PrintFrozen or shelf stable meals. Do good ones exist?
What are your go-to freezer or shelf stable meals when life catches you off guard?
I didn't want leftovers for lunch today so I stopped at the store on my way to work and bought a Lean Cuisine meal- here's the description for the "Salmon Mediterranean": wild salmon with zucchini, peppers and whole grain pasta in a garlic tomato sauce. I'm sure none of you will be surprised to know that is wasn't very good.
I brown-bag it 95% of the time so I only buy pre-packaged meals out of desperation, but I'd sure like to avoid a catastrophe like this again. Suggestions would be most appreciated!
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23 Comments:
I usually pack a lunch, too, but when I wake up 5 minutes before I have to sprint out the door I find Amy's and Cedarlane brand frozen dinners to be reliable. Trader Joe's frozen food section has some good finds as well.
Avoid Lean Cuisine at all costs!
Chocolate/Olive
Vegetarianka at 2:11PM on 03/04/08
I second Vegetarianka on Trader Joe's. I particularly like their Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina.
tacroy80 at 2:15PM on 03/04/08
I third the Trader Joe's suggestion. Unfortunately there aren't any in Miami where I now live. The frozen Whole Foods meals aren't bad. Neither are the Amy's brand Indian options available at most grocery stores - they're rather expensive though ($4.50 for 1 smallish meal).
bitchincamero at 2:25PM on 03/04/08
I like the Amy's meals in a pinch. I've had the lasana, palak paneer and cheese enchiladas, and all of them are tasty. I like them because there are no weird ingredients- all real food. It seems that in some areas of the country these meals are very expensive, but in upstate NY where I live, I can always find them for $3.50-$4.50.
Kerosena at 2:31PM on 03/04/08
Another for the Trader Joe's dinners. Their Indian meals are surprisingly excellent. I vote for Amy's after TJ, but I don't think her Indian is particularly authentic (but I do like her burritos).
charm city cupcake at 2:33PM on 03/04/08
I usually bring lunch from home...but if I am feeling really lazy, I have an emergency stash of instant food tucked away in my office:
- S&B Japanese curry (hot). It's in a foil pouch which is supposed to be boiled in water and opened when heated. I just drag a container of rice, pour the curry over the rice when it's lunch time, and nuke.
It tastes pretty good for instant. The only downside is that it doesn't have any meat. When we make Japanese curry at home, we add pounds of meat. :)
- Ika (squid) yakisoba. It's like Cup-O-Noodles without the broth and in a large square container. It has dehydrated cabbage, red ginger, and squid, and a packet of laver to sprinkle over the noodles when it's finished cooking. The other one I get has a packet of Japanese mayo; unfortunately, it's wasabi Kewpie mayo. God, I hate wasabi.
- Campbell's sirloin burger soup in a can. Of course, I make sure it has the pop-up top, otherwise I'm SOL since can openers always disappear around here. Just take some rice to work, pour the soup over the rice, nuke - instant, really filling stew. That soup is waaaay too salty for me to eat plain.
A coworker keeps 4 family-sized cereal boxes in her office, ranging from Capn Crunch to corn flakes with strawberries. I don't recall if she has a mini-fridge or not to store the milk.
Cassaendra at 2:33PM on 03/04/08
I also like Amy's, particularly the vegetable lasagna. I also like the Kashi entrees.
luswim06 at 2:57PM on 03/04/08
Amy's has great food and great customer service. and Trader Joe's is awesome..I'm just wishing that they would open one in Texas =(
FoodieCutie at 2:59PM on 03/04/08
My absolute favorite ready-to-eat meals are from Kitchens of India. They're the boil-in-a-bag kind of meals, but you can also cut the bag open and dump the contents into a microwave-safe bowl.
All of their products are delicious, tasty and are good for you! No preservatives, totally organic and with lots of veggies. :)
Their saag (palak) paneer and navratan korma are my favorites. Of course, if you don't like Indian...well, I guess this hasn't been any help! :) :) :)
sheeats at 3:15PM on 03/04/08
I like Annie Chung's noodle bowls.
thebasilqueen at 3:24PM on 03/04/08
Amy's frozen meals are good, but you can't really find those at every grocery store. Also, some people don't have Trader Joe's in their area. There are tasty, somewhat healthy alternatives like Lean Pockets, which are like Hot Pockets, but better for you. They're filled with all kinds of yummy things like broccoli, chicken and cheddar. I used to buy them often when I worked at an office.
PumpkinBear at 3:35PM on 03/04/08
I never tried an Amy's meal, but out of my forays into frozen foods, I have settled on the Weight Watchers Smart Balance lasagnes (florentine or traditional). Of course it's not close to a real homemade lasagne, but far and away one of the tastier, more filling options in the lower calorie department. They are generally the only frozen entrees I buy these days.
renzata at 3:42PM on 03/04/08
Amy's cheese lasagna and their black eyed pea and vegetable bowl are really good. Also Kashi's black-bean mango entree is pretty good. If you're gonna go prepackaged, I find going vegetarian is a big help. The meat can get all kinds of weird texurally in those things. Even Kashi's chicken has a weird texture. Oh, if you don't care at all about calories, Stouffer's mac and cheese is really good, as is Boston Market's.
chisai at 4:16PM on 03/04/08
the butter-nut squash ravioli by lean cuisine is my favorite. I also like their square pizza (don't recall the actual name). Had my first Kashi meal today; was pretty good after I added hot sauce to it. I do canned soups a lot as well.
malenky at 5:41PM on 03/04/08
Amy's mac & cheese is good in a pinch!
JEP at 5:59PM on 03/04/08
i give another vote to Amy's meals. everything I've gotten from that line is excellent, vegetarian, and doesn't have any weird ingredients in it. My local grocery story has a decent Amy's selection (I'm addicted to the Amy's burritos!), and down the street at the health food store they have the whole line.
I've tried some of the Kashi meals, but i like Amy's better.
redhead at 6:37PM on 03/04/08
As a desk slave, I do enjoy Amy's, Kashi, and Ethnic Gourmet meals. They are tasty.
I steer clear of Stouffer's et al. because of all the fat and sodium. There are quite a few Lean Cuisines I like, but some definitely have texture issues.
I do like Starkist Tuna Salad kits - you can put anything you want into it - and South Beach Living's Cranberry Walnut Chicken salad kit.
lo82070 at 6:49PM on 03/04/08
I used to go with Amy's a lot, especially when my kids were really little and I was working long hours with a long commute. The kids and I always liked the Amy's pockets (veggie pot pie, feta and spinach, etc.). I don't recall ever trying anything that wasn't at least acceptable.
TJ's has pretty good stuff, but I must caution you to watch the calorie content on those -- most of their stuff is astonishingly NOT calorie-friendly, and a lot of the stuff that doesn't at first appear to be high-cal, is actually labeled as two servings. (Since you said you grabbed a Lean Cuisine, this might be a consideration for you.)
I also agree that the Annie's noodle bowls are very tasty. I used to buy them a lot because it was such an easy way to get my udon fix!
Finally, you can try the various soups by Imagine. They don't just make chicken broth. Tomato, squash, carrot and mushroom come to mind, but I think there are others. Even though I make a mean tomato soup from scratch, theirs is actually really satisfying, and I always have some in my pantry. Grab a box of Cheez-Its, and you're good to go!
LoCo at 6:53PM on 03/04/08
One more for Amy's. I also like Tasty Bite "smartpouch" (shelf-stable) Indian cuisine.
baboo at 6:57PM on 03/04/08
Also, some of the Progresso Soups aren't too terrible in a pinch. Not as salty as Campbell's.
LoCo at 6:59PM on 03/04/08
And another for Amy's!
crazyspice at 7:31PM on 03/04/08
I second Progresso soups. They're filling and calorie friendly. I also keep a box of Boca Burgers in the freezer at work, as well as English muffins or rolls. Of course you'd need a toaster as well as a microwave...
JojoK at 9:42PM on 03/04/08
Once again, you guys rock. I will definitely seek out Amy's entrees as they've gotten the most votes. I have no clue if I can find them here in B.F.E. (aka Northern Indiana) but I'll give it a shot. And, alas, the closest Trader Joe's is in the Chicagoland area. You know what that means...road trip! With a cooler!
I really don't know what I was thinking when I grabbed that nasty Lean Cuisine. I was in a hurry and I'm STILL experiencing major food aversions and that was the first thing that sounded good. I am patiently waiting for the 2nd trimester to start so I can start eating normally again. I have a bag of Cadbury's mini eggs in my freezer to celebrate with when that day finally comes.....
AuntJone at 10:11PM on 03/04/08