I know that these are far, far, far from clean eating, but are they disastrous? If I'm rushing in the morning I will sometimes grab one out of the freezer for lunch, adding some fruit and a cottage cheese.

The average meal contains 250 calories, 7 grams of fat 27g carb and 19 g protein.

Not ideal, but tasty and convenient when in a hurry. Tons of sodium, which I don't care for (620mg!). Should I avoid them like the plague or try to keep them to once a week?

I know that these are far, far, far from clean eating, but are they disastrous? If I'm rushing in the morning I will sometimes grab one out of the freezer for lunch, adding some fruit and a cottage cheese.

The average meal contains 250 calories, 7 grams of fat 27g carb and 19 g protein.

Not ideal, but tasty and convenient when in a hurry. Tons of sodium, which I don't care for (620mg!). Should I avoid them like the plague or try to keep them to once a week?

I'll probably get some flak for what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyways. I look at these meals like I look at protein bars. In a real crunch, they're okay. It would be much better to get your nutrients from a real meal, but if time is a factor, they aren't terrible. I usually stuck with the Healthy Choice meals since they had a lot less sodium (around 200mg or less) and I didn't have trouble dropping weight even with them as part of my diet. Of course, I limited my intake of them. I don't think I ever had more than 2 in a week.

The best thing you could do is buy some of those tupperwear containers that look like TV dinner trays, set aside two nights a week (Sun and maybe Wed) and cook up some chicken, pasta, sweet potatoes, etc...and freeze a few meals for later consumption. Much, much better for you since you control everything that goes into them.

But honestly, if you have to have one during the week, I'd have to say no, it's not going to wreck your diet. It's all the other small "once a week" things that will creep in and stall your plans. It'd be better to eat one of those than to stop by Burger King and take in 600 calories and all the other stuff associated with it.

In a real crunch, they're okay. It would be much better to get your nutrients from a real meal, but if time is a factor, they aren't terrible.

I agree with this. If you have "options", I wouldn't recommend these be one of them. If you're in a pinch and really have no time, choices, etc., this is an alternative that isn't gonna wreck your diet. Even though it says Healthy Choice or "Lean" Cuisine, it doesn't necessarily mean it's either of those. I guess it also depends what your diet is. Compared to what you eat regularly, these could be considered healthy alternatives. Remember, there are plenty of people who lost hundreds of pounds eating nothing but Subway sandwiches.;)

I'll probably get some flak for what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyways. I look at these meals like I look at protein bars. In a real crunch, they're okay. It would be much better to get your nutrients from a real meal, but if time is a factor, they aren't terrible. I usually stuck with the Healthy Choice meals since they had a lot less sodium (around 200mg or less) and I didn't have trouble dropping weight even with them as part of my diet. Of course, I limited my intake of them. I don't think I ever had more than 2 in a week.

The best thing you could do is buy some of those tupperwear containers that look like TV dinner trays, set aside two nights a week (Sun and maybe Wed) and cook up some chicken, pasta, sweet potatoes, etc...and freeze a few meals for later consumption. Much, much better for you since you control everything that goes into them.

But honestly, if you have to have one during the week, I'd have to say no, it's not going to wreck your diet. It's all the other small "once a week" things that will creep in and stall your plans. It'd be better to eat one of those than to stop by Burger King and take in 600 calories and all the other stuff associated with it.

I agree with this -- but inevitably, you'll get someone on here who will argue that these meals are the devil incarnate. One poster even said they were equivalent to eating a snickers bar (pure nonsense). I think they are OK alternatives for when you have failed to plan or shop accordingly, but you obviously don't want them to become a staple.