Take a stroll down the frozen food aisle at your local grocery store and you'll be surrounded by boxes with dishes that look deceptively appetizing (hello Photoshop) -- and have tempting labels like "low fat," "light," and "high protein." But are any of these "healthy" frozen dinners actually good for you?
As a smart shopper, you've hopefully learned to take all product packaging with a sizeable grain of salt, but frozen meals in particular can trip you up with misleading labels and hidden health horrors. "Most frozen meals are high in sugar and sodium, contain tons of preservatives, and don't have much to offer in terms of fruits, vegetables, or fiber," says Laura Cipullo, a registered dietician and certified diabetes instructor in New York City.
While that news is a bit depressing for all of us too time-crunched to do more than pop a frozen dinner in the microwave, there is some hope. For every chemical-laden, fat-filled meal out there, there is a comparable option with better ingredients, less fat, and even a few veggies thrown in for good measure. Check out this list of the 10 worst frozen food offenders, along with healthier frozen dinners that still taste delicious.
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The Worst: Kashi Sweet and Sour Chicken
The Kashi brand usually offers quality meals with top-notch ingredients. But this dish has a whopping 25 g of sugar -- which is more than what you'll find in two Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
For a less saccharine option, try Kashi's Lemongrass Coconut Chicken, which has a much more reasonable 6 g of sugar per meal.
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The Worst: Hot Pockets Calzone, Pepperoni and Three Cheese
This frozen food may be bursting with flavor, but it's also bursting with ingredients -- well over 100 ingredients, in fact. How they made pizza so complicated is beyond us.
Cipullo suggests keeping it simpler with Amy's Cheese Pizza in a Pocket Sandwich, which has 15 ingredients, none of which are preservatives or GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). "As a rule, the fewer ingredients in frozen dinners, the healthier," says Cipullo.
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The Worst: Banquet Boneless Pork Rib (Shaped Patty Meal)
What's a "Shaped Patty Meal," you dare to ask? You probably don't want to find out, says Cipullo. This dish may be high in protein, but it contains controversial ingredients such as MSG, BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoulene, which is used to slow the rancidity of oil and fats in foods), and partially hydrogenated soybean oil.
A better beef choice? Organic Bistro's Beef Tips with Mushroom Sauce, which is free of questionable fillers and made with organic rice and vegetables.
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The Worst: Boston Market Chicken Pot Pie
Pot pie may be the ultimate in comfort food, but the 780 calories and 48 g of fat in this frozen meal should make you anything but comfortable. Instead, reach for Applegate Farm's Chicken Pot Pie. It's made with extra veggies and has less than half the fat of Boston Market's pie.
Take a stroll down the frozen food aisle at your local grocery store and you'll be surrounded by boxes with dishes that look deceptively appetizing (hello Photoshop) -- and have tempting labels like "low fat," "light," and "high protein." But are any of these "healthy" frozen dinners actually good for you?
As a smart shopper, you've hopefully learned to take all product packaging with a sizeable grain of salt, but frozen meals in particular can trip you up with misleading labels and hidden health horrors. "Most frozen meals are high in sugar and sodium, contain tons of preservatives, and don't have much to offer in terms of fruits, vegetables, or fiber," says Laura Cipullo, a registered dietician and certified diabetes instructor in New York City.
While that news is a bit depressing for all of us too time-crunched to do more than pop a frozen dinner in the microwave, there is some hope. For every chemical-laden, fat-filled meal out there, there is a comparable option with better ingredients, less fat, and even a few veggies thrown in for good measure. Check out this list of the 10 worst frozen food offenders, along with healthier frozen dinners that still taste delicious.
