Lean Cuisine

[CHH1023]

I finally decided to try Lean Cuisine last weekend, and I was amazed about how delicious the food was.

I tried their "Steak Tips Portabello" LEAN CUISINE, Steak Tips Portabello and was really satisfied.

Anyways, I was thinking about maybe I should replace my dinner meal with Lean Cuisine and cut back on the dining out bill since it only cost around $2/meal.

[disneysteve]

I occasionally use Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones frozen meals for lunch at work. I buy them when they are on sale for $1.99. One of those plus maybe some applesauce or other fruit and maybe a whole grain dinner roll is plenty for me. Much cheaper and healthier than anything I could order out.

[Frugal]

Just remember, frozen foods can have a lot of preservatives like MSG and they also have a lot of fat if they are not the "Lean Cuisine" variety. I ate some growing up (frozen meals on occasion), but now I would rather eat fast food honestly than frozen, because at least I have some idea what to expect from it.

If you read the back of most frozen food boxes, you will see that the meals are highly processed. I am not sure if they have nearly as many whole nutrients as regular, non-frozen, not so highly processed foods.

[CHH1023]

I tried the meatloaf with mashed potato today...and it was awesome! You guys should really try it out.

[buildmybudget]

Has anyone tried the Healthy Choice "steamers?" Those are pretty good too, though they are a bit more expensive. Unfortunately, if you eat them enough they all kind of start tasting the same...but it's still cheaper and healthier than eating out.

[CHH1023]

Originally Posted by buildmybudget

Has anyone tried the Healthy Choice "steamers?" Those are pretty good too, though they are a bit more expensive. Unfortunately, if you eat them enough they all kind of start tasting the same...but it's still cheaper and healthier than eating out.

I have never tried their steamers, but I have tried the fresh mixers. I wasn't satisfied with it at all because it tasted boring and not very flavorful.

[PatientSaver]

I've been eating Lean Cuisine for years, mostly out of convenience. I don't buy other frozen meals, but you do get tired of eating them after a while. There are only about a half dozen varieties I like and half the time I can't find them.

I wouldn't consider them a regular substitute for home-made meals; they're still high in salt and probably have various preservatives in them.

I refuse to buy at the regular price of about $3.69. They regularly go on sae for $2 or $2.50 and that's when I stock up.

My favorites: balsamic chicken, sesame chicken, thai chicken in red pepper sauce, the potato/broccoli/cheese combo

[ESPwaterproducts]

Originally Posted by buildmybudget

Has anyone tried the Healthy Choice "steamers?" Those are pretty good too, though they are a bit more expensive. Unfortunately, if you eat them enough they all kind of start tasting the same...but it's still cheaper and healthier than eating out.

I tried a few, and only liked one. Some of the pasta ones tasted funny to me. Sorry that's probably not too helpful. I could see how they would all start to taste the same, though.

Pretty much anything is cheaper than eating out--and healthier. Consider grilling some chicken and making quinoa (or some other grain) at the beginning of the week. Add some fresh veggies and a glass of purified water and you've got a meal. It's healthy, you know what you're getting, and it's not overly expensive.

[bjl584]

Careful. I make most of my own food for health reasons. Alot of those premade meals (tv dinners) are loaded up with salt and preservatives even when they claim to be "healthy." Just be sure to read the labels.

[CHH1023]

Originally Posted by bjl584

Careful. I make most of my own food for health reasons. Alot of those premade meals (tv dinners) are loaded up with salt and preservatives even when they claim to be "healthy." Just be sure to read the labels.

Lean Cuisine doesn't use any preservatives and the amount of sodium they use is pretty reasonable, it's a lot less than food cans.

[CHH1023]

Originally Posted by ESPwaterproducts

I tried a few, and only liked one. Some of the pasta ones tasted funny to me. Sorry that's probably not too helpful. I could see how they would all start to taste the same, though.

Pretty much anything is cheaper than eating out--and healthier. Consider grilling some chicken and making quinoa (or some other grain) at the beginning of the week. Add some fresh veggies and a glass of purified water and you've got a meal. It's healthy, you know what you're getting, and it's not overly expensive.

Have you ever tried their spaghetti with meat sauce, meatloaf with mashed potato, spinach and mushroom deep-dish pizza? they're super delicious....and low in calories!

[Redraidernurse]

I don't find that you get a very large portion of vegetables in them - something that I think is very important to eat healthy. But they are fine for a once in a while need something meal.