Living La Carb-a Loca (Low-Carb TV Dinners and Frozen Foods)

Today’s prologue ramble:

First, before any food-oriented blathering, let’s hear a cheer for the U.S. Men’s Curling Team, which captured the United States’ first-ever Olympic medal (bronze) in the sport. Pete Fenson, Shawn Rojeski, John Shuster and Joe Polo – you guys ROCK!! (Yes, I know it’s corny and it’s been said a billion times – I don’t care, it needs saying again). Young Emily Hughes (figure-skating) stopped the guys in Torino to get their autographs – proof positive, it’s cool to curl.

Back to Work...

Recently, on a popular Low Carb website forum, a man posted a plea for assistance in finding flavorful TV dinners and frozen meals that would fit in with a low-carb lifestyle, as he didn’t know how to cook. The poor guy took a lot of heat from folks on that list who seemed to rank eating frozen prepared meals right up there with devil-worship. But just as frozen dinners in general have leapt forward light-years in the last decade in terms of taste and quality, so too have “diet” TV dinners. Whether you’re looking for low-fat, low-carb or simply low-calorie, you can find meals that will meet your dietary needs and give you the convenience of heat-and-eat.

So I decided to create a list – 30 Low-Carb Frozen Dinners – to assist low-carb dieters in their search for ready-made meals. Today, Part 1; 15 meals to get you started:

1. Cedarlane Carb Buster Four Cheese Quiche – 5.0 gof carbohydrate, 500 calories, (and organic!)
2. Cedarlane Carb Buster Chili Relleno Pie – 9.0 g of carbs, 520 calories
3. Weight Watchers’ Smart Ones Higher Protein Entrees Home-style Chicken, 8.0 g of carbs, 220 calories (a five-fork rating at the Diner!);
4. Stouffer’s Classic Welsh Rarebit, 6.0 g. carbs, 130 calories;
5. Weight Watchers’ Smart Ones Higher Protein Roast Beef Portobello, 9.0 g carbs and 200 calories;
6. Kraft South Beach Diet Caprese Style Chicken with Broccoli & Cauliflower, 12.0 g carbs and 250 calories;
7. Gorton's Grilled Fillet Meals Alfredo, 14 g carbs, 160 calories;
8. Amy's Organic Cheese Enchilada, 18.0 g carbs, 220 calories (a favorite of my sister’s);
9. Stouffer's Lean Cuisine Café Classics Chicken Marsala, 12.0 g carbs, 140 calories;
10. Stouffer's Lean Cuisine Café Classics Orange Beef, 16.0 g. carbs, 170 calories;
11. Schneider's Classic Homestyle Recipe Shepherd's Pie, 20.0 g carbs, and 200 calories (a Five-star Diner rating!);
12. Schwan's Caesar Parmesan Shrimp, 2.0 g of carbs and 110 calories per serving;
13. Schwan’s Fully Cooked Beef Pot Roast with Gravy, 3.0 g of carbohydrate, and 140 calories;
14. Birds Eye Foods Voila! Reduced Carb Down Home Chicken & Vegetables, 17.0 g of carbohydrates and 180 calories, and,
15. Birds Eye Foods Voila! Reduced Carb Chicken Teriyaki & Vegetables, 15.0 g of carbohydrates and 150 calories (a personal favorite, by the way).

Next week: the second 15 low or reduced carbohydrate dinners; Living La Carb-a Loca, Part II.

Curling Photo by Michael Burns Photography, Ltd., from the Team Fenson website.