Ingredient Problem?

Diet and Nutrition
1

I was considering eating a frozen meal once per day that looks to have mostly natural ingredients in it on the surface. I don’t know crap about the long term effects of preservative consumption etc. on the body. Below is the ingredient list. Any comments on whether this stuff would be bad to eat daily?

P.S. I know I could eliminate alot of concern by simply preparing it myself. Just honestly trying to save the time.

INGREDIENTS: VEGETABLES: BROCCOLI, CORN, CARROTS. PASTA: ENRICHED DURUM SEMOLINA (WATER, DURUM SEMOLINA, NIACIN, FERROUS SULFATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID). GRILLED DICED CHICKEN BREAST MEAT COATED WITH SEASONING: CHICKEN, WATER, ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, SEASONING (SUGAR, GARLIC, DEHYDRATED ROMANO CHEESE [PASTEURIZED COW’S MILK, CHEESE CULTURES, SALT, ENZYMES], DEHYDRATED ONION), SALT, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, NATURAL FLAVOR. COATING INGREDIENTS: CORN FLOUR, WHEAT FLOUR, SALT, CORN STARCH, SPICES, PAPRIKA, MALTODEXTRIN, CARAMEL COLOR, DEFATTED SOY FLOUR, SODIUM ALGINATE, BAKING POWDER (BAKING SODA, CORN STARCH, SODIUM ALUMINUM SULFATE, CALCIUM SULFATE, CALCIUM ACID PHOSPHATE), EXTRACTIVES OF PAPRIKA. SAUCE ON PASTA: CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL, WHEY, SALT, DRY BUTTERMILK, MALTODEXTRIN, NONFAT DRY MILK, WHEAT FLOUR ENRICHED WITH (NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), HEAVY CREAM, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, DISODIUM PHOSPHATE, CORN SYRUP, ENZYME MODIFIED CREAM (CREAM ENZYMES), CITRIC ACID, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM CASEINATE, XANTHAN GUM, SPICE, PARMESAN CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), BLUE CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, SALT, ENZYMES), CHABLIS WINE, ENZYME MODIFIED BUTTERFAT (CREAM, ENZYMES), ARTIFICIAL COLOR (FD&C YELLOW 5 AND FD&C YELLOW 6), MALIC ACID, SODIUM CITRATE, WATER, LACTIC ACID.
CONTAINS WHEAT, SOY, MILK.

2

As a side note, I have a post on here (Anabolic Diet “Adapting”?)where I post a question about my 7 month stint on the Anabolic Diet. I have never found that I was able to gain appreciable size on that diet after several attempts now. I think it stands alone as the best fat loss diet out there, but for size, I just need carbs. I am ending my Anabolic Diet and this is why I am asking about the attached frozen, carb-containing food.

3

Why are you eating pasta on the AD?

Edit: Just saw your second post. Other than the soy stuff it doesn’t look too bad.

4

If you’re stopping the AD, and you’re wanting to bulk… Saving time is probably important cause you’ll be eating a lot more anyway right?

If you cant be bothered to prepare it, and you’re more likely to eat more if you’re getting packaged food do it - if thats your goal. You wont be bulking for years right?

I need to tell you though, for the average size of a ready-meal thats a lot of ingredients so you can guess how “healthy” it is surely.

P.S … dude, it takes no time to knock up a weeks worth of chili with fresh beef, onion, chopped tomato, herbs, peppers, kidney beans… you could even cook a load of rice as well, get loads of small containers and freeze that down so you have instant rice ready to zap in the microwave. I bet it would probably work out cheaper than the ready meals anyway and be a damn sight healthier.

But thats me!

5

I guess you’re right. I don’t think all that extra crap day after day can be good. What’s funny is that I am totally fine with “eating for function” (good body comp. macro ratios). I don’t need any fancy meals, but I when I search for simpler BBing meals, I always come across recipes for stuff with fruity names like “Santa Fe Salmon Burrito Suprise”. I’m not realistically going to prepare something with 23 ingredients.

My problem is that i’m on the road alot, so heating food isn’t always possible. I also need to make stuff in bulk. I can keep stuff cold on the road, but how many type meals does that leave you? I don’t mind lunch meats, but not the healthiest selection out there.

6

I guess it all depends on how long you’re on the road for and what you have access to at the time. If you can find one, a cold/chiller box would be great for keeping some of those “gormet protein cookies” I read somewhere in one of the articles here. They’re very useful for me while I’m at work trying to sneak food cause I’m on shift for around 5 hours at a time and I always end up starving.

Sandwiches keep well, but would get boring… I cant really help - I’m trying though!

End of the day, eating something is always better than eating nothing. Just try and make the right choices when and where you can and dont worry. I try and make up for eating crap/missing the occasional meal by eating as much healthy food as I can on both of my days off. I like to think that makes up for it!

7

Good point. It always comes back to moderation. It’s the damn heating thing that gets me. I don’t want to eat cold pasta/chicken salads and lunch meat the rest of my life! Lol.

8

Samdan’s secret to turning cold chicken (cubed) or cold pasta into amazingness:

1 tbsp Natty Peanut Butter
2 tsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
Hot Sauce to taste (I like about 2 tsp, personally)

This is a super quick and easy Thai Peanut Sauce. It works best with cold noodles or on some chicken, and if you experiment, you can REALLY impress chicks with it.