Whether you’re a student or have a busy routine, frozen meals tend to be a lifesaver. By getting frozen meals, you save the time you would spend cooking and probably get some time to relax.
Frozen dinners taste good, but you can’t compare them to a freshly cooked meal. But has the question, “are frozen dinners healthy” ever crossed your mind? Ever thought about what side effects this might cause your body?
This article answers these questions with a clear view of its benefits and harmful effects. So, keep reading until the end.
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What Makes Frozen Meals Good – And Bad!
In this era of technology, frozen meals prove to be a blessing to people who don’t usually find time to cook a fresh meal from scratch. But it is important to remember that excess of everything becomes poison.
Speaking of frozen meals, it is incredibly convenient for someone to grab and microwave a meal. Frozen meals can be a blessing if you have a hectic day. But if you continue doing this every day, the whole process may backfire. Therefore, even though frozen meals are a blessing, it has a few disadvantages.
Although frozen food has similar nutrients and minerals as fresh food, the added substances and additives are detrimental. An enormous number of counterfeit flavors and added substances used to improve the usability of frozen food are not beneficial for health well-being.
Frozen meals are great and solid, assuming you eat them as appropriately controlled portions alongside vegetables to make a satisfying meal to stay full for long.
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How to Know If the Meal is Healthy?
When you are thinking about how healthy frozen meals are, you must consider three things, which are:
Saturated Fats:
Saturated fat in a frozen supper should not be higher than 4.5 g. This fat is an awful type that expands the LDL or horrendous cholesterol level in our body.
Sodium:
The sodium content level is why a ton of brands get an awful standing. To save the nourishment for a more drawn-out shelf period, they add a high amount of sodium that is hurtful to well-being. Sodium content in your frozen food should not be higher than 700 mg.
Fiber:
Fiber is vital to keep you satisfyingly full longer. The optimal amount of fiber ought to be 4g or higher. Many people recommend that if the frozen dinners need more fiber content, you need to eat them alongside a bowl of vegetables.
Frozen meals that tend to maintain these few parameters are healthy to consume, and one must always check if the meal they are having is healthy or not.
Helps in Weight Loss
Having frozen meals might also help you to reduce how much you weigh. That means having a balanced diet plan or eating according to portion control can help you to reduce your weight even if you eat frozen meals.
As far as you might be concerned, it is all about calories. Assuming you eat fewer calories than you spend, you can get more fit. Many frozen dinners are under 400 calories.
There is no need to measure the proper food portion. An American researcher has shown that eating frozen meals can help portion control. They are pre-packaged with set portions, and exact calorie counts.
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Frozen Meals are Affordable
Frozen meals are an excellent option for low-income families because they are not costly. Through such suppers, they can get the kinds of food that affluent individuals eat. Numerous fascinating and worldwide food sources become accessible to everybody at sensible expenses.
Besides the low expenses, likewise, think of the time that can be saved. This makes frozen suppers more attractive to the standard purchaser.
When Can Frozen Dinners be Bad for You?
Frequently eating frozen dinners can be bad for you if they are high in sodium and saturated fats. Sodium can cause high blood pressure and other hypertension-related diseases such as stroke.
Cooking a fresh meal once or twice and taking care of your physique is a good practice. If you’re doing that, you can cook a little extra and store the new food in a refrigerator.
Are Healthy Frozen Food and Freshly Cooked Food the Same?
The vitamins and minerals in frozen food and fresh food remain the same. Still, the nutritional difference arises from the amount of sodium and preservatives that are mixed to improve the shelf life of packaged food. These preservatives, sodium, and frozen food are less healthy than fresh food.
Popular Frozen Dinner Reviews
One must look at how good the most commonly purchased frozen meals are. The best ones with the best reviews are recommended to be selected.
Lean Cuisine:
Lean cuisine is a sesame chicken supper. Assuming we talk about the health benefit of one package, it has 330 calories, 9 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, 25 mg of cholesterol, 650 mg sodium, 48 grams of carbs, 3 grams of fiber, and 15 grams of sugar.
So, 14-gram protein is not a huge amount, but it is okay. The only problem is it has a lot of sodium and additives that are not good for health. Otherwise, it is suitable for weight loss because of the extraordinary amount of protein.
Amy’s Frozen Meals:
Amy’s frozen dish contains Mexican meal bowls having 380 calories that are exceptionally similar to genuine dinner. So, you don’t nibble on other undesirable food sources in the wake of eating it.
It has 16 grams of fat, cholesterol 20 mg, sodium 780 mg, 48 grams carbs, 8gram fiber, 4 grams sugar, and 12 grams protein. It is high in sodium, but at the same time, Amy’s also offers other light sodium choices.
Hungry Men’s Meals:
Hungry Men’s meals have very high sodium, so they are not suitable for a healthy meal. It has 708 calories, 26 grams fat, 1440 mg sodium, 92-gram carbs, 6g fiber, and 53-gram protein.
Although it has a good amount of fiber, 1440 mg of sodium is an excessive amount that can interfere with blood pressure and the cardiovascular system.
Smart One’s Frozen Meals:
This savvy brand has a sesame chicken dish. One bundle has 250 calories, 6-gram fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 480 mg sodium, 39 grams of carbs, 5-gram sugar, and 11 grams of protein.
It isn’t intelligent for weight reduction as it doesn’t contain sufficient protein; however, it is excellent for low added sugar and low sodium content.
Merrie’s Callender’s Meals:
Merrie’s Callender’s Meals is most elevated in fats and calories. So, it isn’t great for the individuals who need to shed pounds. In any case, best of all, it contains vegetables. There are no other vegetables in some other frozen food brand aside from Merrie’s Callender suppers.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is it okay to eat frozen meals every day?
Eating frozen meals every day won’t be good for your health as most of them are rich in sodium and saturated fat.
Is frozen lasagne healthy?
It contains around 310 calories and is not one of the healthiest foods. However, it’s comparatively better than other frozen meals.
Is Lean Cuisine good for weight loss?
Though the small portions might make many believe that it’s good for weight loss, I don’t think so, as it has a good amount of sugar.
Final Words
So, are frozen dinners healthy? It can be if you choose the right food. You’ll need to carefully select what frozen meals to eat. After all, excess of anything becomes poison. Even though it is frozen, having a light dinner will help you lose weight.
