Are Frozen Dinners a Bad Idea?

This may get me called out by irate working mothers but whatever. The conventional wisdom about frozen dinners is that they make us lazy and, when we become lazy, we eat too much and then we get fat. I think that’s true but a more interesting idea is that we are consuming more calories than ever because each calorie is giving us less and less pleasure (story here). This is especially true with low-cal frozen dinners - are they ever truly satisfying?

So why are families consuming more frozen dinners?

They once were thought of as for emergencies, but now they are becoming mainstays, judging by the expanding frozen food sections at supermarkets. I know people are busy, but a dinner that you have prepared yourself will invariably taste better than a frozen dinner plopped in the microwave. Maybe pleasure is derived in proportion to the effort you put into it? If you get the knack of cooking, preparing meals is a great stress reliever. Sure, some people are terrible cooks, but don’t microwaved dinners quickly get boring? Flavorings and seasonings do not a fresh dish make. Even if you find processed foods that have reduced sugar, salt and fat, you may feel relieved at biting into some fresh fruit or vegetables afterwards.

There are better ways to approach this: start by planning out a few meals several days ahead, or going by the grocery store after work more often to pick up fruit and vegetables, or cooking enough for two or three dinners, or using a slow cooker or crock-pot and relying more on leftovers. Since most of us eat some frozen foods, like meat and fish, here are a few tricks in our house to supplement them: microwave potatoes till they are cooked, then toss them with a little garlic and herbs in the frying pan for 2 minutes; cooking green beans in a little water till absorbed, toss with some caramelized sliced onions or fresh onion slices, lemon juice and olive oil. Or, throw some frozen meatballs in pasta sauce, add mushrooms and zucchini and serve over pasta. Or, cut a lot of vegetables (sweet potato, turnip, pumpkin, Brussel sprouts, carrots, onion, garlic, etc) add salt, pepper, favorite herbs and olive oil in a few cups of water, pressure cook for 5-10 minutes for a hearty and healthy soup.

No more chicken pot pies.

Photo: Samuell/Wikipedia