Girl on the Run- Frozen Dinners That Taste Good?

I was just reading a great post asking everyone to post their favorites for each category.  However after about the 15th reply I stopped reading because 80% of respondents said they didn't eat frozen "entrees".  I would die.  I work a full time job, go to school full time, and have a boyfriend who is supportive but doesn't want to 'diet'.  I NEED frozen entrees for lunch.  I also like soup as it is filling without a lot of calories but a girl can only ea so much soup (especially when she seems to only eat one kind)  I like the Brick Oven style Pizzas from Lean Cuisine but have yet to find many others that I like.  And suggestions?  Keep in mind that I didn't get to be 200 pounds by not eating and by eating bland foods.  It MUST taste good!!!

 I am thanking anyone with a reply in advace.  I need some suggestions!!

OOOH the Lean Cuisine One Dish Meals are SOOOOO good. My favorite is the Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans. 290 calories. They also have a really good Roasted Potatoes & Broccoli with Cheese Sauce. 240 calories. I highly recommend those!! They are my absolute saviors when I am HORRIBLE during the day & need something filling but low cal for dinner.

As a fellow student, i feel your pain!  I like pretty much all the South Beach Diet frozen meals that I have tried, and if I have time, I try to add some extra veggies to make them extra filling!  Also, Amy's organic is good, but can be a little bit more pricy!

My very favorite lean cuisines are Chicken Primavera and Butternut Squash.  Most of their spa cuisine is really good.  The only one of their meals that I have tired that was not edible was the glazed chicken.

I love, love, love Kashi and South Beach Diet meals.

I don't like most healthy choice ones.

Amy's and Kashi.  Definitely.  ;)

um...not what you want to hear, but you know you can make your own, right?  take an afternoon, cook two or three different things, make a month's worth of healthy frozen meals?

I eat them occasionally for lunch, on really stressful days when I don't have time to prepare a salad, or when I haven't gone grocery shopping and that's pretty much all there is left.

I like the Lean Cuisine Paninis. I always add some fruits and veggies, because it's  never enough to fill me up though!

I love the lasagna that lean cuisine makes.  The weight watchers version (I think it's called smart ones?) tasted a little funny to me. 

I stray away from most processed, frozen meals, but it doesn't stop me from catching on to some great finds! I love the Amy's organic, Kashi, and Cedarlane meals and burritos! Amy's and Cedarlane make vegetarian-only products (several for vegans), but Kashi has meaty options if you prefer that sort of thing. Here are a few of my favorites;

Amy's: Veggie Loaf whole meal, Black Bean Enchilada whole meal, Mexican Tamale Pie, Roasted Vegetable Lasanga, and Brown Rice & Veggie Bowl (with tofu).

Cedarlane: Low-fat burritos (Beans, Rice & Cheese; Indian; and Veggie Pizza wrap).

Kashi: Black Bean & Mango, Southwestern Chicken.

I don't know if you have a Whole Foods, Trader Joes or Co-op near you, but they have the best ready-made entrees & their salad bars are amazing. I always get stuff like artichoke hearts, pickled beets & roasted veggies to put on greens.

I don't do 1/2 the stuff you do, I really can't imagine, but I am a mother of a toddler & often have ready-made entrees & salad bar specialties in my refrigerator. They're a lifesaver.

I have nothing against frozen meals, I've just never tried them. Natural or commercial they sure sound like yummy options! I'm going to have to check out a few!

Stouffer's Lasagna is great, Lean Quizine's Chicken Portabella, Chicken Fried Rice is pretty good too. The paninis are pretty good too.

My faveorite super-quick dinner is frozen (wild) salmon. It only takes 18 mins to bake, have it with a salad and some rice. My favorite kind so far is salmon with a dill sauce.
Super healthy, super delicious, and super quick! (Not many dishes either!!)

I love Amy's Meals. The enchilada whole meal is great and I really like the tofu scramble too. Bean tacos are also super quick and easy to make: I get a can of 365 brand refried beans and microwave them while I put soft corn tortillas in the oven (just to warm them up). While everything is warming, slice some veggies and then combine the whole thing. Delishh.

Original Post by pgeorgian:

um...not what you want to hear, but you know you can make your own, right? take an afternoon, cook two or three different things, make a month's worth of healthy frozen meals?

 Maybe I should have clarified that I am actually a lazy person by nature.  :)  When we eat at home it is generally pretty balanced and healthy (salmon, wild rice, and broccoli, baked chicken and fresh green beans) so I tried to make enough for lunch the next day but all too often we are having bread company for dinner.  

 

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!  I will have to try some of those out.  And for the vegetarians or vegans out there- I do eat meat (and yes, red meat, too) but do not have a problem with it not being a staple for a meal.  I like all kinds of food- AS LONG AS IT IS GOOD!! 

Kashi frozen meals are the best I've tried, but they're more expensive than others.  Since you're a student, price might also be important.  If so, then try Lean Cuisine's.  They are cheaper (and go on sale in my supermarket pretty often).  Pick a variety of what looks good.  You're bound to have some winners and losers, but overall, Lean Cuisine tastes much much better than Healthy Choice.

definitely kashi and amy's organic.. of course they are also the most expensive :-/

have you tried cooking a couple meals on the weekend and putting the leftovers in the fridge/freezer for the week? i'll usually cook 1 or 2 things on sunday so that during the week i can just come home and heat stuff up real quick :-D

I know where you're coming from, I pretty much eat frozen meals for lunch every day and sometimes dinner. I switch between, Smart Ones, South Beach Diet, Lean uisine and Healthy choice to get some variety. I love Smart Ones Pizza Smartwich it's really filling. There are way too many to name, you pretty much have to try them until you find out which ones you like.

When I'm in a hurry, I like the Smart Ones lasagna and the sesame chicken.  I also occasionally will have a chicken Lean Cuisine Panini or Southwestern rice and beans or the Boca Chili or an Amy's burrito.  Mostly, though, I cook and take non-processed, homemade foods like salads, wraps, pastas, rice/veggies, a topped-baked sweet potato to reheat, etc..  :)

I will second the Kashi and Amy's Organic.  The Kashi Lemongrass and Coconut chicken one and Amy's Mattar Paneer.  They are terrific and, although they are not marketed as diet, they are quite reasonable on the fat and calories. Notice they get generally better marks on CC than lean cuisine.  Of course, I eat lean cuisine also.  The new ones with extra vegetables are good.  The butternut squash ravioli one is very good. Of course, I eat the pizzas as well.  The sesame chicken lean cuisine is tasty too.

Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers are good, I haven't tried one yet that I didn't like.

My absolute fave is the Lean Cuisine Chicken Carbonnara, it almost tastes like real food.

They also have a steak and cheese panini that is really good...