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It’s no secret that we don’t have all the time in the world when it comes to making dinner every night. Luckily, busy nights are when we can turn to our freezers to zap up a tasty meal in a pinch.
Thanks to meal prepping you can easily freeze and reheat dinners that everyone in your family will enjoy. The truth is you don’t necessarily have to prepare a fresh home-cooked meal every single night, even when you’re on a diet. While reheating frozen meals you’ve previously cooked yourself is fine, have you ever given much thought to those store bought frozen dinners you bought as a last resort dinner option?
We’ll let you in on a little weight loss secret: you should rethink reaching for those cheap and easy frozen dinners and we’ll tell you why.
A lot of frozen dinners contain secret unhealthy ingredients that can lead to unwanted weight gain. Yes that’s right, It’s officially time to take a deep dive into reading the nutritional value behind those frozen meals before you pop them into the microwave.
According to Verywell Fit, it’s important to actually read all of the ingredients your frozen foods contain. The website recommends looking for products that don’t have a lot of added sugar, sodium or high-calorie sauces. These calories and other less than ideal ingredients can quickly lead to weight gain.
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Amy Gorin for NBCNews BETTER provides further insight on how to approach frozen dinners. “It’s important to know what you should look for in a frozen meal. Your best bet is one with less than 500 calories and no more than 600 milligrams of sodium,” Gorin says. “You also don’t want to go too low in calories -- if a meal sits below the 300- to 350-calorie mark, you’ll want to beef it up with a side of lean protein like shrimp or lentils, a healthy fat such as avocado or olives, or a fruit or starchy vegetable.” Those are some pro tips right there!
Remember, frozen meals aren’t the worst thing for your health but it’s key to not get into the habit of relying on them. Frozen dinners when eaten in moderation and when nutritionally balanced can be a win-win at dinner time.
What are some of your go-to frozen dinners options? Let us know your favorites in the comments below!
