Healthy Frozen Dinners for Busy People!

Do you need quick, healthy dinners to fit your busy life? No time to cook? When life is crazy, you need to simplify wherever you can, stock up, and be prepared. It can seem daunting, but healthy frozen meals do exist, if you know where to look. We've compiled a list of tasty meals containing fewer than 400 calories, with good quality protein, balanced with a proper amount of carbohydrate, without excess sodium.

Our meal goals: fewer than 400 calories, at least 10-15g of protein, balanced protein:carb ratio (ideally 1:1, no higher than 1:2), less than 40g of carbohydrate, less than 10g of saturated fat,  and ideally less than 600mg sodium.

Some delicious examples:

Name	Calories	Protein	Carbs.	Sodium
Kashi Chicken Florentine	290	22g	38g	550mg
Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake	340	9g	18g	390mg
Kashi Chicken Pasta Pomodoro	280	19g	40g	470mg
Kashi Chicken Enchilada	280	12g	24g	620mg
Boca Meatless Chili	150	19g	25g	650mg
Amy’s Tofu Scramble	320	22g	19g	580mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken w/Marinara and Parmesan	320	22g	19g	580mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken And Noodles	270	19g	29g	590mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Lemon Herb Chicken	260	20g	33g	550mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Grilled Basil Chicken	240	17g	30g	550mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Grilled Chicken Pesto w/Vegetables	200	27g	11g	600mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Roasted Chicked Marsala w/Mushrooms	250	18g	29g	640mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry	190	22g	15g	500mg
Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Roasted Beef Merlot (GF)	180	15g	20f	600mg
Healthy Choice Grilled Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo	190	27g	8g	600mg
Healthy Choice Beef and Broccoli	220	20g	34g	580mg
Lean Cuisine Herb Roasted Chicken	170	16g	18g	510mg
Lean Cuisine Salmon with Basil	250	19g	38g	500mg
Smart Ones Homestyle Beef Pot Roast	180	18g	18g	690mg
Smart Ones Chicken Mesquite	250	22g	33g	670mg
Tomato Basil Chicken with Spinach	160	18g	13g	600mg
Asian-Style Beef and Broccoli	160	14g	16g	640mg
Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Burger (for 1 Burger)	110	10g	9g	350mg
Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime Veggie Burgers (for 1 Burger)	170	17g	4g	360mg
Applegate Naturals Chicken Nuggets (for 7 Nuggets)	180	12g	12g	210mg
Applegate Naturals Chicken Patty (for 1 patty)	180	12g	12g	200mg
Applegate Naturals Chicken Tenders (for 2 tenders)	150	12g	14g	230mg
Earth’s Best Chicken Nuggets (for 4 nuggets)	120	11g	10g	270mg

                                                                                     

Frozen Pizza:  Palermo and Kashi are higher in protein, lower in carbohydrate (choose “thin crust” versions)

These meals can make dinner just a little bit easier, when life gets really busy! If you'd like to simplify further, you can try our "Fast Track" to make your life even easier (and healthier): http://www.seacoastnutrition.com/phase-one-2-week-quot-fast-trackquot-pla2.html We love to help people set up sustainable, realistic nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle plans - we're here to help! Learn more at healthyweightcenter.com, or call (603) 379-6500, any time!

4 Keys for a Successful Diet Plan: Keep It Simple, Tasty, Filling, Successful!

How do we lose weight - and keep it off? While there is no single "magic bullet", research has shown us that certain food, exercise, and behavioral strategies will give us our best results. Success starts with a realistic, achievable food plan. Here are four key components - requirements for success - that you should have in place as you set up your plan. These four keys apply regardless of your diet preference - vegetarian, Paleo, Mediterranean, Nordic, etc - the details may vary, but the principles remain the same! 1. " Food has to be SIMPLE ENOUGH."

Translation: If we can simplify healthy eating, we are more likely to succeed.  Simplicity and convenience can improve success.  Life is complicated, and we can become exhausted by “decision fatigue”, if we have too many choices to make!   We have to choose nutrition which matches our lifestyle. Many busy people find success by using nutritionally complete, medically-designed meal replacement shakes, fortified with vitamins, minerals, and high quality protein - these are complete meals that require only water, and they are ready to go.  The most important keys to success are to “select  and stock up” on your healthy meals and snacks.

2.  “Food has to be TASTY ENOUGH.”

Translation:  Food has to be tasty enough, or you won’t eat it!  We don’t need to eat gourmet, five star meals all day long, but If something tastes like cardboard, we are going to reject it.  Choose your simple, healthy meals and snacks so they are “tasty enough” that you will actually eat them! Food is more than fuel, it also has to be a little fun!

3. “Food has to keep me FULL ENOUGH.”

Translation:  We need food to keep us satisfied, and keep our energy up throughout the day.  Food has to have the right balance of PROTEIN, carbohydrate, and fats, plus have proper ‘micronutrients’,  and these have to be distributed (scheduled) throughout the day. The bottom line - we know what doesn’t work - those 100 calorie sugar-carb-filled “snack packs”!  They leave us feeling drained and tired, and starving at the next meal!  Properly designed and balanced meals and snacks not only taste good, they make you feel good.

4. “Food has to give us GOOD ENOUGH RESULTS.”  

Translation: we need to see success, to stay motivated.  If we are trying to lose weight, get healthier, improve our fitness, or meet other goals, we are going to need to actually SEE improvements, in order to stay on track!  When we see results  - including things like improved  blood sugar, cholesterol, levels,  improved muscle tone and  strength, etc, we are going to feel highly motivated to keep giving our bodies what they need!  It makes sense to choose nutrition scientifically, to get the best results, rather than simply guess what might work, or listen to some crazy scheme on Facebook promoted by a random blogger.  Research has become quite advanced, pointing us in the right direction to get our best results.  It makes sense to go with what is proven to work.  

Remember, these four keys apply regardless of your diet preferences - vegetarian, Paleo, Mediterranean, Nordic, etc - the details may vary, but the principles remain the same! We can help you create a sustainable, realistic, successful plan, depending on your preferences, and your needs (including medical and lifestyle needs.) We provide 1:1, private, personalized coaching at our office, online, or via phone/Skype - whatever works best with your lifestyle. Call today: (603) 379-6500, and read more about our program at healthyweightcenter.com.
You can shop for easy, simple, healthy, and tasty meals and snacks at seacoastnutrition.com

Dining Out: 10 Quick Tips to Stay in Control

Eating out can be an enjoyable - yet dangerous - experience! How can we enjoy ourselves, have fun with friends in a relaxed setting, savor delicious food, but also avoid sabotaging our healthy routine? Can we eat out, without regret? The answer is yes, especially if we plan ahead a bit, using a few key strategies. Here are ten quick tips to stay in control.

1. Do not “starve yourself” to save calories for dinner - it will backfire.
2. Before heading out to the restaurant, drink 8 ounces of water, and consider taking a fiber supplement. Fiber creates fullness even before you eat, via the “Volumetrics Effect” - the soluble fiber acts like a sponge, holding water in your stomach, stretching the greater curvature of the stomach, and turning down the “hunger hormone” called ghrelin.  Fiber also “delays gastric emptying” (keeps food in your stomach longer), so you will feel full for a longer time after your meal, as well - this can help with after-dinner desert cravings.
3. Once at the dinner table, drink 8 more ounces of water before eating anything else.
4. Do not start with bread, butter, or alcohol. Instead request an appetizer with protein and fiber.  (Ideas: shrimp cocktail, salad, chicken satay.)  
5. If you really crave bread and butter, have it WITH your main meal, not before.
6. Consider having broth-based soup before the meal (not heavy cream soup).  Research suggests soup may help you eat less during the meal. Be cautious if you are salt/sodium-sensitive.
7. If you plan to drink alcohol, try to eat your protein and fiber first, and sip your alcohol during your meal. Choose your drink carefully, so you do not ruin a full day of calorie control.
8. If you get a chance, check out the menu ahead of time, so you can make informed decisions, and stay in your healthy calorie range. Consider ordering a healthy appetizer as a meal, for better portion sizes (most restaurant meals have more than 1000 calories...ridiculous!)
9. Consider sharing a meal with your partner (or bring half home), and sharing dessert, as well!
10. Enjoy - don’t forget this!  Food should be fun. Our goal is not perfection, but to be “good enough”!

If you would like help setting up a healthy lifestyle routine, so you can enjoy food, enjoy activity, achieve a healthy weight while still enjoying life, call us any time! Read more about our program: healthyweightcenter.com

(603) 379-6500.