I do like some of the prepared foods, though. I stupidly bought one of those "meals for two" the other day without looking at the nutritionals (I NEVER do that, but for some reason I just assumed it would be ok?!? I must have lost my mind for a minute). I got home and checked it out- 750 cal/serving. And it was one of those things you would definitely want to serve with something else to be filling enough, like a small salad or something. Disappointing. I'm going to give it to my mom, I think. I hate to throw it away because it was $7.
Open a can of white beans (or any beans), dump in a skillet (or bowl and microwave). Put in as much seasoning as I feel like. Sometimes I slosh part of a can of diced tomatoes in there, or a real tomato if I get fancy. Or parsley. Fresh parsley is great in this. And tons of garlic.
Throw a ham steak on the George Foreman grill with a bunch of sliced white onions. Grill until onions are soft and steak is warmed through (like 2 minutes).
Slice up ham steak, scoop beans in a bowl, top with ham and onions. Serve with handful of salad greens on the side, topped with light dressing and maybe a crouton or two.
This can be super low-cal if you watch serving size. A half cup of white beans is 80 cal, so I usually have 3/4 c. for 120, and 2 oz of ham is 60 cal, so I usually have 4 oz for 120. Even allowing for a few extra calories for the onions and possible tomatoes, still around 250 cal!
I do something similar with onion, garlic, canned pink beans, canned tomatoes, sazon, sofrito, and cilantro. Serve over minute brown rice.
It takes maybe 10-15 mins and it's super filling, healthy, and delicious. In fact, I just made a huge pot of these beans for a party on Saturday and they were a big hit.
In the freezer section next to Amy's & Kashi there is also the Authentic Indian cuisine ones with all natural ingrediants. When they go on sale for 2 for $5 I stock up like a mad woman. Infact, I usually wipe my store out LOL
The key for me is to stock up on Amy's & Kashi stuff when they go on a good sale (otherwise it's too expensive for me). I LOVE Amy's Organic Soups. Particularly the tomato soup! 1 can is two meals worth to me. Very filling and delicious.
I do grab a lean cuisine now and again. I went on a "avoid packaged food" kick for awhile but I do keep some on hand sometimes. I practically lived off of lean cuisines when I was a teenager!
I eat tomato soup almost every day for lunch! I double up my recipe and usually have about 11 servings. Then I just put them in little 1-cup containers, freeze them, and grab one every morning for lunch. Cheap and yum!
I freeze a lot of my own food, but I also keep Amy's dinners on hand all the time. I'm not vegetarian, but if you've ever noticed, frozen dinners tend to have nasty, spongy meat anyway so I prefer to stick with the Amy's. Also, read the back of the packaging, ladies! Plenty of the Amy's meals that don't fall under the Amy's Light & Lean brand are still 400 calories or less. I'm all about the tamales and enchiladas and curry. They taste good, plus lots of fiber, protein, and vitamins. :-)
Kashi is usually pretty solid as well, but I can't always find it around here.
There are actually several "non diet" (i.e., NOT lean cuisine, smart ones, etc.) frozen meals that are reasonable on calories. 300 calories for dinner isn't enough for me...I need more like 500 (unless I supplement the 300 calorie meal with something else.)
As far as taste, I'm actually quite impressed with the TGIFridays frozen skillet meals. You just throw them in the frying pan and they're done in like 10 minutes. Typically serves two, though you can find the cajun chicken & shrimp in a single serving microwave-in-the-bag size.
Calories are reasonable, calories for 1/2 the bag are listed:
chicken fajitas: 480
beef fajitas: 510 (yes, the fajitas include the tortillas!)
Chipotle Chicken pasta: 390
Sesame Chicken: 362
Cajun chicken & shrimp pasta: 450
Of course as with all frozen meals, you do need to watch the sodium.
Last edited by NorthernExposure; 12-05-2011 at 12:33 PM.
Another Amy's fan here. I usually add lots of extra veggies to the meals to bulk up the fiber and nutrients. Another favorite of mine are Tabatchnick frozen soups. I love the low sodium mushroom and barley; I'll generally add in a container of fresh sliced mushrooms or a package of frozen spinach. I'm very limited as to the frozen meals I can eat as many of them aren't kosher.
I eat a Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl (sausage, potatoes, egg, cheese, and gravy) (380 calories) every morning. I am a firm believer in a hearty breakfast. I could not start my day on something like fruit and/or cereal. Not particularly "healthy," but very filling!
I hate to cook. I hate thinking about cooking. I do not cook. So, I eat lean cuisines or weight watchers smart ones for lunch and most suppers. (Under 300 calories). I'm also a very picky eater, probably only eat 25 foods altogether, and that's probably pushing it.
I'm a meat, cheese, and potatoes kind of a girl, so the frozen entrees I select are usually meatloaf with mashed potatoes, Swedish meatballs, salisbury steak, etc.
I love the lean cuisines and smart ones! And it really helps me monitor my calorie count. Simplicity in eating works best for me.
Beck- I am not kosher but live in an area where there are a lot of people who are so my grocery store stocks Tabachnik soups. They are really good!MUCH nicer than canned soup, IMHO- I don't think I've had one yet I didn't like, and the calories are insanely low. I've also bought some kosher frozen blintzes (though I can't remember the brand) that were WONDERFUL as a sweet treat and not too high calorie. They were not advertised as low-cal, though.
Not particularly "healthy," but very filling!
