Can We Talk about Frozen Dinners?

CallMeKate

CallMeKate

Well-known Member
Location
Mid-Atlantic US
@OneEyedDiva started a thread about making her own "TV dinners." Sounds like a great idea. I didn't want to hijack her thread with my question, so I'll do it here.

Some frozen dinners/varieties/brands that sounded good were named in that thread. I like some frozen dinners, but I am becoming more concerned about the sodium content in most of them. Anyone have suggestions for at least somewhat healthier frozen options when it comes to sodium?

If I manage to find any that sound better, the cost is ridiculously high for a wee little bit of food. Cooking is one of my passions, but I do like to have some frozen available either for lunch or those nights I simply don't want to cook.
 

I'm not supposed to have too much sodium either. I avoid canned soups and things like mac and cheese in cans which is very high in sodium. I don't see any advantage to buying a prepared frozen dinner when I can just make more of whatever I'm cooking and freeze portions of it for another time.
 
FINALLY - Imgflip
 
I no longer cook and only eat Frozen Dinners. Stouffer's, Boston Market, Banquet, Hungry Man. Haven't cooked in two years. I miss my cooking, I was a good cook. Just got out of the habit of cooking. Was cooking egg dishes still, but when eggs here shot up to six bucks a carton I stopped buying eggs. I don't eat much.
 
I don't eat frozen meals very often for the same reason - way too much sodium. I tried those meal kits, when I was still working full time - and they were a bit better - making things convenient but a bit more healthy. The problem was all that packaging - it was insane!

Now, I cook or we go out to eat.

I did Google and they have low sodium meal delivery services - tho, I'm not sure how expensive they are....
 
Yeah I can’t deal with the sodium either in tv dinners. We’ll indulge very occasionally, those bagged skillet meals, but that’s it.

Mostly I make large batches of soups, stews, and the like which heat easily on the stove.

We’ll also season several flank steaks or pork steaks then freeze them into single servings.

Make a salad, throw them on the grill and it’s a meal!
 
Well, I started this thread to see if there are options, and I'm thinking there really aren't. Drat! I already do cook extra for freezer meals because I love cooking. And I use 0 sodium beef and chicken broths for soups. It would have been nice to have some quick things in the freezer, but I do think I'll have to be forgetting that idea. Oh, is the Herb Ox still working for you, @StarSong ? I am *so* glad I found that years ago... packaged broth is shocking... even those that claim "reduced sodium!"

I do not have a sodium problem at this point, but it's time to make sure I won't in the future either. My target number in a frozen meal would have been like 400mg or less... not even sure that's possible.
 
Well I too gave up much "cooking"" from scratch...only thing
is I eat breakfast now almost all meals, egg s sausage, eggs
and backon,eggs with cheese mixerd in....if I dont want egg
I will do a frozen dinner, tho I'm now buying the cheaper ones
cause they have gone out of sight in price and ingredients are
suffering quality now a days.....
 
The only options I can think of are the low-sodium brands, like Healthy Choice, Michelina's Lean Gourmet, Amy's Light In Sodium, Lean Cuisine, etc., but their sodium content is probably still too high for some.

The only frozen meals that I buy are a pizza to treat myself on Friday or Saturday, and I could make them myself. They're not low-sodium and have 790mg sodium per 1/4. I also keep some chicken and turkey pot pies to eat occasionally. They have 740mg sodium each.

Many months ago, I bought a box of Banquet Fried Chicken for old time's sake but I probably won't ever again. As with most things, it's just not as good as it used to be, in addition to being so unhealthy. That box was $14.99! I was in a hurry and it had a yellow banner across it that proclaimed Family-Sized Box. It ended up having the same amount as the old $8.99 boxes.
 
We have a frozen pizza once in a while. When the grands come I have some frozen chicken strips and things on hand. I bought some White Castle sliders. We didnt use them so DH and I ended up eating them. They were good.
I also took the rest of the chicken strips and made us a Chic fil a sandwich with lettuce, mayo, and dill pickle s!ices. They were good too. I wanted some fries with them so I looked in Walmart. So much difference in chemicals and sodium! I settled on Great Value plain crinkle cut. Way lower sodium than others and much cleaner ingredients. Even 2 grams of fiber.
Here's some things I found. There are lots of videos on the subject. It's short.

 
DailyArtsyCrafter said:
Many months ago, I bought a box of Banquet Fried Chicken for old time's sake but I probably won't ever again.
Click to expand...
I did the very same thing about a year ago. I ended up wondering why on earth I used to like it, but then figured that they added more grease (it actually *poured* out on the baking sheet!) so they could use less chicken, doubled the price, and waited for us to think it would be like it was 20 years ago. 🥺 @DailyArtsyCrafter
 
Have you checked out the Nathan's crinkle cut fries, @hearlady ... very extremely low sodium. Let me get those stats... I think it's like 50mg.

OH! Even better!

Nutrition Information for a 14-piece (84g) serving:
  • Calories: 100
  • Total Fat: 3g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Sodium: 20mg
  • Total Carbohydrate: 17g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2g
  • Total Sugars: 1g
  • Protein: 2g
 
CallMeKate said:
Have you checked out the Nathan's crinkle cut fries, @hearlady ... very extremely low sodium. Let me get those stats... I think it's like 50mg.

OH! Even better!

Nutrition Information for a 14-piece (84g) serving:
  • Calories: 100
  • Total Fat: 3g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Trans Fat: 0g
  • Sodium: 20mg
  • Total Carbohydrate: 17g
  • Dietary Fiber: 2g
  • Total Sugars: 1g
  • Protein: 2g
Click to expand...
Ill check that out!
 
Theres a reddit for where people discuss frozen dinners if you want to look thru it.
I dont care for most of them. I have bought Stouffers family size meatloaf on sale.
You get 6 "loaves" for $10 regular price. 190 calories each 560 mg sodium.
I know too much sodium. I never look at sodium. I probably should. I usually look at calories.
And make your own mashed potatoes dont get the single serving. Theyre $5 and the mash potatoes are vile. :D

Mashed potatoes for one in the microwave are so easy. Peel your potato and cut in in cubes.
Place in corning ware 1 quart casserole. Add around a 1/2 inch of water. Cover and nuke till potatoes are cooked.
Mine takes 10 min. Drain and mash. Add whatevers. I use french onion dip instead of sour cream.
I live alone. If I have sour cream and veggie dip then one or both are going to go bad before I use them up.


https://www.reddit.com/r/frozendinn...95d4&iId=18333455-2e21-4707-a335-645f64b8accf
 

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