Lean Cuisines...good or bad?

I found it funny to see that most of the Lean Cuisine entrees on here are getting D's and C's for grades...I know when I eat them, I feel ok about it like I am being healthy, but I guess not! They are just so easy to take with me to school or work though...are they really a bad choice?

When I've looked at them..I see barely any food, barely a serviing of veggies and a big box of sodium...very few frozen meals that I'll buy and I've never tried any that my taste buds agreed with...so much better to toss together some grilled chicken or shrimp and some grilled or steamed veggies with a little sweet/sour sauce. 

I dont buy the LC's, but I DO buy the South Beach Diet Chicken Caprese (huge portion of broccoli and chicken for 300 cals) and I do buy a few of the Healthy Choice entrees.  I find them tasty and a lot of them are less than 400 mg of sodium.  I eat one of these meals everyday during the week at work.  I just find it easier, and they taste good.  Some of the HC entrees even come with a fruity dessert.  The highest one I've found was 600 mg of sodium and 450 cals.  (pizza) and I only eat that about every other week.  I think that if somethings working for you, dont worry about it.  Keep doing it.  Just be sure to add more fresh fruits and veggies to your diet, and less sodium during the rest of the day. :0) Good luck.

Well guys, not to burst your bubbles... I know sodium is bad for you, but I ate a mixture of lean cuisines and  smart ones, and I lost 15 lbs.  I think that they're good too, because they have a taste... the Healthy Choice and South Beach entrees taste kind of bland to me.  With LC and SO's... I never craved anything more.  They're really good too ;)  So that's my opinion

About once a week, when I'm just too rushed to pack a proper lunch, I'll have a Lean Cuisine. I had one today actually. Chicken Mediterranean. I really like that flavor and it revealed to me that zucchini isn't awful if it's cut small and served in a tomato sauce. It contains grilled chicken and 100% whole wheat pasta and yes, 590mg of sodium about 25% of my daily allowance. Big deal, it's not like I'm going to eat 3 more of them! Additionally, the Spa Cuisine line (of which Chicken Mediterranean is a member) have no artificial preservatives or flavors. And it did fill me up!

Hi All:

The LC Panini's are really tasty...  for me with some of the other LC meals the veggies are kinda bland and soggy, but make me feel good that I am boosting my veggie intake...  The Sodium piece is the more difficult of the components to monitor- I try to limit what I add to my meals as best as my taste buds allow...

I am fairly new tothis calorie thing and need to get a better handle on the color codes for the LC meals too...

Everyone keep up the good work and be proud of your efforts toward a healthy lifestyle!

altho they are packed with sodium they are REALLY good.
Great flavor and varity.

But if you want more food, and even more flavor.
Hungary man meals by Swason. They are amazing. A lb. of food!

I LOVE Lean Cuisines, especially the paninis !!!!!

They mostly get bad grades because of the amount of sodium in them. That's why they taste so good with such low calories... the amount of sodium. A lot have around 20-30% for their DV% which is not very healthy.

Hungry Man Meals??!!  Those have 600-1,000 calories in one entree!  Not good if you're trying to lose weight! lol  On the other hand, they're really fricking good!  Everything you need to die of a heart attack at a young age! ;)

Look at the reason for the grade for the answer.

high in sodium, good because they pre porportioned.  Also this brand is perservitive free.  I always mix them with salad greens.. so i get a nice salad ( much more filling ) its the only source of fat i get in a day.. also a main source of protein.

Thanks for all the responses, its good to hear what others think on a topic.

Yeah, about those Hungryman meals...not so good, hiei676...I only eat LC's because of their low-cal content and ok taste and convenience...If I wanted more food, I would make a REAL meal, like with fresh meat and veggies...i would never eat a regular Hungryman entree for any reason ever on this earth, and neither should anyone! Just my thought.

I agree with what some others have said.  If you like LCs and you feel you are benefiting from them somehow, I don't think they're going to really hurt you.  Just don't go overboard otherwise during the day.

I just think they're ridiculously expensive at $3 each, and it's a very small portion of food.

I eat frozen meals on a daily basis for lunch out of convenience.  I go to the grocery store on Mondays on my lunch break, scope out the prices and buy lunch for the week based on what's on sale.  The way I look at it, if the alternative is the Jack in the Box Drive through, a lean cuisine is the lesser of two evils.  They're pre-portioned, easy & quick to prepare, have no preservatives, are generally low in calories, and taste pretty good.  Personally I like them because the nutritional content is laid out.

I understand the disdain for them from people who are dedicated to eating clean, but not everyone has the time or resources to prepare every meal fresh.  For some people it is a better alternative.  Not the best choice, but a better one. 

As for specific brands:  I haven't been very pleased with Healthy Choice.  Their portions for some reason seem small and not filling.  Their nutritional info at first seems better than the rest because they're lower in sodium and fat.  But I think since they include a dessert with a lot of their entrees, the sugar content is pretty high.  For my tastes, I'd prefer it if they left out the dessert and included more protein.  Most frozen meals just don't have enough protein in them (mostly carbs).  I struggle with getting enough protein in my diet as it is.  My favorite frozen meals are definitely Marie Callendar's, which are definitely not good for you!  Although, they do have a couple of meals that sit around 400 calories and are quite filling.

Lean Cuisine tastes good, but they never keep me full.  I always had better luck with Weight Watcher's Smart Ones when I needed a quick filling lunch.

I like lean cuisine. Sure they have 25% of your RDI for sodium, but if you watch what you're eating it can still balance out nicely. I also like that some of them have more veggies/fiber in them now. It feels like you're eating something healthy instead of crap-from-a-box. Some of them are nice tossed over a big bowl of lettuce as a salad, or if it's one that doesn't have much in the way of veggies I'll add more to it.