1. Healthy Grocery Shopping: Navigation Tips for Your Shopping Cart
Boxed Dinner Aisle

2. Boxed Dinner Variations & Types
Rice: Popular types are Uncle Ben’s or Rice-A-Roni.
Noodles: spaghetti, macaroni & cheese butter & egg noodles, etc.
Pasta: Just add water to the mix and boil. Your meal will be ready in about 30 minutes.
Majority of these boxed creations complete the meal requirements and provide appropriate portion sizes and nutritional content.

3. Boxed Dinner Aisle Locations
Most of the time, Boxed Dinners are located in the middle aisles of the grocery.
Look for the signs that list pasta, rice, and noodles.
Some Boxed Dinners require the additional purchase of hamburger, chicken, or tuna. Make sure you have everything you need before checking out.

4. Boxed Dinner Facts
Boxed Dinners have a long shelf life due to being dehydrated in the packaging process.
Most take 30 minutes or less to prepare from start to finish.
The majority of Boxed Dinners contain all ingredients needed to prepare the dish.

5. Boxed Dinner Nutrition Tips
Always read how many servings each box contains. The box may be small, but it can contain a lot of calories.
Watch out for the sodium content. Different types of boxed dinners contain large amounts of sodium; sometimes up to 30+%.
Look for pastas that contain whole grains and omega 3 fatty acids. Whole grains are nutritionally superior to refined grains and richer in dietary fiber, antioxidants, dietary minerals, and vitamins.

6. Healthy Recipe Directions Penne with Roasted Chicken & Radicchio
Ingredients
1 pound whole-wheat penne
1 head radicchio, torn into 1in pieces
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 2lb roasted chicken, skin & bones discarded and meat shredded
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Nutritional Information
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving: 1 ½ cups
Calories: 463
Total Fat: 12 g
Cholesterol: 60mg
Sodium: 223mg
Total Carbs: 60g
Dietary Fiber: 7g
Protein: 30g
Directions
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Place radicchio and the reserved liquid in the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the pasta, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, oil, chicken, vinegar and pepper and continue cooking until the cheese starts to melt, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve the pasta garnished with walnuts and the remaining cheese

7. Boxed Dinner Freshness Tips
Make sure when purchasing a boxed dinner that the box is not smashed or opened.
Always check the sell date. These dinners normally have a longer shelf life so it’s always good to check that it is not expired.

8. Food Group Recommendation
Adding a drained can of vegetables to boxed dinners can add a serving of vegetables to your day and help satisfy you sooner.
Select whole wheat options of pastas to fulfill the whole grain requirements of the food guide pyramid.