pre-packaged meals

[cicy33]

One day I was taking care of my granddaughter and made a prepackaged meal her mommy had bought. One of those lipton noodle things. I hadn't had one in over a year and was absolutely amazed how salty it was. I had forgotten how much salt these things had in them. It is amazing how used to things we get.

[My English Castle]

I'll admit I like the Bertolli ones, but we also only use them for an emergency.
Buy them on sale with coupons, preferably doubled-coupons!

[Mike75]

Originally Posted by cicy33

One day I was taking care of my granddaughter and made a prepackaged meal her mommy had bought. One of those lipton noodle things. I hadn't had one in over a year and was absolutely amazed how salty it was. I had forgotten how much salt these things had in them. It is amazing how used to things we get.

Yes, these things are high in salt content to preserve them for long time. Needless to say they also have loads of carbohydrates and fat to make the food taste good.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by Mike75

These meals are full of preservatives and harmful ingredients like partially hydrogenated fats etc. That's why they can stay fresh for so long. Avoid them unless there is an emergency.

I do for the most part. I certainly wouldn't make these a regular meal.

[LuckyRobin]

I will rarely buy these, but there is one brand I have found that doesn't have a ton of filler junk and chemicals in it and this I will use a couple times a month. Cultured dextrose is the only thing in it that isn't a clean ingredient and it's almost at the end of the list. It's called Del Real and it's Mexican-based cuisine. Admittedly my store only carries one type, though they do make others. I just haven't checked them out. I use the Seasoned Shredded Beef. I keep a couple in the freezer. I always have tortillas on hand and always have cheese, so it's a fast, simple meal for about the price of one and a half fast food meals (and way cheaper than going out for Mexican). And if I need to make it a bigger meal, I just scramble it with some eggs, canned tomatoes, canned green chiles and half a chopped onion, stuff I always have on hand. It's very mildly flavored so the kids love it and no one gets heartburn.