a dairy-based product just SIT ON THE SHELF?! Ick.
I recently saw a commercial for a frozen dinner brand and the woman featured said something like, “I just like being able to pop a healthy meal in the microwave!” That didn’t sound right to me. How can you package meat, dairy, and other items in a way that, when reheated, tastes good and is even remotely healthy?
I get it, though,we’re all busy and our budgets are stretched thin. We all want to prepare a meal quickly and for a reasonable price. The biggest problem I have is: when did convenience become more important than our health? Personally, I would rather take a few extra minutes to chop up and cook vegetables I purchased myself and feel secure in knowing they weren’t previously frozen or laden with extra salt than pop a meal in the microwave and call it good. I can’t do that to myself and my body. I’m worth more than that. We all are.
I decided to do some research. I took the most healthy looking meals from some top brands and analyzed their ingredients. Here is what I found!
Brand: Lean Cuisine
Meal: Apple Cranberry Chicken
Description: Grilled white meat chicken in an apple reduction with cranberries, french cut green beans & carrots and whole wheat orzo pasta.
Ingredients: blanched whole wheat orzo pasta (water, whole durum wheat flour), cooked white meat chicken (white meat chicken, water, modified tapioca starch, chicken flavor (dried chicken broth, chicken powder, natural flavor), carrageenan, whey protein concentrate, soybean oil, corn syrup solids, sodium phosphate, salt), water, carrots, green beans, wheat berries, apple juice concentrate, dried cranberries (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), apples (apples, citric acid, salt, water), 2% or less of butter (cream, salt), modified cornstarch, chicken broth, orange juice concentrate, apple cider vinegar, sugar, soybean oil, sea salt, ginger puree (ginger, water, citric acid), yeast extract, spices, lemon juice concentrate, citric acid.
Initial Reaction: That seems like an excessive number of ingredients for a meal described so simply.
Ingredients that scare me: carrageenan, sodium phosphate, added sugar
Why those ingredients scare me: I avoid carrageenan like the plague. It’s all over the place in vegan products (nut milks, cheese, et cetera) and I go out of my way to find those products that don’t include it. According to Google, “Carrageenans are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties.” Sounds pretty harmless, right? Nawwwww. Carrageenan is not digestible and has no nutritional value, triggers an immune response similar to that your body has when invaded by pathogens like Salmonella, and is linked to high amounts of inflammation (linked to ulcerative colitis, intestinal lesions, and colon cancer since the 1960s). Even worse, chronic inflammation is the root cause of many diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cancer. No, thanks. Coupled with sodium phosphate, an additive that doctors have linked to higher rates of chronic kidney disease and weak bones, you’ve got a nutritional disaster on your hands. The added salt and sugar is unnecessary, too. Do you add sugar to your chicken and veggies as home? Didn’t think so.
Bottom line: Ditch this. It would be so easy to prep this meal using natural ingredients. The night before you work week starts, cook up chicken, orzo, green beans, and carrots. You can get fancy and whip-up an apple/cranberry sauce, too, but it isn’t completely necessary. Portion out your dinners and store in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave during the week when you’re at work, school, et cetera. So much healthier for you on so many levels.
Brand: Smart Ones
Meal: Chicken Santa Fe
Description: Tender white meat chicken, zucchini, bell peppers, onions and black beans.
Ingredients: Sauce (Diced Tomatoes In Juice [Tomatoes, Tomato Juice, Citric Acid, Calcium Chloride], Water, Onions, Dijon Mustard [Water, Vinegar, Mustard Seed, Salt, White Wine, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid, Tartaric Acid, Sugar, Spice], Tomato Ketchup [Tomato Concentrate, Distilled Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Onion Powder, Spices, Natural Flavoring], Chicken Broth Powder [Chicken Broth, Salt, Flavorings], Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic, Fire-Roasted Green Chiles [Green Chile Peppers, Citric Acid], Modified Cornstarch, Corn Oil, Chili Pepper Powder [Chili Peppers, Spices, Salt, Garlic Powder], Cilantro), Cooked Roasted White Chicken Meat (White Chicken Meat, Water, Modified Tapioca Starch, Sugar, Dextrose, Salt, Sodium Phosphate, Modified Potato Starch), Zucchini, Green Bell Peppers, Black Beans, Red Bell Peppers.
Initial Reaction: Again, that seems like an excessive number of ingredients for a meal described so simply.
Ingredients that scare me: added sugar, added salt, and sodium phosphate
Why those ingredients scare me: See above for my reasons to avoid sodium phosphate. I see sugar listed three times in the ingredients list. Really, WeightWatchers? Added sugar in a chicken and veggie meal? Not necessary! I also see salt listed five times in the ingredients list. Again, not necessary for that much added salt (there is 800mg in just this meal – we should be aiming for less than 1500 mg per day).
Bottom line: Again, ditch this. It’s too easy to make this at home with far less ingredients.
Brand: evol.
Meal: Quinoa & Roasted Veggies
Description: Red quinoa with brown rice, kale, roasted sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli and portabella mushrooms–All combined with an insanely tasty roasted tomato sauce.
Ingredients: Cooked Red Quinoa, Cooked Brown Rice, Kale, Tomatoes in juice (tomatoes, tomato juice, citric acid, calcium chloride), water, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli, portabella mushrooms, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, corn startch, lemon juice, sea salt
Initial Reaction: Ahhhhh, yes! Ingredients that I can identify and buy at the store myself! Calcium chloride doesn’t sound good, though.
Ingredients that scare me: calcium chloride
Why those ingredients scare me: As you may know, calcium chloride is used as a de-icing agent on roads and what not, as well as a firming agent in prepared foods. The FDA says it’s OK, but I would take that with a grain of salt. Ingested in large amounts (what that means, I have no idea), calcium chloride can lead to would cause intestinal problems and abdominal pain.
Bottom line: This seems OK to me. I cannot find any evidence to suggest that calcium chloride is dangerous to consume in the amounts found in food.
Surprisingly, these frozen meals were not as unhealthy as I thought they were going to be. I have seen the ingredient list for other brands such as Banquet, Hungry Man, Kid Cuisine that are exhausting and full of additives and sodium. In comparison, these aren’t too terrible.
As you know, the best way to eat healthy is to prepare your own food using natural and whole ingredients. There is no need to add anything but some spices and maybe a trace amount of oil to your meals!
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