Sometimes, when you’re working really hard to lose weight, making most of your meals from scratch, you can get fatigued rather quickly. That’s when it’s time to rely on some kind of premade or frozen dinner.
While heat-and-serve dinners are not known for being healthy, as many of them contain more indulgent, fattening foods or just have a lot of additives, from time to time, a quick, easy, premade meal is called for. Luckily, not all of them are that bad for you, and if you look around at common stores like Target, you can find some decent options. Trent Harrison, a fitness coach and TikTok creator, shared three premade dinner options he found at Target that are “quick, easy, packed with protein, and perfect for weight loss.” He notes they’re also a nice backup meal option if you “hate to cook!” Read more about them below.
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1. Good & Gather Grilled Cajun Style Chicken Breast Strips
Target's Good & Gather grocery brand is known for having flavorful renditions of classic items you can keep in your refrigerator. For instance, fans are big into their ready-made chicken strips, which you can buy plain or seasoned with yummy flavors. In his video, Trent reaches for the 'cajun style' chicken strips, as not only are they high in protein, but they're delicious and easy to pair with other foods for a filling meal.
"This is what I'm talking about when I say 'high protein,'" says Trent in his TikTok video. "[They have] 22 grams of protein for 120 calories. Put this over a bed of rice [or] use this with potatoes. Insane chicken flavor."
If you're trying to go low-carb, the chicken strips also make a nice addition to a salad or even some kind of soup. If you need protein staples and don't want to cook them, grab these next time you're at Target.
2. Kevin's Parmesan Basil Chicken
Some of the best frozen dinners are the ones that have savory, flavor-packed sauces. If you love a good sauce, then you should definitely check out Kevin's Parmesan Basil Chicken, which Trent includes in his list of recommended premade Target meals. The brand is popular for its clean yet tasty flavor profiles in its meals and high-quality pieces of meat.
Trent notes that this premade meal, which contains chicken breast strips, broccoli, zucchini, and a parmesan sauce, has "34 grams of protein for 270 calories."
"All you've got to do is put this in the microwave for five minutes, and you've got a quick and easy dinner," he adds.
3. Good & Gather Three Cheese Chicken Meatballs
Who doesn't love eating a good meatball from time to time? While naturally, they're typically better homemade, they're also quite time-consuming to make, so buying them premade is the preference of many people. If you're looking to not only buy a meatball that's lower in calories and still delicious, you should check out the Good & Gather chicken meatballs that are blended with mozzarella, romano, and asiago cheeses, along with classic ingredients like garlic and onion.
Trent says a serving of the cheesy meatballs contains "20 grams of protein for 160 calories."
"Use this with a bed of rice or a side of broccoli," he suggests. "Add hot sauce, sweet chili sauce, or soy sauce to bring up the flavor."
Of course, you could also use a classic tomato sauce that's low in added sugar for a low-calorie, high-protein rendition of a yummy Italian meal! Which of these three premade options would you try first?
