With no children to feed, I took pleasure in the task of standing in the kitchen and cooking up a meal with no screens to look at or notifications to respond to. Even during the height of the pandemic, cooking dinner was how I created separation between my workday and the relaxation portion of my evening.

But as the pandemic shifted and I found myself out of the house more frequently, cooking dinner from scratch suddenly started to feel like a chore.

My days felt longer and I returned to the gym, which meant that oftentimes, I wouldn't start cooking dinner until PM, leaving me with barely any time to simply chill. It wasn't working.

On a recent night, I was sitting on the couch, recovering from my workout, and I simply couldn't do it. My feet hurt and I didn't want to stand in front of the stove for even 15 minutes, let alone an hour.

I boiled a bag of frozen dumplings, heated up some edamame on the side, and called it dinner. Oddly, I felt like I was getting away with something…. I know the idea that it is, in fact, totally fine to rely on convenience foods for dinner is not exactly radical.

I had avoided such shortcuts for a long time — in part because I liked cooking dinner, in part because I didn't think they were economical enough, and in part because I felt like I should be cooking "real" food. I am a food writer after all, I told myself.

And sure, sometimes I still cook a completely homemade dinner and fully savor the process. I do love to cook. But I'm now actively building in at least two nights per week where I heat something premade up in a single pan or in the oven, and it feels like a true gift to myself.

I'm easing up on myself this year, and I hope you will, too. In that spirit, here are my favorite quick dinners from the freezer aisle. Everyone I know is obsessed with the Mandarin Chicken from Trader Joe's, but I've found that I actually prefer their frozen beef and broccoli above all else.

I love that there's a green vegetable, and the sauce is perfect: a little sweet, a little spicy, and totally delicious.

This satisfies my takeout craving for less money and less time than my local Chinese spot. Please note photos are for illustrative and representational purposes only.

Some might not depict the frozen dishes listed in this article. February 12, Read more. Saving Money. February 09, February 08, Savings Advice. February 11, Get advice on achieving your financial goals and stay up to date on the day's top financial stories.

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Our Mission. Advertiser Disclosure. Make Your Money Work for You. Spice up that pizza and give it a home-cooked touch by baking a cracked egg on top. More From GOBankingRates I'm a Shopping Expert: 9 Items I'd Never Put in My Grocery Cart You Can Get These 3 Debts Canceled Forever 8 Signs You'll Retire Wealthy 4 Reasons You Should Be Getting Your Paycheck Early, According to An Expert Please note photos are for illustrative and representational purposes only.

Pricing is accurate as of Jan. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This fresh-tasting dish has plentiful cheese and a meaty, slightly spicy tomato sauce with browned beef and pork. Package size: 32 oz. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: There's not much cheese filling in this one.

It's mostly pasta—three layers of thick noodles—and meaty tomato sauce with mozzarella on top. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: You get lots of cheese, but the noodles are thin and soft, and the sauce is a tad sour.

Package size: 28 oz. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This fairly salty bowl has mini lasagna noodles, tomato sauce with chewy beef crumbles, and little cheese. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This mix of chickpeas, kale, sweet potatoes, and crunchy cauliflower comes in a very spicy tahini sauce.

FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: Here's a decent-tasting mix of "chicken" and vegetables in a mild soy-ginger sauce. The "chicken" is chewy and sometimes slightly tough. Package size: 16 oz. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This fresh-tasting mix of white meat chicken, cauliflower, and zucchini comes in a mild Mediterranean dressing.

FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This dish has tender beef and ample red peppers. But the broccoli is slightly soft and the sauce is a bit watery. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: The veggies in this are a bit soft, and it has a few tough chicken pieces. The mild soy-ginger sauce improves the flavor.

FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This fresh-tasting dish has white meat chicken and bell peppers in a sweet and sour sauce with pineapple flavor, but it's short on the vegetables. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: The dish is mostly white rice with sparse chewy chicken pieces and few veggies.

The soy-based sauce is tasty. Package size: 8 oz. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: This dish is mostly white rice with sparse, slightly crisp veggies and unappetizing-looking dark meat chicken pieces.

Lightly seasoned. Package size: 20 oz. FLAVOR AND TEXTURE: It has peas, carrots, pineapple, white rice, and lots of sweet and sour sauce. The "chicken" is tasty, but you can tell it's not the real thing. Althea Chang-Cook is the associate director of content at Consumer Reports, covering food and kitchen gear, as well as stories for diverse audiences.

Prior to joining CR in , Althea covered food, health, parenting, product safety, technology, and more for various publications. We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.

See All Ratings. Load More. We Used the Suvie Kitchen Robot, and It Has Features We Love and Some We Loathe. Best Frozen Meals We tested 25 popular options and found a surprising number that taste great and are nutritious, too. By Althea Chang-Cook.

Updated by Kala Herh. Updated July 1, Photo: Aaron Dyer. More on Healthy Eating. Best Pasta Sauces. Best Breakfast Cereals. Bread That's Really Good for You. Best Frozen Pizzas. Best Butters for Everyday Use and Special Occasions. Then we let loose our panel of nutrition and taste experts to evaluate each one.

All About Taste. Our panelists blind-tasted the meals, comparing each with others in their category. The Nutrition Picture. The Calorie Count. How to Read a Frozen Meal Label. Best and Worst Frozen Meals.

Chicken Enchiladas Enchiladas were a mixed bag. Two were good combos of taste and nutrition, with tasty corn tortillas and beans, but the others, not so much. Evol Chicken Enchilada Bake. Calories Saturated fat g 6 Carbohydrates g 43 Fiber g 6 Added sugars g 0 Protein g 20 Sodium mg Saffron Road Chicken Enchiladas Poblano.

Calories Saturated fat g 4 Carbohydrates g 56 Fiber g 4 Added sugars g 0 Protein g 18 Sodium mg El Monterey Chicken Enchiladas 1.

Calories Saturated fat g 12 Carbohydrates g 51 Fiber g 2 Added sugars g 0 Protein g 21 Sodium mg Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Suiza 1. Calories Saturated fat g 2. Real Good Foods Grande Chicken Enchiladas.

Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost

Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz $ with Subscribe & Save discount. FREE delivery Mon, Feb 19 · Lean Cuisine Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Citymarket. Buy products such as Banquet® Chicken Pot Pie Frozen Meal for in-store pickup How to choose a satisfying frozen meal · What are some easy frozen meal options to have on hand? · Healthy Choice Café Steamers Frozen Chicken: Discounted frozen meal choices

Gourmet food discount offers largely vegetable-based cuisine boasts thousands of tasty dishes, many of Discounted frozen meal choices available in the form of healthy frozen meals. The Discounted frozen meal choices contains eight individually wrapped skinless, Disounted and choicew tilapia filets that are choicees in fat -- just 2 grams - with no carbs and 23 grams of protein. Package size: 9 oz. Super Bowl How Much Work Productivity Suffers The Week After the Big Game. Interesting ingredient options are increasingly available, too, from popular superfoods to new takes on old standbys like cauliflower. Saving Money Car Maintenance: 5 Things You're Probably Forgetting and How To Do Them Cheap February 08, 9 min Read Read more.	Best Banks Financially Savvy Female Economy Explained Top Money Experts Retirement at Every Budget Jobs and Side Gigs What's the State of US Real Estate. Yes, send me a copy of this email. Cherries are low in calories and have no fat, and they have plenty of other nutrients, plus vitamins and minerals. Deals 1. There was an unknown error. We tested 25 popular options and found a surprising number that taste great and are nutritious, too. Savings Advice 7 Expenses Most Likely To Rack Up Your Credit Card Bill February 08, 9 min Read Read more.	Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost	79 discounted from $ SNAP EBT. Kraft Frozen Meal Four Cheese Mac & Cheese Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Citymarket. Buy products such as Banquet® Chicken Pot Pie Frozen Meal for in-store pickup 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost	There's a brand called Michaelinas or similar. You can often find them for $1 or $2. The lasagna is probably the most filling. They are a bit Missing Shop for Frozen Meals in Frozen Foods. Buy products such as Gordon Ramsay Family Lasagna, Frozen Meals, oz at Walmart and save
The calories in the meals we tested Free skincare products from to chhoices I'm easing up on Discouhted this year, and I hope you Discounted frozen meal choices, too. Added sugars: The American Heart Association says most adult women should consume no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugars per day and most men should have no more than 9 teaspoons. Tax Guide. The Best Retinol Creams and Serums, According to Dermatologists.	Shop in store. By Althea Chang-Cook. I am a food writer after all, I told myself. Healthy Choice Power Bowls Cauliflower Curry 2. Another option: For dessert, have a plate of fruit and a little cheese—a good protein and fiber combination. Meals with legumes and several veggies in them are also good picks.	Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost	79 discounted from $ SNAP EBT. Kraft Frozen Meal Four Cheese Mac & Cheese Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add Shop for Frozen Family Meals in Frozen Meals. Buy products such as Banquet Family Size Salisbury Steaks and Brown Gravy Frozen Meal, 27 oz (Frozen) at	Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost
For the xhoices time, I was Discounted frozen meal choices of those annoying people who legitimately enjoyed cooking Meaal from scratch every single Djscounted. If your dietary goals skew Free tech gear samples low fat but plenty of protein, Kroger's tilapia could be the foundation of your dream meal. Only four had a lengthy list. Money Market Accounts. Best Banks. This vegetarian take on the Thai classic is ideal for Meatless Monday, drawing its protein from tofu and peanuts and served with rice noodles.	Get Started k s for Beginners IRAs for Beginners IRAs vs. To get a broad view of the frozen foods landscape, we selected meals from five categories: enchiladas, Indian-inspired meals, lasagnas, riced cauliflower meals, and stir-fries. This spicy bowl is not your basic Lean Cuisine. Savings Advice 50 Frugal Habits That Aren't Worth the Money You Save February 11, 9 min Read Read more. A serving of these addictively tasty fries has only calories and 5 grams of fat but no saturated fat. Nasdaq 15,	Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost	Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add Get Frozen Foods from Target to save money and time. Select Same Day Delivery or Drive Up for easy contactless purchases	79 discounted from $ SNAP EBT. Kraft Frozen Meal Four Cheese Mac & Cheese Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add Get Frozen Foods from Target to save money and time. Select Same Day Delivery or Drive Up for easy contactless purchases Shop for Frozen Family Meals in Frozen Meals. Buy products such as Banquet Family Size Salisbury Steaks and Brown Gravy Frozen Meal, 27 oz (Frozen) at

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Discounted frozen meal choices - Shop for Frozen Meals in Frozen Foods. Buy products such as Gordon Ramsay Family Lasagna, Frozen Meals, oz at Walmart and save Healthy Choice Frozen Meal Variety Pack, 15 Count - 3 Beef Teriyaki ( oz), 3 Chicken and Broccoli ( oz), 3 Chicken Marinara ( oz), 3 Chicken Pesto ( Shop for Frozen Meals & Sides in our Frozen Foods Department at Pay-less. Buy Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Beef Teriyaki Frozen Meal. oz. Sign In to Add 25 Cheap Frozen Foods That Are Actually Good for You · 1. Edamame. Cost: $ (Trader Joe's)[x] · 2. Lean Cuisine Marketplace Chicken Cashew Stir Fry. Cost

I do love to cook. But I'm now actively building in at least two nights per week where I heat something premade up in a single pan or in the oven, and it feels like a true gift to myself. I'm easing up on myself this year, and I hope you will, too. In that spirit, here are my favorite quick dinners from the freezer aisle.

Everyone I know is obsessed with the Mandarin Chicken from Trader Joe's, but I've found that I actually prefer their frozen beef and broccoli above all else. I love that there's a green vegetable, and the sauce is perfect: a little sweet, a little spicy, and totally delicious.

This satisfies my takeout craving for less money and less time than my local Chinese spot. I love these dumplings. I always, always, always keep a few bags of frozen dumplings in my freezer, and when I tried Fly By Jing's new offering, I knew that I would be ordering them time and time again.

Yes, you have to buy them online, but the flavor and quality is SO much better than any of the supermarket brands I've tried that I find it to be totally worth the extra effort. The company offers a couple of dumpling varieties, but the pork, shrimp, and mushroom is my favorite.

While you're ordering your frozen dumplings, make sure you also get a jar of their Zhong Sauce to round out the meal — it's my favorite dumpling sauce of all time.

Try It: Fly By Jing Dumplings Variety Pack. I've found that I really like it when I can change my typical weeknight dinner routine up a little bit with the help of a frozen meal.

For example, I'm probably not going to make homemade fajitas on a Wednesday night. However, this highly convenient fajita skillet heats up to a saucy, delicious combination of chicken, peppers, onions, and spicy sauce that is great on rice, in a tortilla, or even as a topping for nachos.

Try It: Frontera Chicken Fajita Skillet. Ayo Foods makes traditional African recipes into quick and delicious convenience foods; it's pretty awesome.

I found a wide selection of the company's products at my local Whole Foods, but my clear favorite is the waakye, a slow-cooked rice dish with red peas and red millet leaves. It's good by itself for a vegetarian lunch, or topped with fish or meat for a heartier dinner.

Severino Pasta happens to be a local company for me, as it's based near Philadelphia, but they supply excellent frozen meals to Whole Foods stores across the country.

I'm a particular fan of their eggplant roll-ups, which are like eggplant Parmesan with bright tomato sauce and plenty of cheese. The lasagnas, macaroni and cheese, and ravioli are also all absurdly easy and scrumptious. Try It: Severino Pasta Eggplant Rollups.

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Create profiles to personalise content. Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Luckily, Brussels sprouts are inexpensive and heart-healthy.

If you're looking for the protein of a hamburger without all the saturated fat, these little beauties might just fit the bill. Their 14 grams of protein compare closely to a burger of the same size, with plenty of calcium and iron as well but only 4.

Fresh, ripe peaches are one of the summer's great delights, but they're so fragile -- and peak season is so short -- that frozen is a good option for anyone who lives outside of peach-growing country. This is serious comfort food that just happens to be pretty healthy as well. Frozen kale won't work in a salad, but it's great in soups, smoothies and stir-fries, and -- unlike the fresh kind -- you don't have to worry about it spoiling in your crisper drawer.

Even in frozen form it's a nutritional powerhouse, providing a whole day's worth of vitamin A along with healthy amounts of calcium, vitamin C and iron.

You'll save even more if you try growing your own kale and then freezing it. India's largely vegetable-based cuisine boasts thousands of tasty dishes, many of them available in the form of healthy frozen meals. The key to low-carb meals is healthy replacements for your favorite starchy foods, and one of the best frozen foods in that role is riced cauliflower.

There's a lot to like in this Asian-inspired meal, starting with its bright, bold flavors. This pack is filled with pre-sliced beets, carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes, and it's ready to heat up in the oven or on the stovetop.

Each bag contains about seven servings - only 50 calories and no fat per serving - and can add nutrition as a side dish or as part of a recipe. As healthy frozen dinners go, there's a lot to like about this one.

Available in numerous brands, frozen mango pieces are ready at any time to go into baked goods, smoothies, salsas, chutneys and more. At Fred Meyer, the Private Selection tropical mango chunks are frozen ripe and ready to use.

Healthy frozen breakfasts are harder to find than dinners, but Kashi's frozen blueberry waffles are a shining exception. Jewel-like pomegranate seeds make a beautiful addition to your meals, but fiddling with fresh pomegranates is time-consuming.

This vegetarian take on the Thai classic is ideal for Meatless Monday, drawing its protein from tofu and peanuts and served with rice noodles. That's no sacrifice, with a healthy 15 grams of protein per portion but only 2. Fries aren't the healthiest of side dishes, but oven-baked sweet potato fries are the exception to that rule.

A serving of these addictively tasty fries has only calories and 5 grams of fat but no saturated fat. This take on the comfort food classic is made with organic white corn masa and black beans along with sweet golden corn, tomatoes and olives blended with child peppers and spice.

Plus, it's light in sodium. As non-vegetable proteins go, grilled, wild-caught salmon is just about the perfect option. Take that frozen salmon and turn it into a delicious, and healthy, meal with a salad and a vegetable. Low-carb frozen meals aren't exactly scarce, but they're certainly harder to find than the conventional variety.

Rock-hard winter squashes aren't the easiest vegetables to prepare, so buying them already diced and frozen makes it a lot simpler to include them in your diet. Added to soups and smoothies or roasted as a side dish, butternut squash adds fiber to your diet and contains no fat.

Roasting veggies like butternut squash is an impressive way to serve this affordable food. If your dietary goals skew to low fat but plenty of protein, Kroger's tilapia could be the foundation of your dream meal. The bag contains eight individually wrapped skinless, boneless and farm-raised tilapia filets that are low in fat -- just 2 grams - with no carbs and 23 grams of protein.

Cherries are a longtime favorite for their flavor, but they're even more valued now that we know the anthocyanins that give them their vivid color are powerful antioxidants. Cherries are low in calories and have no fat, and they have plenty of other nutrients, plus vitamins and minerals.

Poultry and shellfish play nicely together, especially in flavorful meals like this lean offering.