Now that the Thanksgiving leftovers have been purged, we must turn to cooking dinner once again. Life can get busy, though. When you’ve forgotten to thaw food to cook, you want something hot, and you don’t want soup, what is there? Frozen dinners.

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The frozen dinner hit the big time when Swanson released the ‘TV Dinner’ in September of 1953. They sold more than 10 million units in 1954 and 25 million the year after that. Sometimes people want to eat at home, but they don’t want to prepare a whole meal.

The real issue with frozen dinners is they can’t compete with fresh dinners without loads of sugar, salt, and other stuff just to make them taste better. Let’s look at what could be the most unhealthy choices for frozen dinners.

10 of the Unhealthiest Frozen Dinners Available

  1. Marie Callender’s Meatloaf and Country Fried Chicken - sure there’s protein, but maybe they could cut back a bit to let in some veggies, huh?
  2. Banquet Chicken Fried Chicken Meal - the portion size is so small, people will probably eat 2 themselves. Then you’ve just doubled all the sodium and sugar.
  3. Michelina’s Teriyaki Chicken - there are vegetables, but the rice overwhelms the chicken and there isn’t enough protein to make it worth it.
  4. Amy’s Tortilla Casserole and Black Beans Bowl - but it says ‘organic’, so that’s good, right? But since the portion is so small, it means you’ll end up eating something else to fill you or eat 2. Twice the sodium, fat, and carbs is not good.
  5. Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese - is a side dish, not a meal. Do not let the 4-year-old in the house determine an entire meal for the house. This thing is full of empty calories. Get some vitamins and protein.
  6. El Monterey Three-Cheese Quesadilla Meal - Can you say sodium, carbs and fat that aren’t worth the 580 calories?
  7. Hungry-Man Salsbury Beef Steakettes - this one has over half the sodium recommended for an adult in an entire day, but at least there are green beans.
  8. Banquet Meatloaf Meal - with over half the sodium of a day provided in one sitting, it’s not worth the cinnamon apple dessert.
  9. Totino’s Hamburger Party Pizza - a serving size is ½ the pizza, and nobody eats only ½. It’s not worth that much sodium, fat, and carbs in trade for the easy prep.
  10. Marie Callender’s Country Fried Chicken & Gravy - only 390 calories, but pulls in way too much sodium.
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It may be worth it to just prepare meals in advance and separate them into portions to be eaten in the future. Unless you don’t cook. Then maybe make friends with a chef.

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