Suggestions on Frozen Dinners
#265991 - 05/27/06 09:57 PM
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I've been trying to follow the IBS diet as much as possible.
While I have seen aid, slowly, this has created another problem, stress.
I have a somewhat hectic life, and having to avoid prepared, premade, frozen meals for the most part since they usually have dairy, high levels of fat, and are not filling, has made dinner and life more stressful and difficult.
There are many times when it would be soooo nice to come home, microwave some lasange or hot dogs, and have dinner cooked with no dishes to clean, feeling nice and full within 10 minutes.
I simply can't in the summer keep eating the same chicken or spending upwards of an hour preparing, cooking, and cleaning every night while being full, something needs to give.
I wanted to know if you had any product alternatives such as lasagne or hot dogs, only that won't make IBS bad, which I can easily prepare, start to finish, quickly like frozen meals and be done eating, thanks.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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Girl, I'm right there with ya about not wanting to cook, dirty pans, etc. In fact, I flat-out refuse to try and completely change my nature...I HATE to cook, and I know trying to force myself to do this isn't going to lead to successful eating for IBS & adds more stress.
So...I shop at Whole Foods and/or Trader Joe's (health food stores). Both places have good ready-made frozen alternatives that don't have dairy and the other no-no's that we have to avoid. Whole Foods for sure. Trader Joe's might take some looking & label-reading, tho they use all-natural ingredients. Whole Foods seems to "specialize" in foods for people with particular diets (no dairy, no meat, gluten-intolerance, etc).
"Amy's" brand stuff is really good. Also - look for Annie Chung's (sp?) noodle soups & noodle dish "boxes" that just require you to add water and some sauce mix & microwave...that's it. Some of the "Tasty Bite" indian dishes (readymade, room temp - not in frozen section) might work too, but read the label.
Other than that, I've started to read the ingredients on the back of some of the other standard frozen dinners - Lean Cuisine & such. Or concentrate on pasta & sauce. I can (just barely) manage to wait for water to boil & the pasta to cook! But it's easy, at least! So is rice in a rice cooker flavored with spices or chicken stock (tho rice takes longer to cook...but you can walk away from the rice cooker & forget it & it won't burn...turns off automatically)
If you have a natural foods store (health food store) near you, check that out - Whole Foods & Trader Joe's is what we have out here in CA. Be forewarned...the prices at these places may be a bit higher than standard supermarkets, but you know what you're getting is top-quality & uber-healthy.
Hope this helps!
~ Emily
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East Palo Alto, CA (San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley)
IBS-C, pain, nausea
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As a matter of fact, I do have a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.
What are some examples of good, filling, safe forzen dinners?
I have looked at both, and seen Amy's.
Her foods are pizza, which has dairy, burritos, which has cheese, I have not seen any good alternatives she makes.
If you have examples of frozen dinners at either of the stores please share this way I can know what to look for.
Are these dinners good tasting and filling, like regular frozen dinners, because I sure do miss flavor in prepared foods and do get hungry. Thanks.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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Try doing a search for frozen dinners. Here's one I found to get you started. Frozen dinners
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~ Beth
Constipation, pain prodominent,cramps, spasms and bloat!
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What I usually do is cook my meals on weekends then freeze them in meal portions. So the night before I take out whatever I'm going to eat from the freezer to defrost in the refrig then when I get home from work, just zap in the microwave. So much easier for me.
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Amy's makes a number frozen dinners with non-dairy cheese alternatives. There's a There's macaroni & soy "cheeze" and there are rice and soy "cheeze" pizzas. There is also a soy cheese lasagne. You simply need to read the labels. The users that suggested Amy's products do indeed know what they are talking about.
If you can tolerate beans, I recommend the tamale pie. There is also a non-dairy black bean burrito, but I haven't tried that one yet.
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I agree with the previous poster - it's really difficult to ask us for specific meals to look for. Partly 'cause I seriously don't keep track of what exactly is available in each specific store, and partly because we all have such varying reactions to different foods. And who knows if you'd like soy pizza, soy taquitos, etc.??
So...go to Whole Foods, Trader Joes or wherever & check out the easy, quick food options. Both frozen & otherwise. Just explore & be open to trying different things to see if you like the taste & can safely eat them.
Again, you can find meal options that are totally microwaveable & have no prep ALL OVER the stores. They're not always frozen. This increases your variety. Those Annie Chung's noodle bowls/boxes are an example, as is the Tasty Bite indian meals. Ingredients are vacuum packed or something to preserve the noodles & whatnot (but still no preservatives, so safe for us).
Happy hunting (& tasting). Don't forget to read the labels!!!
~ E.
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East Palo Alto, CA (San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley)
IBS-C, pain, nausea
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so true!
#266290 - 05/30/06 05:26 AM
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khyricat
Reged: 08/05/04
Posts: 3612
Loc: Michigan
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I do a variant on Once a month cooking I call once a week cooking (sometimes twice) I make at least one MAJOR meal that will have 7 leftover meals in it each week (sometimes 2) and I freeze individual servings- I can use them for dinners/lunches during the week... DH can eat the normal frozen stuff for him... there is always a well labeled variety of things in the freezer and fridge...
Amie
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Dietetics Student (anticipating RD exam in Aug 2010)
IBS - A
Dairy Allergic
Fructose and MSG intollerant
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My favorite frozen meals are Amy's brown rice bowl with tofu and vegetables (it's vegan, and has no artificial stuff or MSG!) and her non-dairy black bean enchiladas and burritos. Amy's also makes a black-eyed peas, brown rice and veggies entree that I haven't tried yet. Also, check out other prepared foods at Whole Foods and TJs...there are these black bean and corn tamales Whole Foods sells that are ready to microwave and eat in less than a minute. They also have ready made meals, but these can get a little more pricey, so I buy them pretty rarely. Morningstar farms makes great corn dogs, chicken nuggets, veggie burgers, and tofu dogs that you might also enjoy. Canned soups like the ones Amy's makes, or the Imagine brand ones, are also great no-cook meals. Experiment with thowing things together quickly from canned, frozen and/or fresh ingredients, like a can of lentil soup with pita and a small side salad, or some canned black beans, avocado, salsa, and a tortilla...it seriously takes less than 5 minutes to make. You can also buy packages of ready-cooked lean chicken meat at most grocery stores (at Trader Joe's for sure) that are great for throwing into salads, stirfries or wraps when you don't want to go through all the trouble of cleaning, cutting and cooking meat. Hope that helps a little...Good luck!
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Julia
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Thanks.
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IBS-C and Bloating
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