Sparking My Interest - (Sparkpeople and Contessa Shrimp Primavera Dinner)
Any of you guys ever been over to the happening that is SparkPeople? If you haven’t, it’s essentially one large very simplistic message board, coupled with daily informational articles, aimed at people trying to lose weight and get fit. It’s divided (as are almost all such websites) into various diets, fitness plans, etc., and has some rather cool tools, like workout calculators, food calculators, calories-burned, and so on. Personally, I really don’t care for their forum product, which has very limited tools and isn’t very useful for any type of in-depth discussion, but I’m clearly in the minority, because the website is mind-blowingly popular, probably because the overriding theme is encouragement and support.
I was surprised and pleased when I recently received one of their nightly newsletters that trumpeted an article entitled “Fantastic Frozen Dinners - Go from Diet Disaster to Diet-Friendly!” Written by Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian, the article actually promoted the concept of using frozen meals as a dieting and cost-control tool. (Not to say “I told you so,” but….I told you so).
Like some of my previous articles here, Ms. Hand listed the “perks” of frozen dinners, ranging from quick and easy (we all knew that), to built-in portion control, being perfect for singles, and economical (less expensive than dining out or take-out).
My sole disagreement with her is that she says “Beware of potpies with crust, Hungry Man dinners, and stuffed-crust or extra-cheese pizzas.” As I’ve discussed here before, Hungry Man shouldn’t get such a bad rap; I’ve compared Hungry Man to Marie Callendar’s, Stouffer’s, and other brands and demonstrated (see Hungry Man article in the archives) that it’s not the brand, it’s the individual dinner…if you’re weight-watching, you simply need to check out the meals you’re going to buy beforehand, make a list, and stick to it…don’t impulse buy based on enticing pictures at the supermarket. Ms. Hand further states that dieters should choose dinners or entrees with no more than 300-400 calories. To search in advance for dinners that meet this or other criteria, use the Choose menu functions at the Icebox Diner, where you can quickly pull up a table of brands of TV dinners and frozen meals, sorted by calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, etc., to help you create your shopping list. Ms. Hand recommends Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers, but as I’ve explored here, many frozen meals that aren’t marketed as diet choices can be found with less than 400 calories. I'm glad to see a dietitian that didn't take the easy road of dismissing all frozen meals as garbage - it's long overdue.
A quickie review:
I recently had the Contessa Shrimp Primavera – shrimp in a scampi sauce, linquini, broccoli, green beans carrots and red bell peppers. Because it is a shrimp dish, I prepared it in the skillet, instead of in the microwave. It was simple, quick and easy – and fantastic. I really liked the buttery scampi sauce, the shrimp were fresh-tasting as were the veggies. I give it 4 forks for flavor, maybe an additional fork because it only has 350 calories per serving, 30 grams of carbohydrate, 11 grams of protein and 21 grams of fat (obviously, high in “fat” due to the butter sauce). Definitely a winner.
An Auntie Frugality tip: If you have a beloved pet, the Icebox Diner's couponing affiliate has a coupon running currently for $5.00 off Petmeds, along with free shipping, for Frontline, Heartgard and other pet medications. Get this coupon here .
Before you buy, check out your frozen dinner selections at the Icebox Diner - over 1,500 products, with nutritional information and independent consumer-to-consumer reviews.
I was surprised and pleased when I recently received one of their nightly newsletters that trumpeted an article entitled “Fantastic Frozen Dinners - Go from Diet Disaster to Diet-Friendly!” Written by Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian, the article actually promoted the concept of using frozen meals as a dieting and cost-control tool. (Not to say “I told you so,” but….I told you so).
Like some of my previous articles here, Ms. Hand listed the “perks” of frozen dinners, ranging from quick and easy (we all knew that), to built-in portion control, being perfect for singles, and economical (less expensive than dining out or take-out).
My sole disagreement with her is that she says “Beware of potpies with crust, Hungry Man dinners, and stuffed-crust or extra-cheese pizzas.” As I’ve discussed here before, Hungry Man shouldn’t get such a bad rap; I’ve compared Hungry Man to Marie Callendar’s, Stouffer’s, and other brands and demonstrated (see Hungry Man article in the archives) that it’s not the brand, it’s the individual dinner…if you’re weight-watching, you simply need to check out the meals you’re going to buy beforehand, make a list, and stick to it…don’t impulse buy based on enticing pictures at the supermarket. Ms. Hand further states that dieters should choose dinners or entrees with no more than 300-400 calories. To search in advance for dinners that meet this or other criteria, use the Choose menu functions at the Icebox Diner, where you can quickly pull up a table of brands of TV dinners and frozen meals, sorted by calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, etc., to help you create your shopping list. Ms. Hand recommends Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers, but as I’ve explored here, many frozen meals that aren’t marketed as diet choices can be found with less than 400 calories. I'm glad to see a dietitian that didn't take the easy road of dismissing all frozen meals as garbage - it's long overdue.
A quickie review:
I recently had the Contessa Shrimp Primavera – shrimp in a scampi sauce, linquini, broccoli, green beans carrots and red bell peppers. Because it is a shrimp dish, I prepared it in the skillet, instead of in the microwave. It was simple, quick and easy – and fantastic. I really liked the buttery scampi sauce, the shrimp were fresh-tasting as were the veggies. I give it 4 forks for flavor, maybe an additional fork because it only has 350 calories per serving, 30 grams of carbohydrate, 11 grams of protein and 21 grams of fat (obviously, high in “fat” due to the butter sauce). Definitely a winner.
An Auntie Frugality tip: If you have a beloved pet, the Icebox Diner's couponing affiliate has a coupon running currently for $5.00 off Petmeds, along with free shipping, for Frontline, Heartgard and other pet medications. Get this coupon here .Before you buy, check out your frozen dinner selections at the Icebox Diner - over 1,500 products, with nutritional information and independent consumer-to-consumer reviews.
posted by Auntie's Food Life at 2:28 PM
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