Tell me about frozen dinners

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georgevan

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they used to call them tv dinners. Are any of them healthy to eat? I ate a Amy's enchilada frozen ddinner last night and it wasn't too bad but wasn't filling enough. What's your opinions?
 
Well, they're convenient for other reasons, too lol. I usually cook dinner, but occasionally I don't have the energy and DH doesn't enjoy cooking, so we keep stuff in the freezer for those times. We don't get individual frozen dinners, but we sometimes buy a PF Chang's or Bertolli frozen entrée. DH likes the occasional Marie Callendar's frozen pot pie.

georgevan, you could add a salad to make it a more complete meal.
 
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Read the ingredients and see how much of it is actual food. My personal experience is that the fewer non-food ingredients (microbial cultures don't count as non-food to me), the better it tastes. Check the nutritional label. That will be where you can see if there is far too much fat or salt or sugar in it to consider it healthy. I use frozen stuff to make supper simpler for the same reason as GG. I don't always have the energy to cook a whole supper. I'm kind of limited in which frozen entrees I use, because most of them have ingredients that I'm not supposed to eat or that make my arthritis worse. I have found some tourtière (French Canadian style meat pie) that is tasty and acceptable and I can find stuffed pasta (usually tortellini or ravioli) that work for us. I wish I could find some stuffed pasta that was made with wholewheat pasta.
 
I wouldn't really call them super healthful, but some of them aren't too terrible. I think the worst thing with frozen meals would be the amount of sodium they contain. I keep a few Lean Cuisine meals in the freezer for days I'm running behind on time (and forgot to put a lunch together the night before). They're good for a quick grab to take something to work for lunch.

However, there's one particular meal that I absolutely love, but it's horrible on fat and calories - Hungry Man Classic Fried Chicken Dinner. I don't eat them often, for obvious reasons, but every now and then I'll pick one up.

TV dinners are nostalgia to me. When we were kids, my mom cooked homemade meals probably more than 90% of the time. But once in a while, my sister and I were allowed to have a TV dinner and we'd always get so excited about it :LOL:

My favorite was the turkey and dressing. I'm probably dating myself by saying this, but I remember the foil trays that kept the food hotter for longer and we were just happy as clams eating those dinners.
 
LOL, like Linda, I remember when we had TV dinners in the foil plates, with the dividers to keep everything separate! My mom usually cooked also, but there were times, and I L-O-V-E-D them! As a kid it was just barely enough, and certainly NOT enough for my older brother. But expensive!!! (not that I knew it at the time)

and yes again, I would go with the Lean Cuisine ones.
 
Ooh! TV dinners!

My Mother was never a very good cook, and she admits to that fact :LOL:

Whenever Mom & Dad had and evening out and we got a babysitter for the night.
Mom would take my younger Sister and I to the market and we could pick out any TV dinner that we each wanted.
I were so excited about having that for our dinner, not just that it made us feel special, but that we didn't have to eat Mom's cooking ;)

I always chose the Salisbury Steak with mashed Potatoes, Peas & Carrots and Apple something or another as the dessert portion of the tray.
I want to say that my Sister would pick the Fried Chicken.
I also remember at the time that it took as dang long in the oven!

I haven't bought any of those frozen meals in awhile, but maybe I should keep a few in the deep freeze for those nights that I don't to cook for us three.
But yeah, gotta watch the salt and fat content in those things.
(Mom had high blood pressure)
 
Quick (but expensive dinner) Amys Frozen Bowl and a side salad.

The Bowl isn't filling enough for a meal but with a salad it's a good meal.

My favorite is the 3 CHEESE & KALE BAKE BOWL which interestingly is gluten free.

At almost $5.00 it's not cheap but when I'm traveling especially, I can nuke this in a sleep cheap microwave and add a grocery store salad for a decent and relatively nutritious meal for less cost than eating in a restaurant.
 
Quick (but expensive dinner) Amys Frozen Bowl and a side salad.

The Bowl isn't filling enough for a meal but with a salad it's a good meal.

My favorite is the 3 CHEESE & KALE BAKE BOWL which interestingly is gluten free.

At almost $5.00 it's not cheap but when I'm traveling especially, I can nuke this in a sleep cheap microwave and add a grocery store salad for a decent and relatively nutritious meal for less cost than eating in a restaurant.

We've been doing that on our last coupla road trips too Janet.
When we were in Texas two years ago, our hotel had a small market with frozen meals, Ice Cream, that sort.

When it was a long travel day and we're at a hotel just to sleep and get up and go early the next morning, we don't care to sit in restaurants.

I've even started to buy already cooked Bacon, hard boiled Eggs and I always have small cans of assorted juices for the road. Makes for a quick and easy breakfast.

And like you said that's so much cheaper too.

Most hotels have a small micro and `fridge/freezer combo, except in Las Vegas. They are trying their best to get you to spend more money on their property.
 
LOL… for me, frozen dinners are like McDonalds. It ain’t great, but we remember (and sometimes crave) what we’ve had as kids.
 
they used to call them tv dinners. Are any of them healthy to eat? I ate a Amy's enchilada frozen ddinner last night and it wasn't too bad but wasn't filling enough. What's your opinions?

If you want (relatively) healthy to eat, try Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers and Healthy Choice frozen meals.

A better idea is, buy some 3 Compartment Meal Prep Containers with Lids or Bento Boxes, make extra food when you do cook, put it in the containers and freeze them. The glass 3 compartment containers are best, IMO, because can reheat them in the micorwave and the glass won't absorb the colour of the sauces like plastic will.
 
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If you want (relatively) healthy to eat, try Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers and Healthy Choice frozen meals.

A better idea is, buy some 3 Compartment Meal Prep Containers with Lids or Bento Boxes, make extra food when you do cook, put it in the containers and freeze them. The glass 3 compartment containers are best, IMO, because can reheat them in the micorwave and the glass won't absorb the colour of the sauces like plastic will.


I've been thinking about these:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstay...iner-Clear-Lids-Black-Containers-1L/627671574

5 containers for $3.46USD
 
It's so funny reading all these memories about tv dinners! Sis and I also liked them - Mom wasn't a bad cook, but more like boring, so we would love to look for things we would never get otherwise. Like going to a restaurant, but at home. It wasn't until we went to Spain for 3 years that the two of them started enjoying non-boring foods, and I when I really fell in love with food. I don't think I ate any more of them after about 12 years old, but I remember those early ones. I'm sure they have gotten better, as far as the ethnic dinners - the things I used to get.


 
Pot pies, with the double crust were about the only frozen dinners in our home. I discovered the family style beef and gravy dinners after getting married. I hate to admit it, but I am truly an omnivore (or used to be). I liked most of the frozen dinners, Salisbury steak, crunchy chicken, cheese mac, lasagna, chili bowls, spaghetti, fish, it didn't matter. I'd try all the different brands. I even liked the instant mashed potatoes in the. If they had baked beans, or bread dressing, that was a plus.

But then again, I could make a meal from cold hot dogs, pepperoni sticks, thick slice of liverwurst, or a can of potted meat. All I needed with them was mayo, or salad dressing, sweet pickle relish, and bread. with cheese, they were even better.

My wife liked the Marie Calendars' offerings. I found the bland, same with Amy's. I liked hungry Man, Stouffer's, Swanson, and most others. I also liked the Asian inspired frozen dinners.

Now look,
I'm hungry for a tv dinner.:LOL:

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
I keep a couple of TV dinner options in the freezer. In case of emergency. Meaning, if I'm sick, DH will have something to eat. He can follow the directions on the box, but that is about the extent of his cooking skills. So, he won't starve. Now, if you need an F-14 Tomcat fixed, he's your man! But don't ask him to do anything other than dishes in the kitchen!

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I keep a couple of TV dinner options in the freezer. In case of emergency. Meaning, if I'm sick, DH will have something to eat. He can follow the directions on the box, but that is about the extent of his cooking skills. So, he won't starve. Now, if you need an F-14 Tomcat fixed, he's your man! But don't ask him to do anything other than dishes in the kitchen!

smileys-plane-505970.gif

There have been some men in my life that I wouldn't even ask to do THAT!

Stay out of my kitchen and we'll get along just fine :LOL:
 
When I was a kid, we liked TV dinners for the novelty and variety. They were not served often. My mum tried some of those single serving pot pies. Nope, never bought them again. That's how I learned to hate chicken pot pie. They were filled with too much, overly hot, gloopy, unpleasant gravy, there wasn't much chicken, and the vegis were overcooked.
 
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