@Lula Mae: The Johns Hopkins research about toxins that lead to cancer released by microwaving plastic containers has been refuted by Johns Hopkins themselves. That email hoax was widely publicized b/c of the name attached to it. That being said, Snopes says Johns Hopkins denied they ever published such findings and feel that any container labeled "microwave safe" should be considered... microwave safe.

That being said, do what makes you feel more comfy. Personally I'm sketchy about plastic wrap in the microwave. And I agree it looks more presentable on a plate.

@Yahoo Food: I'm not sure if they actually go over it in the article but one thing people who follow a diet heavy in microwave meals need to be aware of is that they are often VERY heavily-loaded with salt. Too much salt, as we know, is not what a body needs, and often these meals can have upwards of 25% of the FDA rec'd daily salt intake. And some nutritionists even argue that number is too high.

SDBryan

I wonder how healthy it can be to eat like this realistically. Doesn't microwaving food eliminate a lot of nutrients? I'll stick to conventional methods which I find taste way better anyways.

redslime

I've been on the "microwave diet" for about five months now. It's a great way to count calories/exercise portion control, and there are plenty of great tasting frozen dinners available.

I got the idea after reading the Hacker's Diet. I'm at -33 pounds and losing, I'm training to run 5Ks, and people are starting to refer to me as skinny!

Jeremy Kendall

I'm fond of cooking up a big batch of "Pot O' Food" every couple of months, feezing it in individual portion sizes (or enough for a couple of portions when I run out of small containers) and then eating that regularly.

My Pot O' Food receipe is black beans, brown rice, chicken, onions, garlic and some random vegetables. Make the beans and rice separately. Brown up the chicken when the garlic and onions. Put it all into a big pot with the vegetables and, if needed, some water (or just the liquid that comes from canned veggies). Cook it up for 30 minutes or so, until everything gets heated through. And you're done. The beans do take a bit of time to cook (dried are cheaper and have less salt than canned), but when I'm going to be around home for an afternoon anyway, it's not a huge deal. Before I microwave my portion for the night, I add some spices (hot sauce, curry, rosemary, whatever I'm in the mood for).
It's cheap, real food that's also good for you.

gt0163c

Trader Joe's -- vegetarian burritos and lasagne. And edamame and some vegetables which can always be mixed with a bit of sauce and rice (ok, I cook the rice in a pot on the stove).

Maybe we microwave too much, but it's a simple way to teach my son (who is 10 and autistic) some really basic cooking skills----yes, there's the radiation but him cooking on a hot stove is not a possibility, yet.

autismvox

mm, i love radiation!

holymogwai

PS: And I'm not so sure I'd call it "healthy" b/c yes, it is pretty processed. I think of it more as "less horrible" than most take out.

And it's really convenient for controlling portions when you're dieting.

Lula Mae Broadway

Last year I lost about 8-10 pounds by using the Weight Watcher's point system... which lead me to Lean Cuisine (they have the points printed right on the box), and I've become a big fan.

A couple of tips:

1.NEVER microwave anything in the plastic tray it comes it. Heat releases toxins etc. Pop that baby out on to a plate. It looks nicer too - like a real meal, and gives you room to...

2. Add extra vegetables. Just pick your favorite frozen veggies, put on plate and follow regular cooking instructions. There's almost always enough extra sauce to go around.

BEST LEAN CUISINES

--Chicken & Noodles peanut sauce with snow peas. (clear winner)
--Shrimp Pasta (large)
--Chicken Portabello (large).
--Turkey & mashed potatoes (large)

WORST LEAN CUISINES
--Salisbury Steak is pretty flavorless
--Salmon & orzo... it's sorta weird... but bigger problem is the salmon gets overcooked and kinda nasty.

Finally, I don't know about your supermarket chain, but it seems I can always find these on sale at 5 for $10.00.

Lula Mae Broadway

That stuff is still pretty processed...

How about a 1/2 bag of "stir-fry veggie mix" and a small can of chicken with some olive oil and sea salt and fresh-ground pepper? Cheaper and healthier and plenty tasty (IMHO).

middy

@roadrage: I have to agree about the Tandoor Chef food... My wife and I eat the Palak Paneer and Curry Kofta almost weekly. Our one year-old daughter even likes to pick apart the kofta! It's some of the best microwave food I've ever had.

j.p.doherty

Pizza in the microwave? That's sick. Frozen meals might cost less than going out but it still cost a lot considering what you get.

Sometimes I pick up a meal that's prepared that day out the cooler. At least I can see the stuff I'll buy.

I rather make some sauce and cook pasta. It might cost a bit more than a can of Ravioli but it's worth it.

Cruds

I love the Amy's cheese burritos dinner, not the one mentioned. I also love the Tandoor Chef frozen Indian meals. They are very filling and although I am a hardcore carnivore, I think they are tasty and I get the additional savings, as in calorie, because some are vegetarian.

Also, the Kashi meals taste like d00-d00 IMHO !

Bottoms up!

roadrage

Aren't microwaveable meals ridiculously high in sodium? My family has a history of strokes, and I'm really not trying to get down with all that.

MarshmallowMark

i have lost 30 lbs on my diet so far in 2 months and most of my meals are coming in the form of Boston market turkey and Stouffer's baked chicken frozen dinners 290 and 250 calories respectively. when i eat a home cooked meal or go out to a restaurant my calorie count for the day is usually twice as much as when i stay home and eat frozen.

flushing

Microwave ovens can destroy more than 90% of the very precious antioxydent (anti-aging, anti-cancer) compounds in food. For instance, a published research on broccoli shows a loss of 97% of flavonoids in broccoli after cooking in a microwave oven. "On the other hand," it says, a greater quantity of antioxydents "will be provided by consumption of steamed broccoli." (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, Volume 83, Issue 14, Pages 1511-1516). This one's on PubMed and at the Society of Chemical Industry.

Personally, I've been using a "convection oven" (also known as "turbo oven".) No microwaves in there. It cooks just as fast and the food has a much better flavor. Ah, life is good.

SamVed

I'm a huge fan of all the Kashi microwavables, and I'm more inclined to feel that they are the healthiest of microwavables because of the trust invested in that Kashi brand name. Whole grains give a natural, fresh feel to it all. I find they have the most "fresh" flavor of any microwavable I've tried.

However - they are not cheap. My local supermarket sells them for $5.99 each. And while that's definitely less than I would spend ordering take-out or going to a restaurant, it's not as cheap as a box of pasta, a few veggies, and a jar of sauce - all of which together can provide several generous dinners.

kmccormi

Healthy microwave dinners? C'mon, you would be kidding yourself. Learn to prepare pasta and other very simple cheap/meal dishes.

Gerald

@Cruds: I'm with you (though our definition of 'make' might differ. I still buy from the jar and heat it up).

Honestly, if you like Angel hair, it doesn't take much longer to cook it than it would to microwave a meal. Heat the sauce in the dish you were going to use to eat anyway, and you only dirty one extra dish.

MrsIrB

If you read the actual article, you'll see that microwaveable meals are being suggested as an alternative on those days when you're so busy and exhausted that your other choice is take-out or fast food. No, they're not good as an everyday diet. But if they're replacing take-out, I'd say that's an improvement.

Plus they give instant portion control. I'd say that's a plus, too.

snowmentality

@SamVed: Excellent Point!

Hate to break it to ya'll, but Microwaving food on an excessive scale (i.e. all the time) removes a great deal of the valuable and balanced nutritional value of your meal.

Go for things you can heat in an oven, or stove-top. Yes, it takes a little longer, but it doesn't come with the radiation strings attached. You can use the extra food-prep time to clean your kitchen, filter your water, hang your laundry, or read a book. Make your meal preparation time part of your process, part of your ritual. Meal time should be for you, and prep time can be too.

In our home we put on upbeat music in the kitchen as we prepare meals. Often one roommate will do most of the cooking as we busy ourselves with housekeeping tasks, or just hang out socializing. This gives us an opportunity to be family, and relate to each other in a relaxed environment, and creates for healthy, well-prepared meals.

theo

There is debate about the health of microwave cooking and how fast food IS heated up. Granted they have become widespread even in professional kitchens, they aren't the best health option. Using a toaster oven or even your regular oven is a better health bet, even if it does take a little longer.

etnie21

I've noticed a few of the Stouffer's dishes, specifically the lasagna dishes and the "BBQ" chicken with potatoes are relatively protein rich and lean (especially compared to fast food) for only a few bucks. I try to eat 2-3 of those per week at work instead of hitting the BBQ or fast food down the street.

skechada

Oh, and as for good microwave foods, I've become rather fond of the Healthy Choice steamers, where the food sits over a tray of sauce, and the sauce serves to steam the food, cooking it even faster and causing less loss of moisture.

HeartBurnKid

@theo: "radiation strings"? We're talking about microwaves, not nuclear fallout here. Essentially, microwave ovens flash-boil the moisture in food, causing it to steam. There's nothing magical about it that "saps nutrients", unless you think that a nice dish of steamed broccoli is also sapped of nutrients (and if it is, you're cooking it for far too long).

And, as for SamVed's study, I wouldn't buy that unless there are other studies to confirm it. You can find a million studies saying different, often contradictory things and, whether due to problems with methodology or simply random factors, many of them are just plain wrong.

HeartBurnKid

just for the record: microwaves are bad!

tedgotsoul

Near East rice/cous-cous and Morningstar Farms fake meat are great and easily microwaved. They're also reasonably cheap and plentiful, especially the Near East stuff.

Erwos

@SDBryan: Cooking in plastic just seems like a bad idea... seems like common sense not to do it.

And I must say, I never really thought about putting some of these frozen meals on a plate in the oven instead of the microwave - gonna give it a try.

And finally - when I do eat this way to diet and control portions, I often make a gigantic side salad to get all the good green stuff. As long as you don't over do it with the dressing, it's all good.

Lula Mae Broadway

Oh good. I was fearful, at first, when I saw this, but the LifeHacker community has made me proud.

When I was in college, I used to take various combinations of frozen meats (sausage, chicken breast, etc.) easy pasta (ramen, macaroni, etc.) and fresh veggies (whatever I could steal from the salad bar the the dining hall) and that would make a hefty meal in the same time as preparing a frozen dinner, and much better tasting.

lentorre

It's not expensive nor time consuming to buy good antibiotic-free chicken, fresh veggies and brown rice or quinoa. If you make the grain ahead of time and keep a couple of cups in the fridge cooked in advanced, you can use an electric steamer to make a fresh and healthy meal in 15 minutes.

I do this for lunch and dinner, 5 days a week, rotating vegetables. My grocery bills come to about $35 a week, and according to my last check up my cholesterol has gone down and everything is in good order. It makes for a light lunch at work that doesn't drag me down in the afternoon, or a dinner that doesn't make me want to plop on the couch and doze off at night.

Frozen foods are full of preservatives and sodium, and the nutritional value of the ingredients is severely degredated.

A little self-discipline goes a long way.

palexc

Read Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation" especially chapter 5 "Why the Fries Taste So Good."

eigafan

I'm not too sure about this one. This diet would help in terms of portioning and convenience, but like what everyone is saying, there are some cons with relying on a microwave to cook meals. (Loss of nutrients, potential high sodium levels, moisture, etc.)

Just because it's advertised as "healthy" doesn't necessarily mean that it is.

chareverie

Yeah, let's get healthy by altering the chemical properties of our food. Read more: [www.mindfully.org]

gavman00

what's so healthy about all the radiation from the microwave in your food and all the stuff they put on frozen foods to keep them from going bad? Some people just have the wrong idea about eating healthy.

rohatsu

There is nothing healthy about microwave cooking, or frozen entrees. Really.

zingbot

Yes, heavily processed foods are bad for you and bad for the environment. Nevertheless, there's nothing magic about microwave radiation. Guess what? Cooking your food over a campfire or broiling in a conventional oven is the result of radiation, too. Radiation is just energy. In a very literal sense, there's nothing else there. Just energy. When something heats up without direct contact or the transfer of hot air, that's radiation at work. The danger with radiation is when the energy is strong enough to ionize atoms (that is to say, strong radiation can cause electrons to get so excited that they leave, therefore changing the chemical properties of the atom.) Microwave radiation is not strong enough to do this, same as the radiation heat from your conventional oven.

Heating (some? all?) plastics by any means can leech toxins. Some plastics will leech all by themselves. Seriously, don't use a non-food-safe CD spindle to store your bagel sandwiches, mmm'kay? Microwaves also hurt the environment by using an awful amount of electricity. And goodness knows what the heck penny pinching corporations are putting in our food and packaging. Nevertheless, we're not going to make a strong case for our health and environment by using scare words and bad science to protect ourselves.

Source:
[en.wikipedia.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]
[www.consumerreports.org]

skwirl

@seethesky: If you want a warm meal away from home without a microwave, I'd dare say your only real option is MREs. And, trust me, those are not an option you'll be happy with.

HeartBurnKid

Ok, people, what you have to realize is that HEALTHY IS RELATIVE. If you're comparing a microwavable meal to a home cooked meal, then of course its not healthy! But if you're comparing a microwavable meal to fast food, then it is very healthy.
Replacing every fast food meal with a microwavable meal that you can is a great idea. If you eat fast food everyday then eating a microwavable meal everyday would be a great switch. Its just as cheap and it takes less time to microwave than it does to drive to your fast food place, wait in line, wait for them to get the food, and drive back. And you wont have to deal with them mixing up your order. The microwave diners probably wont taste as good to you because they don't have as much grease, but you will loose weight. And since you're making this great switch, you should also try to cut down on soda and drink juice instead. The health-nuts will point out that juice has a lot of sugar in it, but it is a lot better than soda and a lot of people would say that juice tastes just as good.
Now of course, if you have time to cook, then do it. Nobody is saying that microwavable dinners are better than a home cooked meal.
Personally, I eat a lot of fast food because I just don't have time to cook more than 2 or 3 times a week so I'm going to try to eat more microwavable dinners and eat less fast food.

bedaily

Any suggestions on healthy meals away from home that require no microwaving? Cold sandwiches and salads are fine in the summer, but now that fall is here, I definitely crave something warm. It'll save money and calories if I don't have to depend on buying meals on the go when I don't have access to a microwave or a kitchen.

seethesky

There's no way a meal from a microwave can be considered HEALTHY. You've got the radiation, "leaky" plastic, plus preserved and processed food - Go for it if you want cheap, but stay far away if you want healthy.

Winkyboy