I decided since the kids are not with me this week and hubby is out of town there would be no excuse (other than will power) not toeat 100% healthy. I just got back from vacation so my fridges were empty too (but not the freezer) So I bought Frozen diet meeals for dinners so I would not have to cook. I had a Totinos party pizza in my freezer and when I compared it to the Weight Watchers Smart Ones Pepporoni Pizza I was suprised that the Totinos one was "better"--depending on what your counting. The only place where the WW pizza was better was the fat grams Totinos was 20 and the WW was 11. But sodium, carbs, calories, everything else was HIGHER on the WW!!

_________________
~Karen
Moderator

The bad thing about those diet frozen meals is that unless you are on that diet (like weight watchers) you could be doing more harm then good. The food labels are very missleading you really need to learn how to read the food labels because manufactures will code words so you don't think you are getting anything bad and in fact you are.
Here are some food label tips.
Sugar-free does not mean card-free. Compare the total carbs content of a sugar-free food with that of a standard product. If there is a big difference in the carb content of the two foods, you may watn to buy sugar-free food.
"No sugar added" foods do not have any form of sugar added during processing or packaging and do not contain high-sugar ingredients, but they are not sugar free. These foods may still be high in carbs.
Fat free foods can be higher in carbs than their regular fat conterparts and may have almost as many calories.
Read the ingredients of the food contient. Like I said before manufactures like to code so that you don't know what you are acutally eating. If the first 5 words of the food contient has sugar in it it is not good. Usally if something is at the end of the list then there is not very much of it in there. One thing I always go by is if anything in the first 5 words of the food contient ryme with gross like for example: Dextrose, or Fructose That is a code word for sugar.
A good fat in your food is the Saturated Fat they slow down your rate of which you aborb food, so it is letting you go longer before becoming hunger.\
A bad fat is Trans-fat they are in most processed foods. These fats are man made and they put them in these foods basically to be able to keep them on the shelfs longer. They put them in your chips, cookies, breakfast cereals, and even protein bars. Don't you ever wonder how some of the foods you buy like cookies and cereals can stay on the shelfs so long, and even before they get to the shelfs they are in a wharehouse for who knows how long.

Here is the FDA Specifications for health claims and desciptive terms:

CLAIM REQUIREMENT THAT MUST BE MET
Fat-Free Less than 0.5g fat per serving , with no added fat or oil
Low Fat 3g fat or less per serving
Less Fat 25% less fat than the regular-fat product.
Saturated Fat-Free Less than 0.5g saturated fat and 0.5g trans-fatty acids per serving.
Cholesterol-free Less than 2mg cholesterol per serving and 2g or less sturated fat per serving.
Low Cholesterol 20 mg or less cholesterol per serving and 2g or less saturated fat per serving.
Reduced calorie At least 25% less calories per serving than the regular calorie product.
Low Calorie 40 calories or less per serving.
Extra Lean Less than 5g fat, 2g saturated fat, and 95 mg cholesterol per 100g serving of meat, poultry, or seafood.
Lean Less than 10g fat, 4.5g saturated fat, and 95mg cholesterol per 100g serving of meat, poultry or seafood.
Light (fat) 50% or less of the fat than in the regular-fat food
Light ( calories) One-third fewer calories than the regular-calorie food.
High-fiber 5g or more fiber per serving.
Sugar-free Less than 0.5g sugar per serving.
Sodium-free, or salt free Less than 5mg sodium per serving
Low sodium 140mg or less per serving
Very low sodium 35mg or less per serving
Healthy Low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and contains at least 10% of the recommended daily values for vitamins A,C, iron, calcium,protein, or fiber per serving.
"High," Rich in", or "Execellent Source" 20% or more of the recommended daily values for a given nutrient per serving.
"Less", "Fewer," or "Reduced" At least 25% less calories or other nutrient per serving than the regular food.
"Low," "Little," "Few," or "Low sorce of" An amount so insignificant that it allows frequent consumption of the food without exceeding the recommended daily values. This claim can only be made if it applies to all similar foods on the market.
"Good source of," More," or "added" Provides 10% more of the recommended daily value of any given nutrient than the comparison food.

Sorry I know this is long but I really hope it helps. I know that those frozen foods are quick and easy and very tempting but they are made for just that. If you make your own healthy meals then atleast you know exactally what is in there.
Sanya

I normally do cook my own foods. However just coming back from vacation and having to unpack (went there with 3 cary-ons...mostly snacks and 1 suitcase) and coming back with 6 huge suitcases and 3 carryons I have a ton of stuff to do. My house is horrible looking now. Plus I keep traveling to and from Okemah where hubby is I have no time to cook so I was looking for an easy way out seems like tonight after work and my Medical Reserve Corp Meeting and then after going to the motel and helping the grandpa there on his citizenship test I need to go home and cook a few meals!

_________________
~Karen
Moderator