slo’s TUESDAY 6/2 poll - Frozen Prepared Meals (@Grocery Store)

[CGB]

Nope; not in a loooong time. Years ago, I did occasionally buy frozen lasagna. These days, I make an extra dish to go in the freezer or pack up leftovers to combine later for convenience meals.

 

[tvguy]

Not often since Schwans went out of business. But I guess those aren't from the grocery store. We used to have their meal kits and fully cooked hamburger patties in the freezer for quick meals. Seems nobody makes fully cooked hamburger patties anymore as stores around here stop carrying the Ballpark fully cooked burgers.
I am of the age that I think of most of what people are describing as TV Dinners. My wife does love the Marie Calendar and Banquet Chicken Pot pies. I lean toward frozen White Castle Sliders. Sometimes on Friday if we have run out of leftovers, we will get a frozen meal as a treat. But as a kid, TV dinners were a treat.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Gawrsh I used to munch on those a lot! The pot pies were delish… especially the Marie Callender’s ones. They had a chicken with bacon and potatoes at one point… it was so heavenly.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I need to watch salt so most of this sort of thing is a no go but, if it counts, I do like to grab a big bag or 2 of frozen wings and bake those plain and then add dipping sauce. A big bag is roughly $10 and the markup in restaurants is staggering so this heat and eat is one of the best deals out there. Add a bag of fries and the meal practically makes itself.

When I was a young professional out of college I loved frozen Weight Watchers Smart Ones for lunch and occasionally for a quick dinner so I'm not anti frozen, I'm just anti unwell.

The convenience is fantastic, if only there was less sodium.

 

[BrianL]

I really don't eat these - maybe once in a very great while. My mom has been known to grab a frozen mac & cheese or something for a family dinner.

 

[RedAngie]

I don’t think I’ve purchased a frozen prepared meal or entree in years. I used to buy them quite frequently in my younger years and during covid. Frozen pizza maybe 3 or 4 times a year

I do buy refrigerated prepared items from the supermarket, or refrigerated M&C or pot pies.

 

[Dan Murphy]

As @NAB mentioned above, Healthy Choice Steamers are great, but those are individual meals. The only family sized pre-made meals we get at times are the Costco meals.

 

[amcnj]

I was only ever a very occasional purchaser. There were some I did enjoy though. The other day I read an article about frozen lasagnas, and it claimed the best one was a Kirkland (Costco) one, I think it was a beef and sausage lasagna. It did make me wonder if it was worth trying it sometime. Though if it is too big it might not be worthwhile unless a group will be dining on it.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

I used to buy the Stouffers Lean Cuisine frozen meals for my lunch when I worked in an office and most of them were pretty good. My husband and I like frozen pizzas and occasionally a frozen pasta meal. When my son is home from college, he enjoys the frozen breakfast sandwiches and burritos, so we usually have those on hand.

 

[barkley]

I loved frozen Weight Watchers Smart Ones for lunch and occasionally for a quick dinner

I loved their frozen baked potato with brococcoli and cheddar cheese.

 

[ncc1701]

The only one I occasionally buy in a grocery store is Stouffer Stuffed Peppers. I also buy Bob Evans mashed potatoes. Easier than making them for just the 2 of us.
We have a nearby British/Irish shop that carries some frozen items. So I buy Bridies, Sausage rolls and Meat Pies from them.

 

[rndmr2]

I occasionally will buy a frozen bagged meal/skillet type thing. I have bought things like Stouffer's frozen lasagna (although lately I have made my own) and Swanson's dinners. I am not a fan of the Salsbury steak or chicken parm ones but I like the sliced Turkey and Gravy. Those I buy a few times a year. I like to get either regular rolls, dinner rolls or canned biscuits (usually the Grand's) I like to make little sandwiches out of them.

 

[barkley]

I like to get either regular rolls, dinner rolls or canned biscuits (usually the Grand's) I like to make little sandwiches out of them.

have you tried the frozen grands biscuits? I was hesitant, thought they would never be as good as the pop and fresh canned but daaaang-they come out identical AND you can just keep the resealable bag in the freezer and pull out as many or few as you need.

 

[unrequited23]

Those Marie Callendar pot pies are fantastic, but they need to be cooked in the oven and they take a long time to get the crusts just right

I've had luck with my air fryer with the crust wrapped in foil at 390 for 30 minutes for two pot pies that just barely fit in the basket.

 

[tazdev3225]

I voted other because I did buy them in the past, mostly Stouffers and Marie Callenders. My husband is diabetic and we are trying to get his A1C down since he needs surgery on his toe. I realized that not only are they usually high sodium but they are very high in carbs. I thought looking at sugar content was enough until I realized the carbs are worse. Good thing is I have lost about 10-15 pounds cutting carbs out of my diet too.

Edited - Forgot to add my husband grew up on On-Cor and banned them from the house years ago. I was very happy to do that because I am a slow eater and when those things cool down you do not want to eat them, they are disgusting.

 

[soccerdad72]

I was only ever a very occasional purchaser. There were some I did enjoy though. The other day I read an article about frozen lasagnas, and it claimed the best one was a Kirkland (Costco) one, I think it was a beef and sausage lasagna. It did make me wonder if it was worth trying it sometime. Though if it is too big it might not be worthwhile unless a group will be dining on it.

They are pretty good - we buy them from time to time. It's probably 8 servings or so, depending on the appetite of the people eating.

 

[KBadger]

I was only ever a very occasional purchaser. There were some I did enjoy though. The other day I read an article about frozen lasagnas, and it claimed the best one was a Kirkland (Costco) one, I think it was a beef and sausage lasagna. It did make me wonder if it was worth trying it sometime. Though if it is too big it might not be worthwhile unless a group will be dining on it.

I recommend the Kirkland frozen lasagna to everyone, it's so good!

 

[ronandannette]

I guess we're not counting frozen pizza? Beyond that, I grab a TV Dinner for DH every once in a while but I never eat them (I'd rather have a bowl of cereal). I'm never pleased with the quality of frozen lasagna so it's been years since I've bought one.

 

[disykat]

I would say maybe once month we have either a frozen pizza (Motor City, please!) or a frozen lasagna from Costco, a skillet meal like someone mentioned, or a meal based around frozen chicken nuggets, etc. I am not afraid of frozen food, especially if they are Costco quality, though I don't do it as often since I retired.

There are some parts of meals, like frozen meatballs, I haven't made from scratch in years and always do frozen. We do still keep frozen burritos on hand for lunches, even though I do often make those from scratch. They go so fast that we want more than I get around to making. I used to buy "lean cuisines" etc. to take for quick lunches at work quite a bit too, but I got out of that habit when I stopped working, I guess.

 

[Imzadi]

I like them and buy them once in a great while. (DH has to watch his salt, so we don't have them very often.)

I'm on a salt restricted diet too to regulate my blood pressure without taking meds. My daily intake is supposed to be 1500 mg and some frozen meals could be 1700 mg. So, I may have half of one, like a lasagne or an eggplant parmesan, only because I wouldn't take the time to make something like that from scratch, yet I have a craving for one. Then I just keep my salt intake really low for the next couple of days.

When doing the frozen bagged stuff, I mostly stick to Trader Joe's brand; in fact, their beef with broccoli is on the menu for later in the week

I do really like Trader Joe's bagged Mandarin orange chicken and their honey walnut shrimp. Thankfully, the sodium levels are around 600mg per serving and since it's bagged and not just made into a single serving, I can pour out as many or few pieces that I want.

And I love all their bagged frozen dumplings: chicken cilantro wontons, chicken or pork potstickers, shrimp gyozas and their roast pork buns called bao buns. And I like their (boxed) chicken spring rolls and lemongrass spring rolls,

They also have frozen tamales. I like the cheese with green chilies the most, but their meat ones are good too.