Frozen Foods Month – The WLS Way!

Nope, you’re not about to desperately dig into a carton of Haagen-Dazs. You’re reaching for a pre-portioned meal or snack that is high enough in protein and low enough in calories to fit into your diet. A frozen meal or snack may not quite be a locally grown, organic, freshly made gourmet meal, but it sure beats the alternative if the alternative is opening a bag of chips or ordering a pizza.

If you like having frozen meals around, these are some good ones to consider. What better time than now to think about your freezer, since March is National Frozen Foods Month? These suggestions are good sources of protein and not too high in calories.

Heat and Eat

You’re on your way home from work, you’re exhausted, and you’re starving. Is it time for you to swing by the Chinese or restaurant on your street for some take-out? No, because you don’t have thousands of calories to play with. Plus, you know you have some good choices in your freezer that are just a few minutes away from being ready to eat. At least, you do if you’ve stocked up your freezer!

Read labels carefully when shopping for frozen meals. Check not only the protein and calorie content, but also the serving sizes. Some meals, especially pizzas, seem like they’re for one person, when they really have three or more servings.

Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers Smart Ones, Michelina’s Lean Gourmet, and Amy’s Kitchen have frozen meals you can work with. Keep some in your freezer at home, and, if you can, stash a few at work to have for lunch. They sure beat opting into your coworkers’ group order for Italian subs and potato chips.

Here are some frozen meals with at least 10 to 15 grams of protein and no more than 250 calories.

• Lean Cuisine Steak Tips Portabello with 15 grams of protein, 150 calories, and 14 grams of carbohydrates.
  
• Lean Cuisine Herb Roasted Chicken with 16 grams of protein, 180 calories, and 5 grams of fiber.
  
• Lean Cuisine Roasted Turkey and Vegetables, with 16 grams of protein and 200 calories.
  
• Lean Cuisine Cheese and Tomato Snack Pizza with 10 grams of protein and 180 calories.
  
• Lean Cuisine Pepperoni Snack Pizza with 12 grams of protein and 210 calories.
  
• Michelina’s Lean Gourmet Salisbury Steak with 10 grams of protein and 180 calories.
  
• Michelina’s Lean Gourmet Shrimp with Pasta and Vegetables with 11 grams of protein and 240 calories.
  
• Michelina’s Lean Gourmet Baked Pepperoni Pizza Snacks with 11 grams of protein and 250 calories
  
• Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Quesadilla with 170 calories and 12 grams of protein.
  
• Weight Watchers Smart Ones Spicy Szechuan Style Vegetable and Chicken with 240 calories and 11 grams of protein.
  
• Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Santa Fe with 160 calories and 19 grams of protein.
  
• Amy’s Kitchen Light and Lean Swedish Meatballs with 260 calories and 12 grams of protein.
  
• Amy’s Kitchen Light and Lean Quinoa and Black Beans with Butternut Squash and Chard with 240 calories, 10 grams of protein, and 11 grams of fiber.
  

Start Your Day Off Right

Okay, what would be the ideal breakfast on your weight loss surgery diet? Maybe an omelet made with baby spinach and mushrooms and low-fat feta cheese? Cottage cheese protein pancakes served with freshly cut fruit? Nice, but you probably can’t make these kinds of breakfasts every day.

If you’re going to talk about being too rushed to cook healthy homemade meals, you have to mention breakfast! Most of us just don’t have time to cook a hot, high-protein breakfast. Frozen meals can do the trick in a pinch. If you’re feeling ambitious, grab a piece of fruit to eat with your breakfast and up the fiber. Here are a few good choices. You can easily turn these breakfasts into grab-n-go meals by wrapping up the sandwiches or packing the other meal options into a container.

• Lean Cuisine Veggie Scramble 16 grams of protein and 180 calories.
  
• Lean Cuisine Turkey Sausage Scramble with 18 grams of protein and 180 calories.
  
• Weight Watchers Smart Ones English Muffin Sandwich with 210 calories and 13 grams of protein.
  
• Weight Watchers Smart Ones Three Cheese Omelet with 13 grams of protein and 200 calories.
  
• Jimmy Dean Delights Egg White with Spinach and Mozzarella Honey Wheat Flatbread with 11 grams of protein and 160 calories.
  

Meal Minus One

What else should you have in your freezer so that you’re just minutes away from a meal that fits on your weight loss surgery diet? I like to call these “Meals Minus One” because you just need to add one (or a few) ingredients to make them a meal. Here are a few ideas – but check your grocer’s freezer for other healthy varieties.

• Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles, with 9 grams of protein and 70 calories per half-cup. Toss with fresh or frozen veggies and – optional – top with low-fat cheese for an easy breakfast scramble.
  
• Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Patties with 10 grams of protein and 110 calories. Stir fry with frozen stir-fry vegetable mix and teriyaki sauce.
  
• Van’s 8 Whole Grains Lite Waffles with 3 grams of protein and 65 calories for 2. Serve with nonfat Greek yogurt and fresh or frozen berries.
  
• Jimmy Dean Delights Fully Cooked Applewood Smoke Sausage Links with 120 calories and 10 grams of protein, served with 1 packet of instant oatmeal.
  

You can have a quick, high-protein breakfast with only a little bit of imagination, and even less time and effort.

A Note on Frozen Foods and Health

Are frozen meals really that healthy? Aren’t they processed? Don’t they have preservatives in them? Yes, you’re right. Many frozen meals are high in sodium. They can contain added sugars, and be higher in fat that you expect. Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Santa Fe, for example, has 800 milligrams of sodium or more than one-third of what you need in a day.

Ideally, you could cook each meal from scratch using fresh, wholesome ingredients. That’s not possible for most people. When “perfect” isn’t possible, it’s time to look at the “next best” option. And if your choice happens to be between a Jimmy Dean Delights Maple Pancakes and Turkey Sausage Griddlers with 10 grams of protein and 240 calories and, admittedly, 12 grams of sugars, versus, say, a fast food sausage biscuit with over 500 calories and a day’s worth of saturated fat, frozen doesn’t look quite so bad.

Frozen foods can bail you out those times when you just need something quick and easy. Spend some time going through the freezer section at your local supermarket so you’re not caught empty-handed when you get desperate. And this March, check the specials at the grocery store to capitalize on Frozen Foods Month.