Healthiest Frozen Meals For Weight Loss – If you don’t want to meal prep, frozen meals can be a great solution for a healthy lunch or dinner—if you know how to shop smart. Here, nutrition experts show you how.
If you feel like you’ve gained weight from months of quarantine, you might want to try frozen meals. These foods can be a good choice for weight loss (like the “quarantine 15”), and are great for shopping and cooking – despite what you’ve heard, they’re also nutritious. “Frozen meals can be a healthy option for any meal throughout the day,” says Kristen Smith of Atlanta, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and creator of 360 Workout Nutrition.
Healthiest Frozen Meals For Weight Loss
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While you may be tempted to reach for comfort food during these trying times of the pandemic, frozen meals can help you eat healthy and keep your plate from filling up. “What I love about frozen meals is that they provide built-in control, which is important for many people,” says Amy Shapiro, founder of Real Nutrition in New York City.
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There are other benefits to making healthy choices. “It’s more convenient and healthier than ordering out because it contains more fat and sodium than you plan to eat,” says Shapiro, who says frozen meals can include important vegetables that provide valuable vitamins, minerals and fiber. Getting enough vegetables is good: A May 2017 study in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology found that a plant-based diet can help treat and prevent obesity.
Plus, they don’t require you to follow a complicated diet plan. “Frozen meals are very important in counting calories and other macronutrients, and low-calorie frozen meals are a convenient, calorie-controlled option that can help you lose weight,” says Smith.
Calling all film fans! This dish from Kashi features quinoa and brown rice with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, and kale. If you’re still not a fan of quinoa, know this: Even though quinoa is technically a grain, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. According to MedlinePlus, fiber, which adds bulk to your diet and increases feelings of fullness, contains 12 grams (grammes) per serving, making it a good source of the nutrient. “Look for foods that contain at least 5 grams of fiber to keep you full,” suggests Carol Aguirre, RDN, owner of The Nutrition Connection in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Estimates: This meal contains 270 calories, and Aguirre recommends most people consume about 350 to 600 calories per meal. Pair this option with a vegetarian side dish to maximize calories and protein, and you won’t be hungry an hour later.
Enjoy all the health benefits of salmon with this frozen meal, Performance Kitchen. Onions contain omega-3 fatty acids, which according to the Mayo Clinic have many health benefits, from reducing the possibility of blood clots to helping lower triglycerides (blood fat). Salmon also provides protein, with 25 grams per serving, making it an excellent source. The amount of protein in your diet is important. Ideally, you should consume 15 grams of protein at each meal, Aguirre says. Consuming protein from healthy sources like salmon can reduce the risk of disease and premature death, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
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This Thai curry from Saffron Road is full of flavour. victory! Red bell peppers and green beans provide fiber and vitamins, thereby increasing the protein content of chicken dishes. There is a solution, even though the juice is at the bottom. “If you don’t have enough vegetables in your frozen meal, don’t worry—you can always add some raw vegetables like kale or broccoli, or a small salad on the side,” says Smith. For example, try pairing this meal with a protein- and fiber-rich side salad or a piece of fruit, according to the USDA.
If you like ordering a bowl of cereal, consider Evol Foods’ version. This dish is made with grilled chicken, brown rice, and ½ cup green vegetables (including asparagus) in a basil pesto sauce. Within the sodium range approved by nutritionists. “Try to use frozen meals that contain less than 700 milligrams of sodium per serving,” says Smith. If you’re limiting sodium more, try to look for frozen meals with less than 500 milligrams per serving and limit yourself to one frozen meal per day. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), reducing sodium can help lower blood pressure or prevent high blood pressure. The AHA recommends no more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium for most adults, especially those with high blood pressure. To increase the protein in this meal, try filling your bowl with a hard-boiled egg (6.2 grams of protein according to the USDA) and ½ cup of broccoli (2.8 grams according to the USDA) for added fiber.
With tomatoes, avocado, sweet potato, and mushrooms, plus beans and rice, you’ll get your greens in this everyday harvest bowl. Shapiro likes Daily Harvest, a company that offers ready-to-eat whole-food meals, for its simple, environmentally friendly ingredient list. “I encourage people to enjoy plant-based frozen foods more. Consider adding more nuts or animal protein as these foods do not meet the 15 gram protein goal,” says Shapiro.

Amy’s recipe is filled with vegetables: blueberries, sweet potatoes, and corn over cauliflower, which is rich in fiber. The ingredients for the dish are simple, Shapiro said. “Just because the Nutrition Facts label looks good doesn’t mean the product is free of harmful ingredients like artificial sweeteners, stabilizers and fillers,” she says. Always check the ingredient list for frozen foods. Since this dish contains less than 15 grams of protein, you can add other sources such as leftover grilled chicken, or if you’re vegan or vegetarian, sprinkle on chips and a little kawai cream to top it off. .
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With a full 1 cup of vegetables like shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, carrots, and kale, you’ll get plenty of fiber (7 grams) in this lean bowl. According to Harvard University, you’ll get protein from edamame soybeans, which are a healthy source of plant protein. Chan School of Public Health. To increase total protein to 12 grams, you can add tofu, which Harvard describes as another health-promoting source of protein.
Even though this whole Green Giant is meatless, you get a big bonus in terms of protein content (14 grams). This food contains soybeans, corn, sunflower seeds, and quinoa, all of which contain protein. Plus roasted red peppers, corn, scallions, green beans and kale. This food also only contains 1.5 grams of saturated fat. “Ideally, you don’t want more than 5 grams of saturated fat,” says Shapiro. In general, the lower the fat content, the better. According to MedlinePlus, saturated fat is a healthy fat that can be dangerous for the heart.
This vegetarian fajita bowl from Gardein is not only on the low end of the sodium spectrum, but also contains a ton of protein (15 grams, per large serving). Plus, you’ll get 4 grams of fiber per serving of black beans. According to North Dakota State University, beans are a rich source of both soluble and insoluble fiber, and according to the Mayo Clinic, a diet high in fiber can help you maintain a healthy weight. To get more fiber from this food, add sliced avocado: According to the USDA, half an avocado has 5 grams of fiber, which is a good source.
With these healthy food choices, you’ll get the delicious taste of barbecue steak, a great source for just 300 calories. Consider adding vegetables like green beans to get 5 grams of fiber (one cup contains about 4 grams of fiber, according to the USDA, which is a good source). Also worth noting: The whiskey BBQ sauce adds flavor as well as increasing the overall sugar. Shapiro recommends looking for pork with less than 11 grams of added sugar, and the American Heart Association recommends no more than 25 grams of added sugar per day. So if you choose this option, you might as well skip dessert.
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