With our hectic schedules, finding time to prepare healthy meals at home can be challenging. Lunch is particularly tricky, as eating out might result in consuming twice the calories compared to a well-planned Sunday meal prep. Frozen meals have evolved significantly from those days when they included a mini dessert like cherry cobbler or chocolate cake. Today, freezer aisles in grocery stores are often filled with a wide array of frozen food options.
Healthy Choice collaborated with the Food and Drug Administration to develop “healthy” standards for food. Besides their classic frozen dinner offerings, Healthy Choice provides low-carb, grain-free, and vegan meals catering to various dietary preferences. Despite the “healthy” label, how nutritious are these meals really?
Consider one of Healthy Choice’s highly-rated meals, Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo Simply Steamers. According to Consumer Reports, an ideal frozen meal should contain at least 6 grams of fiber, less than 760 milligrams of sodium, and minimal added sugars and processed ingredients. This particular meal somewhat aligns with these standards, offering 5 grams of fiber, 600 milligrams of sodium, and less than one gram of added sugar. It also contains few processed ingredients. Other Healthy Choice options may vary in their healthiness.
Look for complete meals and enough calories
Cleveland Clinic recommends that a balanced meal should include vegetables, protein, and a whole grain or starchy vegetable. The Simply Steamers Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo lacks whole grains, but the Chicken Parmigiana Classics dinner provides a complete meal with chicken, broccoli, and pasta, along with a hint of fruit from the caramel apples dessert. The Korean-Inspired Beef Power Bowl offers a full meal with kale, spinach, and red quinoa.
According to Consumer Reports, frozen meals should contain between 400 to 600 calories. The Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo offers 190 calories, which might leave you reaching for additional snacks. The Chicken Parmigiana contains 320 calories, and most Healthy Choice frozen meals have less than 300 calories, except for the Max options. The Healthy Choice Max Honey Sriracha Chicken provides 450 calories but includes 13 grams of added sugar, potentially making it less suitable if you aim to reduce sugar intake. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting added sugars to no more than 10% of your daily calorie intake.
Choose enough protein and watch the saturated fat
Consumer Reports advises that healthy frozen meals should contain between 15 to 25 grams of protein. While all Healthy Choice’s meat-based options meet this requirement, vegan and vegetarian options might fall a few grams short. However, the Green Goddess Power Bowl offers 18 grams of protein, primarily from lentils and edamame, along with 12 grams of fiber to help satisfy hunger. Healthy Choice also provides meatless meals featuring soy-based meat substitutes, which might include more processed ingredients.
The Grilled Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo contains 5 grams of fat and 2.5 grams of saturated fat, accounting for 13% of the recommended daily value for saturated fat. U.S. News and World Report suggests choosing foods with less than 20% of your daily value for saturated fat, making this meal a suitable choice for those monitoring fat intake. Surprisingly, the Country Fried Chicken has just 3 grams of saturated fat in a 330-calorie serving. Even Healthy Choice’s Power Bowls are relatively low in saturated fat.
Most of Healthy Choice’s frozen meals are healthy options due to their low saturated fat content. However, it’s worth noting that these meals are generally low in calories, so you might need to add extra vegetables or whole grains to create a more filling meal.
