Frozen Convenience Foods — They’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
By Carol M. Meerschaert, RD, LDN
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 7 No. 4 P. 30

Lemon pepper fish and carrots with dill. This is not your mother’s TV dinner. Calorie- and portion-controlled frozen convenience foods are here to stay.

It is 2005 and June Cleaver, who wore pearls and cooked every meal at home for Ward and the boys, has been replaced by Lorali Gilmore, a single mother and business owner who calls for take-out to feed herself and her daughter. Then there’s Gerard Hickey, a systems administrator who often works 12-hour days. Hickey tries to eat healthy meals and is concerned about nutrition. “The nights when I arrive home at 8 pm, I need to eat quickly,” he says.

Television’s Gilmore and real-life Hickey are typical of many of our clients who have found that a full-time job is now much more than 40 hours per week. In addition, Hickey says that less than one-half of professionals he works with take a “lunch hour” break. Many eat a bagged or microwaved lunch in their cubicles, if they eat at all.

Many students can be seen using the microwave at middle schools and high schools to heat a frozen entree. Sarah Coughlin, a 17-year-old, takes a Lean Cuisine pizza with her when she works an eight-hour shift at the clothing store. There is a microwave in the break room, and she saves time and money compared with eating at a restaurant and still gets to enjoy a hot lunch.

Today’s families are reaching for the frozen food entree more often than the cookbook, so today’s dietitians need to know what is healthy and exciting in the frozen food aisle and what to tell clients to help them make better food choices.

Many articles suggest that convenience foods should be a last resort. However, food that is well-prepared and quick-frozen can be every bit as nutritious as a so-called fresh food that has been sitting in the refrigerator for one week and for who knows how long on a loading dock and in transit. This is not to criticize fresh foods. I am a huge fan of buying locally grown food and supporting local food companies. When Johnston and Bowling published their orange juice study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2002, people were surprised that the frozen orange juice retained more vitamin C than the ready-to-serve.1 The message is that there is not one blanket statement that can be made with regard to convenience foods.

It’s Not Nutrition If You Don’t Eat It
What is more nutritious? Well, it depends. Fresh-from-the-farm veggies cooked that night (especially those easily oxidized) should retain more nutrients than foods that have been sitting around. But a frozen vegetable should compare well with a “fresh” one that has aged a bit. Nutritionists can customize messages regarding convenience foods by looking at what is locally available, local pricing, and what is practical for that particular client.

A dietitian cliche is that food only becomes nutrition when it is eaten. So if a client buys broccoli and it sits in the home refrigerator produce drawer because the consumer does not find the time to cook it, then it provides zero nutrition. The frozen dinner containing broccoli that the consumer has found time to cook and eat at least provided some nutrients.

Convenience, Dollars, and Time
At one time, frozen food was considered expensive, and people believed they could save money by cooking from scratch at home. A PubMed search found many interesting articles regarding cost per nutrient from foods. In these analyses, home-prepared foods often came out on top moneywise. However, the ultimate convenience food, ready-to-eat cereal, did well in its analysis. But these studies examined only the food cost and not the labor cost. For a working adult, the opportunity cost of time cooking vs. working may actually make using prepared foods cheaper than cooking from scratch.

I love to make homemade macaroni and cheese. My usual recipe costs me almost $5 for the pasta, milk, flour, oil, and cheese. In a Falmouth, Me., supermarket, frozen versions run from 89 cents to $2.19 for a single-serving frozen version. I would compare my recipe with the Stouffer’s red box version that costs $1.49. So, if I bought three boxes of the Stouffer’s, the total cost would be $4.47. Add in the cost of energy to cook vs. reheat in a microwave, and moneywise, the frozen version is way ahead. Factor in time and there is no comparison. I will never give up making my own homemade macaroni and cheese, as I like it best and value the love I show by cooking for my kids. But the point is that when dietitians are counseling clients and writing articles, they can no longer assume convenience foods are more expensive than home cooking.

How many bathrooms does your home have? How many telephones do you own? Televisions? Computers? I am leading the charge for every home to contain at least two microwaves. Mine does. If the stove has four burners to cook four items, I can see many people popping a separate entree in each microwave for each family member. People have morphed family dinner into the “food court” experience where they can each choose different foods just like at the mall food court. Also, a multimicrowave setup allows for the entrees to be cooking in one microwave while the frozen veggies are cooking in another. While writing this article, I reheated my coffee in one microwave while reheating my leftovers in another.

Frozen Entrees for Calorie Control
The frozen meal designed to control calories and deliver nutrition is a product category that was introduced when I became an RD in the early ’80s. I remember the splash when Lean Cuisine frozen entrees were introduced in 1981. Let’s set the stage. For those of us ancient enough to remember the phrase “TV dinner,” the early ’80s was when we had just learned how to use our oversized, underpowered microwave to do more than reheat a cup of coffee. This new food product idea was a huge deal. Frozen food manufacturers moved the focus from 100% convenience to adding nutritional value to convenience.

Meanwhile, according to the ConAgra Foods Web site, after CEO Charles M. (“Mike”) Harper suffered a mild heart attack in 1985, he began a search for foods that satisfied both his taste and health needs—leading to Healthy Choice foods. The first line of Healthy Choice products debuted in 1988, consisting of 10 frozen meals. We have come a long way since then.

A quick search on the Internet will show how popular these meals are. You find the frozen-food diet on Good Housekeeping magazine’s Web site and the NBC4 “Channel 4 News Diet,” which offers a frozen “diet” meal option for lunch and dinner.2 This balanced 1,200-calorie diet offers the option of a sandwich with salad and a piece of fruit for lunch or using “one frozen portion-controlled diet meal” and adding one piece of fruit. Dinner can be a variety of reasonable choices or simply choosing a frozen meal and adding 2 cups of salad greens and one piece of fruit.

Control My Portions, Please!
With the continuing popularity of these frozen entrees, nutrition professionals are certainly asked about the “diet frozen dinner” as a weight-loss tool. A group at the University of Illinois led by research dietitian Sandra M. Hannum, MS, RD, examined the efficacy of a weight-loss diet using packaged portion-controlled entrees compared with a self-selected diet based on the USDA Food Guide Pyramid (FGP).3 The researchers found that the 26 women in this study who ate the “diet” meals achieved significantly more weight loss, fat mass loss, and decreases in total cholesterol and fasting insulin than the 27 matched women following a diet based on the FGP. The researchers credited the portion control from the prepackaged meals as a factor in the success of this weight-loss strategy. “Portion distortion” is often cited as a possible contributor to obesity, and if this is true, then having only single-portion options may be a worthwhile weight-loss strategy.

Research conducted by Barbara Rolls, PhD, confirms that portion control is a factor in weight management.4,5 She shows that both energy density and portion sizes add to calorie intake. Her research led her to write the new book The Volumetrics Eating Plan: Techniques and Recipes for Feeling Full on Fewer Calories (HarperCollins). When asked what advice to give clients to help round out a frozen entree (lean or regular) so they feel full while not having to do much cooking or planning, Rolls suggests adding extra fruits, veggies, and a low-calorie yogurt. “They should eat 400 to 500 calories at lunch or dinner on most plans,” explains Rolls. The frozen dinners and entrees I examined usually contained between 300 and 450 calories, so a bit of extra food is necessary. Interestingly, that is just what the online diets mentioned above suggest. Another online resource RDs might find useful is the Slim-Fast Web site. The Sensible Meal chart gives an easy way for clients to plan their own 500-calorie meals (www.slim-fast.com/plan/sensible_meal.asp).

Making Choices
All frozen entrees and dinners offer the benefit of portion control. Should RDs steer clients toward the “lean” and “healthy” choices? If weight loss involves counting calories, why would a consumer choose, for example, a Lean Cuisine meal with 330 calories (the vegetable egg rolls) instead of a red box Stouffer’s meal that has 320 calories (the classic macaroni and cheese)? Tricia Edwards, RD, LD, registered dietitian for Lean Cuisine, says, “Both meals are convenient, both taste great, and both fit into a balanced diet. We think people really want good food that’s satisfying and nourishing.” In other words, it depends on the client’s goals, and all foods can fit in a healthy diet.

If the client’s goal is simply weight control, then counting calories is the thing. If they have other goals, they can easily choose meals that meet the federal definition of “healthy,” meaning that they must contain less than 3 grams of fat per 100 grams of food, no more than 30% of calories from fat, and offer a sodium content of less than 600 milligrams.

Frozen Futures
The frozen calorie-controlled entree has come a long way. Healthy Choice now offers 76 entree and dinner choices, the Lean Cuisine line has 100 items, and Smart Ones has approximately 55. According to the corporate dietitians, these meals are constantly improved and innovative ideas are put into place to keep up with consumer trends. Patty Packard, MS, RD, LMNT, senior nutritionist for the ConAgra Foods Nutrition Center of Excellence, explains that foods seen in a restaurant today may be in the frozen food aisle tomorrow. Healthy frozen meals are also formulated to be “infused with flavor” by the use of herbs so they can maintain a lower sodium content and still appeal to the educated palate of today’s consumer.

Choices abound in the frozen meal category. Choose an Asian meal such as Pad Thai with tofu or Green Guru Channa Masala. Vegetarians can choose from the old-fashioned macaroni and cheese to a meatless chili and cornbread or spicy Thai veggie pizza. Some meals are organic and others vegan. Choices such as Creamy Basil Chicken, Teriyaki Steak Beef Tips Portabello, Lemon Pepper Fish, or Mesquite Chicken Barbecue further illustrate the multitude of choices and flavors available. This is a far cry from meat loaf and mashed potatoes—although that favorite is still available, too.

The increased emphasis on the benefit of whole grains seen in the revised Dietary Guidelines is already being addressed by the eight new Spa Cuisine entrees from Lean Cuisine that contain two servings of whole grains per entree. Edwards says, “We continue to track scientific and culinary developments and then introduce items that reflect what’s going on in our consumers’ world.”

What is the future of these meals? Packard explains that “they have stood the test of time” as they are increasingly popular 20 years after their debut. Packard expects to see nutritional concerns from omega-3 fats to phytosterols becoming factors in the formulation of foods in the years to come.

— Carol M. Meerschaert, RD, LDN, is a freelance writer and consultant in Falmouth, Me.

References
1. Johnston CS, Bowling DL. Stability of ascorbic acid in commercially available orange juices. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102(4):525-529.
2. Frozen Food diet. Available at: http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/print/0,,290233,00.html.
3. Hannum SM, Carson L, Evans EM, et al. Use of portion-controlled entrees enhances weight loss in women. Obes Res. 2004;12(3):538-546.
4. Kral TV, Roe LS, Rolls BJ. Combined effects of energy density and portion size on energy intake in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004;79(6):962-968.
5. Rolls BJ, Roe LS, Meengs JS. Salad and satiety: Energy density and portion size of a first-course salad affect energy intake at lunch. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104(10):1570-1576.

Practical Tips
When dinner or lunch must be quick, how can that frozen meal or entree easily be turned into a fast, delicious, nutritious meal? The RDs from the Dietitians in Business and Communications dietetic practice group weigh in on what you can do to add to your frozen meal:

“Shredded cabbage in a bag topped with a nice salad dressing is an easy way to add a cruciferous vegetable without having to cook it. Use a handful of baby carrots for dipping into the sauce that comes with frozen meals such as low-fat lasagna.”
— Tricia Silverman, MBA, RD, LDN

“Pair the entree with in-season fruits or vegetables. Ready-to-eat packaged salads are another great option.”
— Amanda Archibald, MS, RD

“Have a few bites of cheese and a wholesome cracker as an ‘appetizer’ of sorts.

Add a broth-based canned soup (low-sodium, low-fat).

Purchase a whole grain roll or bread and eat [it] with dinner.”
— Robin Plotkin, RD, LD

“Vegetables steamed in the microwave with a little basil or oregano and portion-controlled fruit cups packed in light syrup or its own juice or fresh-cut fruit from the produce section.”
— Jennifer Shoemaker, MS, RD, LDN

“Open a can of asparagus or peas or some other canned vegetable that can be heated in the microwave really quickly.

Cut some parsley or green onion or cilantro or other herb over the dish to liven it up.”
— Sharon B. Salomon, MS, RD

“Add a glass of skim milk—not fancy, but adds some needed nutrients and calories for filling up.”
— Heidi McIndoo, MS, RD, LDN

“I have been a fan of the Lean Cuisine frozen dinners with double the vegetables. I used them a lot when my job required me to travel, so I wasn’t always eating a huge restaurant dinner. I would often add a fruit and/or roll.”
— Jessica Cylkowski, RD, CD

“Add 1 ounce to 2 ounces of trail mix, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, or walnuts; grapes, a melon wedge, banana, or 1/2 cup of berries (just wash and serve); a yogurt, string cheese, or cottage cheese pack (preportioned and ready to go); or cherry tomatoes with low-fat dressing.”
— Kate Geagan, MS, RD

“My favorite is frozen veggies. Mix them with the frozen entree.”
— Lauren Balkin Stern, MS, RD, CDN

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