Healthy Lunches & Snacks

Who Invented the First Frozen Meals and When? In 1954 C.A. Swanson & Sons introduced the first TV dinner; it was roast turkey with stuffing and gravy, sweet potatoes and peas. It sold for 98 cents and came in an aluminum tray, so you could just open the box and heat the dinner in the oven.

Popular Then, Popular Now As TV’s popularity increased and women joined the workforce, the popularity of convenience foods grew as well.

Low-Cal Frozen Meals are King Frozen meals by Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine and Weight Watchers, which contain less than 300 calories, are now elbowing old-timers like Hungry-Man out of the freezer section of your store. Frozen meals are now a $22 billion industry. The average American consumes 72 frozen meals a year.

The Variety is Virtually Unlimited Now frozen foods range from traditional meatloaf and mashed potatoes to organic, vegetarian and gourmet meals. You can even find meals targeting people with health concerns including weight loss and heart health.

Why Do We Love Them So Much? We Enjoy the Time-Saving Convenience We Think They Help Manage Our Weight By Controlling our Calorie Intake Wide Variety of Cuisines with Built-in Portion Control

They Are Convenient, But Are They Nutritious? 5 Areas To Look Out For Portion Size Fat Sodium Too Few Veggies Additives

Portion Sizes are Usually Too Small Some low-cal, low-fat dinners provide only about 250 or 300 calories. If that's truly a third of your daily caloric intake (given three meals a day), that totals less than 1,000 calories -- not nearly enough food even if you are trying to lose weight. Look out for: Budget Gourmet's Low-Fat Beef Stroganoff and Weight Watchers' Smart Ones Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli & Chicken, each amounting to just 240 calories.

Watch the Total Fat and Type of Fat Sometimes the amount of fat, expressed in grams, doesn't look bad -- but consider total calories. In one portion of Lean Cuisine Everyday Favorites Stuffed Cabbage there are four grams of saturated fat which is too much given that the whole dish has only 210 calories, with fat accounting for a hearty 17%. Look out for meals using highly saturated fats such as palm and coconut oils and trans fats. Look for those meals using corn, sunflower or olive oils.

Sodium Ideally a frozen dinner should deliver no more than 200 milligrams of sodium for every 100 calories of food, to keep you within the 2,400 milligram daily limit for healthy people recommended by the American Heart Association. So the Healthy Choice Traditional Salisbury Steak, with 330 calories, should have no more than about 600 milligrams of sodium. In fact, it has 470, so it passes this test.

Veggies & Fruits Few frozen dinners provide large enough servings of fruits and vegetables. For example, Budget Gourmet's Low Fat Rigatoni in Cream Sauce with Broccoli & White Chicken has only about a teaspoon and a half of broccoli.

Too Many Additives Look out for additives such as monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrite and sulfites. These additives can often cause allergies or sensitivities in many individuals.

Another Drawback… The “All or Nothing Mindset” When pre-portioned, prepared meals are not available, often people go back to their old habits of overeating, because they haven’t learned how to make other healthful choices that fit their lifestyle.

Read The Label to Make The Best Choices Fier

Rules for Creating Healthy Lunches A total of at least 300-400 calories: enough fuel to keep your brain and body running at peak performance until snack time. Low-fat Proteins: Proteins digest slowly giving you a more consistent supply of energy. Large portions of fruits and veggies: Fruits and veggies have high water and fiber content that keeps your body feeling full longer. Healthy Fats: Fats are energy rich and break down slowly. They also help the body absorb the 4 fat soluble vitamins A, D, E & K.

Things You Can Do To Make Your Frozen Meal Healthier Add a tossed salad, cup of soup or a piece of fruit to your meal. Match the portion size to your activity level. Make up your own frozen meal from leftovers. Limit the number of these meals you consume each week. Look for meals with a lot of fruits and veggies. Read the nutrition labels of several of the same types of foods. Choose those meals with lower sodium, saturated fat and sugar totals. Add more cheese, beans or nuts into the meal for added fiber and protein.

Your body needs a consistent energy supply throughout the day Healthy Snacking Your body needs a consistent energy supply throughout the day

Why is Snacking Beneficial? Healthy snacking helps keep your blood sugar steady, which in turn helps regulate hormone production and reduces the storage of excess fuel. Helps control appetite and reduces the likelihood of overeating at the next meal. Helps to keep your mind focused and alert.

What Should I Eat For A Snack Snacks should typically contain about 200-250 calories. Snacks should contain both protein and complex carbohydrates. Snacks are a great time to make sure you are getting all your necessary servings of dairy, fruits and veggies. It is also important to include water at snack time to maintain a well hydrated body.

Healthy Snack Ideas Fresh fruit covered in low-sugar yogurt. Pudding made from milk Cottage cheese & pineapple Mixed veggies with low-fat dip Low-fat cheese stick & 100 calorie pack of pretzels Apple with peanut butter Handful of healthy nuts or seeds PB & J on whole wheat bread or English muffin Yogurt and granola High fiber crackers with hummus

More Snack Ideas… Banana protein shake Granola bar and milk Triscuits and low fat cheese Hard boiled egg and small orange juice Protein bar and water High fiber cereal & milk No sugar added fudgesicle Fruit & cheese cube kabobs Tuna stuffed cherry tomatoes Popcorn & peanuts Shrimp & cocktail sauce