No Time to Cook? Frozen Dinners to the Rescue

It's one of those days: You get home late from work, the kids are starving and need to be at practice in 30 minutes, and you haven't a clue what's for dinner.

What to do? Just reach in the freezer -- that is, if you've planned ahead and kept it stocked with nutritious entrees. Frozen dinners can fill in wonderfully on no-time-to-cook nights -- and won't make anyone late for practice. They can be ready in 10 minutes flat, and there's no cleanup!

With the hectic pace of our lives these days, many people rely on frozen dinners for lunch and/or dinner some days of the week. In my office, there's a nonstop parade of frozen meals going in and out of the microwave throughout lunchtime.

These frozen concoctions are not only perfect for portable meals, but they're also great for anyone living alone. And for those with families, individualized meals allow everyone to eat what they like.

A World of Choices

Stroll down the freezer aisle in your neighborhood market and the choices seem never-ending. Frozen meals come in all forms: from light to supersized, ethnic to the traditional three-compartment trays.

One-third of the frozen-meals market belongs to lower-calorie meals. Nearly all come from the three industry leaders: Healthy Choice, Stouffer's Lean Cuisine, and Weight Watchers Smart Ones.

Most of these entrees contain less than 350 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 4 grams of saturated fat. To make these lighter meals satisfying, the manufacturers focus on offering a wide variety of foods, rich flavor, and visual appeal.

In my opinion, these meals have come a long way since their introduction years ago. They don't equal a home-cooked meal, but are certainly good enough to enjoy on occasion.

One thing to keep in mind: to keep calories down, portions tend to be small, and as a result, these dinners are not always satisfying. Most need a side dish or two to fill you up and meet your nutritional needs. To make your light frozen dinner a complete meal, complement it with a whole-grain roll, a side salad, and/or some veggies.

A Weight-Loss Tool

One of the best features of a prepackaged meal is that the portions are controlled. And that's one reason that eating frozen dinners can help people lose weight, according to a study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine in 2000.

The study monitored 302 overweight people with type 2 diabetes, high levels of blood fat, or high blood pressure for one year. Some ate frozen prepared meals; others followed a diet at home. The researchers found that those who followed the prepared-meal plans lost significantly more weight.

Researchers attributed this to the frozen meals' ease, variety, portion control, and nutritional completeness. Not only did the participants who ate prepared meals take off pounds, they also reduced their risk of heart disease.