Are Microwaveable Packaged Meals Really That Bad For You?

[Evo]

I only cook about twice a year, so it's not too much of a problem. If I can't get food other people have prepared, like a frozen dinner or a meal from a restaurant, I tend to eat "things" rather than actual meals - a banana for breakfast, a can of peas for dinner. Whatever is available. I eat more or less like a raccoon.

Ahaha, I really *do* eat like that.

I agree with Chem, I don't see a problem with frozen dinners, I eat them all of the time. Canned soups are much scarier.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I only cook about twice a year, so it's not too much of a problem. If I can't get food other people have prepared, like a frozen dinner or a meal from a restaurant, I tend to eat "things" rather than actual meals - a banana for breakfast, a can of peas for dinner. Whatever is available. I eat more or less like a raccoon.

So if you ever get married you'll be looking for a well trained man-wife?

 

[Math Is Hard]

Ahahaq, I really *do* eat like that.

oh yes, you're worse than I am -- I seem to remember you survived on nothing but a spiral cut ham for two weeks.

 

[Math Is Hard]

So if you ever get married you'll be looking for a well trained man-wife?

oh, absolutely! :!)

 

[Evo]

oh yes, you're worse than I am -- I seem to remember you survived on nothing but a spiral cut ham for two weeks.

:shy: That would be me.

 

[turbo]

So if you ever get married you'll be looking for a well trained man-wife?

Getting rare, these days. My gardening-buddy neighbor and I both cook, but we are exceptions to the rule. Most of the other men I know, with the exception of my cousin's husband who is a restaurant manager, are can-openers, not cooks. Even my father (who knows better) has gotten slack, since he is just cooking for himself. Instead of making a nice spaghetti sauce, he'll saute onions, garlic, hamburg, etc and add them to Prego with some oregano.

Lots of the best cooks in town used to be cooks for logging camps and the river-drives (like my grandmother at the large river-drive barracks north of town), and many of them were men. They're pretty much all gone, these days. The fellow living across the road from my father is one of those dinosaurs, and luckily, he never got into the habit of cooking small batches of stuff, so he supplies my father with stews, casseroles, and deserts.

 

[mgb_phys]

So if you ever get married you'll be looking for a well trained man-wife?

First time I ever went into a supermarket with my (now) wife - she picked up a bag of individual frozen pizzas and said 'oh great you can microwave them'
I knew I had to marry her, for her own good.

 

[JasonRox]

Good advice, MB. I would add that whenever you are feeling a bit "snacky" at home, you should not resort to a meal or a meal-sized portion of whatever you have kicking around. That way lies obesity. Instead, haul out some low-fat crackers, fruit, etc, and snack a bit (with no set portions) and STOP eating immediately when you are no longer really hungry. You will be sated a bit later, so try to anticipate this by relaxing and stopping before you are "full". Humans are genetically omnivores who are "hunter-gatherers". Who here thinks that early humans gorged themselves and went to bed full every night?

I tried eating crackers, but I end up eathing the whole box easily. I have to stop myself half way.

The best thing I think one can do is eat a big breakfast and a moderately sized lunch. I cook bacon or sausage, and hashbrowns every morning. I also have an orange juice and apple with that. When I eat that, I feel fairly good the whole day. A good sized lunch just makes it better.

For diner it's usually pasta, pizza... who knows. The majority of what I eat is what I make... even the pizza (except the dough).

At night, I never found a solution. The only solution for me was to just eat another big meal. (Yes, hungry all day.) Also, I never found a solution to the time when I wake up hungry. I used to have a granola bar next to my bed. I want something better though. Something tastier.

AAAAAAAhhhhhh...

My response to pre-packaged meals... how to you overcome the awful taste? So many of them taste ssssssssooooooooooo bad.

 

[JasonRox]

I don't think I can move in with a girl who can't cook or is not willing to cook. Or if her diet horrid.

I have good habits. The person moving in clearly has to contribute is some kind of way positively.

I have a clean apartment. Cook every meal. Clean washroom of course. Do my dishes.

I ain't going to live in a dirty filthy place with crappy food just because my partner can live like that. No way.

 

[physics girl phd]

So if you ever get married you'll be looking for a well trained man-wife?

It seems to be the case with all the sisterhood. When my husband first made me steak with collard greens cooked up in olive oil with garlic and red peppers, I knew he was a keeper. I did (and do still) cook a decent amount... but I never made myself steak! Yum. He likes it so much we have it at least once a week if the price is good enough... though he takes mine out early, since I like it still bleeding.

He also does his own (and the boys) laundry and ironing, and vacuums and polishes the floors. Huzzah!

For me, those microwaveable meals are just too darn small to be considered a meal (even "Hungry Man". OK for a snack or if you're desperate... but my metabolism's just too high.

I'm also just glad MIH eats like a raccoon... and doesn't eat raccoon.

 

[mgb_phys]

I'm also just glad MIH eats like a raccoon...

You mean she knocks over garbage cans and then tries to look cute when caught?

 

[Math Is Hard]

You mean she knocks over garbage cans and then tries to look cute when caught?

That video was totally fake.

 

[Math Is Hard]

I'm also just glad MIH eats like a raccoon... and doesn't eat raccoon.

Raccoon? Of course not!




Glad no one asked about squirrel and rattlesnake.

 

[Moonbear]

I ain't going to live in a dirty filthy place with crappy food just because my partner can live like that. No way.

Oh, that won't be a problem at all. You're just the one in charge of cooking and cleaning.

 

[Moonbear]

Raccoon? Of course not!




Glad no one asked about squirrel and rattlesnake.

There's a rabbit and deer visiting my yard...both look very tasty. Though, they haven't stolen any of my vegetables yet, so I don't feel obligated to eat them yet.

 

[turbo]

There's a rabbit and deer visiting my yard...both look very tasty. Though, they haven't stolen any of my vegetables yet, so I don't feel obligated to eat them yet.

If a deer eats one of your string-beans, you should feel justified in planning venison for the weekend BBQ.

 

[Moonbear]

If a deer eats one of your string-beans, you should feel justified in planning venison for the weekend BBQ.

No doubt! Since I didn't plant string beans, for the deer to eat any of my string beans, she'd have to come into my house and raid the freezer! If that happens, I'm definitely having venison for dinner.

 

[turbo]

No doubt! Since I didn't plant string beans, for the deer to eat any of my string beans, she'd have to come into my house and raid the freezer! If that happens, I'm definitely having venison for dinner.

Plan! Slam freezer-door on head, knock out the deer and get to work! I want the tenderloins as payment for coming up with such a clever scheme.

 

[maverick_starstrider]

There is no arguing that, for the most part, fresh produce is nutritionally better than processed, preserved produce.

[\QUOTE]

I argue it. The OP asked if eating such things were bad for them. So far people have essentially provided a litany of folk 'advice' and pointed out that synthetic ingredients have funny names.

Furthermore, your comment about people needing to change their lifestyle to lose weight is just downright silly. People lose weight by eating low fat microwaveable dinners and diet shakes ALL THE TIME.

Not a single comment made thus far has been a credible attempt to actually answer the OP's question. Although I'm sure all these prescribed regimens of cooking elaborate meals once a week in a dorm room and parititioning it would make a nice letter to Bon Appetit magazine however it originates from the assumption that microwaveable meals are bad or inferior. Everyone seem to take it as a 'given' but I would like to see some actual learned analysis, fact or discourse.

P.S. when your mother told you that eating your brussel sprouts would make you grow up to be big and strong, you do realize she was lying.

 

[DaveC426913]

There is no arguing that, for the most part, fresh produce is nutritionally better than processed, preserved produce.

[\QUOTE]

I argue it. The OP asked if eating such things were bad for them. So far people have essentially provided a litany of folk 'advice' and pointed out that synthetic ingredients have funny names.

Furthermore, your comment about people needing to change their lifestyle to lose weight is just downright silly. People lose weight by eating low fat microwaveable dinners and diet shakes ALL THE TIME.

Not a single comment made thus far has been a credible attempt to actually answer the OP's question. Although I'm sure all these prescribed regimens of cooking elaborate meals once a week in a dorm room and parititioning it would make a nice letter to Bon Appetit magazine however it originates from the assumption that microwaveable meals are bad or inferior. Everyone seem to take it as a 'given' but I would like to see some actual learned analysis, fact or discourse.

P.S. when your mother told you that eating your brussel sprouts would make you grow up to be big and strong, you do realize she was lying.

If you had a case, you wouldn't have to imbue your argument with emotion and derision to make your point.

But since you have demanded facts, then you'll have to supply facts yourself.

 

[JasonRox]

If you had a case, you wouldn't have to imbue your argument with emotion and derision to make your point.

But since you have demanded facts, then you'll have to supply facts yourself.

Since no facts on both sides, everything discussed so far is meaningless...

 

[JasonRox]

Oh, that won't be a problem at all. You're just the one in charge of cooking and cleaning.

Most girls want a take charge kind of guy...

 

[maverick_starstrider]

If you had a case, you wouldn't have to imbue your argument with emotion and derision to make your point.

But since you have demanded facts, then you'll have to supply facts yourself.

I'm pretty sure the burden of proof doesn't lie with the skeptic. Unless you can actually demonstrate that something is harmful which is not obviously so (to my knowledge, no one has dropped dead from those funnily named additives in microwaveable dinners) then I'm going to assume it's not. The OP asked a question, you responded in the negative without a scrap of justification, I'm not responding in the positive merely commenting that people who respond in the negative never seem to have justification. Besides, if you COULD actually demonstrate that these things were harmful you'd have a hell of a lawsuit you could launch against michelenas or slimfast. As for commenting on my humour and derision (if you can call it that) they've ALWAYS had a place in discourse.

 

[GeorginaS]

I tend to eat "things" rather than actual meals - a banana for breakfast, a can of peas for dinner. Whatever is available. I eat more or less like a raccoon.

That's what I do! I eat "things". I didn't quite have the proper way to describe it. And most of it is eaten while standing in the kitchen. I tend to keep a hunk of some kind of meat I've cooked in the fridge so I can lop off a hunk for my protein fix. I have a bag of cheese chunks in the fridge so I can grab a piece of that. Later, I'll munch on a bowl of snap peas while reading or being on the computer. It's all really a piece of this and bit of that. I do my best to keep good stuff around that's easily grabbed to munch on. I snack on sugar-free popsicles.

It's yoghurt with hemp hearts for breakfast, tea for lunch, and "things" throughout the evening.

There's an establishment near here called The Dinner Factory where you go and they have stations at which there are all the prepared ingredients to assemble various recipes that they supply. It's all fresh ingredients but pre-chopped/sliced/diced and set out. They have all sorts of varied (the recipes change monthly) and interesting recipes that sometimes have ingredients you'd have to purchase a whole bunch of just to get a teaspoon of for some recipe. So it's actually cost-effective to go to there because they have the item in bulk and you only use as much as you need. Plus, it's super quick to assemble real meals.

So you assemble your choice of fresh meals, and bring them home, and refrigerate or freeze them. I have a bunch of those in my freezer. I have a bunch of a lot of meals in my freezer. (Now that I have lovely large-size freezer.) I rarely eat a thing out of there. I have this fantastic bison stew in there waiting to sit in a slow cooker for the day. Some day. I'll do it. And then, once it's cooked, if I don't bring it to work and feed it to everyone there for lunch, it'll likely go bad in my fridge. I don't know why I even bother trying to make meals when I'm single.

Now, when I live with someone, it's a whole other thing. I cook a meal from fresh ingredients every evening. But, right now, it's MiH's raccoon's diet.

Where were we?

 

[Evo]

That's what I do! I eat "things". I didn't quite have the proper way to describe it. And most of it is eaten while standing in the kitchen. I tend to keep a hunk of some kind of meat I've cooked in the fridge so I can lop off a hunk for my protein fix. I have a bag of cheese chunks in the fridge so I can grab a piece of that. Later, I'll munch on a bowl of snap peas while reading or being on the computer. It's all really a piece of this and bit of that. I do my best to keep good stuff around that's easily grabbed to munch on. I snack on sugar-free popsicles.

It's yoghurt with hemp hearts for breakfast, tea for lunch, and "things" throughout the evening.

There's an establishment near here called The Dinner Factory where you go and they have stations at which there are all the prepared ingredients to assemble various recipes that they supply. It's all fresh ingredients but pre-chopped/sliced/diced and set out. They have all sorts of varied (the recipes change monthly) and interesting recipes that sometimes have ingredients you'd have to purchase a whole bunch of just to get a teaspoon of for some recipe. So it's actually cost-effective to go to there because they have the item in bulk and you only use as much as you need. Plus, it's super quick to assemble real meals.

So you assemble your choice of fresh meals, and bring them home, and refrigerate or freeze them. I have a bunch of those in my freezer. I have a bunch of a lot of meals in my freezer. (Now that I have lovely large-size freezer.) I rarely eat a thing out of there. I have this fantastic bison stew in there waiting to sit in a slow cooker for the day. Some day. I'll do it. And then, once it's cooked, if I don't bring it to work and feed it to everyone there for lunch, it'll likely go bad in my fridge. I don't know why I even bother trying to make meals when I'm single.

Now, when I live with someone, it's a whole other thing. I cook a meal from fresh ingredients every evening. But, right now, it's MiH's raccoon's diet.

Where were we?

Buwahahaha! Oh Georgina, you're me!

You, me & MIH should get together.

 

[Pythagorean]

I'm eating packaged microwave meals every day. My girlfriend cooked up large yields of like five different dishes and froze them all for me so that I wouldn't eat McDonald's and HoHos while she was gone.

 

[DaveC426913]

The OP asked a question, you responded in the negative without a scrap of justification

Actually, no I didn't. You'll see that I have not taken sides in the argument.

My only issue is with your claims and demand for facts. You accused others of using their own personal mythos as a basis for their arguments, then went on and did the exact same thing.

 

[JasonRox]

I'm pretty sure the burden of proof doesn't lie with the skeptic. Unless you can actually demonstrate that something is harmful which is not obviously so (to my knowledge, no one has dropped dead from those funnily named additives in microwaveable dinners) then I'm going to assume it's not. The OP asked a question, you responded in the negative without a scrap of justification, I'm not responding in the positive merely commenting that people who respond in the negative never seem to have justification. Besides, if you COULD actually demonstrate that these things were harmful you'd have a hell of a lawsuit you could launch against michelenas or slimfast. As for commenting on my humour and derision (if you can call it that) they've ALWAYS had a place in discourse.

LOL

So death or no death determines whether it's harmful?

LOL

 

[Moonbear]

Furthermore, your comment about people needing to change their lifestyle to lose weight is just downright silly. People lose weight by eating low fat microwaveable dinners and diet shakes ALL THE TIME.

And then as soon as they stop eating those, because they haven't actually changed their lifestyle habits, just temporarily ate low calorie meals, they gain the weight right back. I do love the ingenuity of the advertising though...people will pay exhorbitant amounts of money just to get meals with less food in them than they usually eat. And, if they need to buy meals portioned by someone else in order to lose weight, that IS a change in lifestyle...clearly their prior lifestyle was to eat too much.

P.S. when your mother told you that eating your brussel sprouts would make you grow up to be big and strong, you do realize she was lying.

My mother never told me that. She served brussels sprouts ONCE when I was a kid. We always had a wide variety of fruits and vegetables (fresh during the summer, frozen or canned from the garden in winter). I'm not sure what your point is with this statement. You seem to have some objection to cooking or eating fresh foods, but other than ranting about eating too much of grandma's pasta, which is not something my grandparents ever served to me and isn't an argument for anything, I'm not at all sure what your objection is. Nobody is arguing that a steady diet of pasta is a healthy diet either.

You want some references, here have a review article for starters.

Food Addit Contam. 2004 Feb;21(2):93-124.
Chemical interactions between additives in foodstuffs: a review.
Scotter MJ, Castle L.

This paper critically reviews the key literature on food additive-additive chemical interactions published over the last 30 years together with appropriate relevant information on food additive-food component interactions. Five main classes of food additive are included, reflecting the research effort to date: the sulfur (IV) species of preservatives, synthetic food colouring materials, nitrate and nitrite, ascorbic acid, and sorbic acid. Within each class, aspects of the chemistry (reactivity), functionality, stability, use and reactions with other specific food additives are reviewed. Where appropriate, the importance of interactions of food additives with other components of food (i.e. nutrients and non-nutrients) has been assessed and certain aspects of toxicology included. The practical outcome of this review is presented as a set of recommendations for future research in this area. The use of the data in this review is proposed as a training set to develop the framework into a diagnostic tool. This might be used ultimately for the development of a multilevel framework, operating systematically, to understand the important parameters that dictate the outcome of additive interactions.

PMID: 14754633 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

I suggest particular attention be paid to the section of that article talking about the interactions of common preservatives with micronutrients in foods to reduce the bioavailability of those nutrients. Being a review article, there's a plethora of further references at the end that you can follow.

 

[Born2bwire]

Microwave meals can be bad for you? Perish the thought. I eat one of these four times a day to keep my girlish figure: http://www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0744/