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Busy People : Tips for picking a healthy frozen dinner
Stress, longer working hours and tight schedules have made frozen dinners more popular than ever before. And when it comes to portion control they're hard to beat. But how healthy are they? Nutrionist Leslie Beck joined Balance Television host Dr. Marla Shapiro to tell you what to look for in the frozen food aisle. According to Beck, you can find some healthy frozen food choices although some are definitely much healthier than others.
Fat
Look for the total fat content. No more than 30 per cent of the calories should be coming from fat. So basically...you look on a label for no more than thirty grams of fat for every 100 calories.
Sodium
This is where some of the dinners don't do so well. Some have half your day's work of sodium intake, 1600 miligrams at least in one dinner. Food content should contain no more than 200 mg of sodium for every 100 calories.
Vegetables
A nice colourful picture on the box of lots of vegetables doesn't guarantee that's what you're going to get inside. Some of the dinners have no more than a teaspoon to a tablespoon worth of vegetables. While the average low-fat, healthy-lifestyle type dinner has about 250-350 calories. They are great for people who are trying to watch their wasteline and they are definitely a better solution than eating a bag of chips when you get home. Stock a few in your fridge as backup for those times when you don't get a chance to do your grocery shopping.
For active people, there are dinners that measure in at 400 calories or more. An even better alternative is adding some vegetables to your frozen dinner. For people that are not as concerned about lean meals, add a fruit serving and a serving of milk or some yogurt to fill you up so you are not looking for snacks later on.
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