ConAgra Foods established the Healthy Choice line of frozen meals in order to provide a healthier, lower-calorie alternative to the fatty salt-bombs that have traditionally stocked the TV dinner section of the supermarket, but are Healthy Choice meals good for you or do they come with their own set of problems? Below, I have outlined several ways that Healthy Choice meals can be improved in order to make them a truly healthy choice.

The sodium content needs to be dramatically reduced. This may sound like a tired complaint of processed food, but it's one that needs to be made over and over again until manufacturers take it into account and reduce sodium levels in processed and packaged foods to a reasonable level. Sure, salt makes food taste good, but too much of it leads to fluid retention and hypertension. 400 to 700 mg of sodium for a 300 calorie meal is simply too high. There are other ways to add flavor to food.

Instead of filling most of the mass of the meal with pasta, instead replace it with additional vegetables. Pasta, particular cheaper pasta, is based on refined flour, which increases inflammation, stimulates blood sugar spikes, and in general is simply not good for you. It is included in frozen meals because it tastes good and because it is a way to add mass to the meal for a very low cost. The logical step would be replacing some or all of the pasta with additional vegetables, and possibly a little more meat.

Cut back on the sugary sauces. While this is not a problem when it comes to every Healthy Choice frozen dinner, but there are definitely several of them that contain sugary sauces. Teriyaki, sweet and sour, and barbecue sauces are a few examples. No one is denying that sweet sauces taste great, are cheap to make, and lend to the mistaken belief of many people that anything without fat is good for you, but when something is touting itself to be a healthy alternative, it shouldn't be glazed in sugar.

Increase the calorie content. Yes, I realize that Healthy Choice frozen dinners are marketed as weight loss alternatives, which means that they are expected to be low in calories. My argument is that 250 to 350 calories is simply not a meal for most people, and eating meals this size can actually inhibit weight loss efforts. Healthy cooking involves keeping to realistic caloric expectations.

Now, I know exactly what you're thinking. "But, if all of these changes were made, they would cost a lot more," you say, and you would be exactly right in doing so. The costs would definitely go up. Making the meals larger, fresher, and replacing cheap pasta with more expensive meat and vegetables would no doubt increase the cost of the meal. Here is my argument to that: your health is worth an extra dollar or two when you buy a frozen dinner.

Much of the obesity problem in the world is due to a dependence on cheap processed food, but if we spend a little more and get something that is much healthier, not only would our health be better, but we would most likely end up spending less money later in life due to chronic illness. Healthy Choice frozen meals are certainly better than the industry norm, but they can also be made a lot better.

People are working hard to live a comfortable life; that means, getting both their needs and wants. Though nothing is wrong with this, but when it gets to a point when you get sick due to fatigue and stress, all the things you have worked for might not be enough to pay for your medical expenses.

Therefore, you need to take care of your health if you wish to reap the fruits of your hard work. To do this, you simply need to eat less and exercise more. 

Eating less would also entail eating the right kind of foods. One of the most recommended diets is med diet. Having the abundance of fresh plant foods, olive oil, and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt means you are consuming all natural, low calorie, and heart-friendly ingredients. In addition to this are fish and poultry which are consumed in low to moderate amounts, moderate consumption of meat and saturated fats, three to four eggs weekly, and one or two small glasses of wine a day.

BENEFITS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

The Mediterranean diet originated from Greece and Italy among other Mediterranean countries and was recognized by UNESCO as their Cultural Heritage. The Mediterranean cuisine gained its popularity because of its effectiveness in reducing the risk for cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases as well as the risk of developing depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Also, study has shown that the antioxidants in olive oil improve the cholesterol regulation and LDL cholesterol reduction, and that it has an anti-hypertensive and anti-inflammatory effect. 

Moreover, according to recent studies, the total fat and calories are at very low levels, which mean that if you’ll really follow this diet religiously it would lead you to the quality of life that you wanted; you’ll lose weight, avoid weight-related and heart-related diseases, and live longer. This is the reason why most health organizations around the world encourage people to get into this kind of diet.

MEDITERRANEAN DIET HELPS YOU ACHIEVE YORU GOALS

The Mediterranean diet may also serve as a key to your career goals. In fact, this diet is a good source of many essential nutrients for both your body and brain. The healthier the body and brain is, the more productive the person will be. 

SHOULD YOU SHIFT TO MEDITERRANEAN DIET?

If you wish to attain any or all of the following, then this diet is DEFINITELY for you:

• Decrease your risk to certain health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and many others.

• Lose weight, get physically fit, and look younger

• Feel good inside and out as you boost your self esteem.

• Live longer

Mediterranean diet is for anybody. You could have it regardless of age, gender, race (Yes, it’s not exclusive to people living in countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea). As long as you stick with the said diet along with regular exercise, you’ll surely be on your way to live a healthier and longer life. 

Always remember, your health depends on what you eat.

Orange recipes for the main course are quite unusual in some European countries, but very popular in Asia or in America. It probably has to do with the local climate, although today the international freight transportation has become so developed that we can find all fruits and vegetables in grocery stores all year round. It’s logical, culinary tastes of people in different areas have to do with many generations’ heritage. If I told you now to swallow one of those fried cockroaches that are sold on the streets of Bangkok, I bet you’d have a hard time if you never chewed an insect in your whole life.

As civilizations evolve, we become more and more open minded and willing to try new things and new experiences. Well, maybe not all of us, but at least there are lots of people who are willing to break with traditions and make their life as they like to live it. This includes also the cooking style, so if your dream of a lifetime is to prepare an orange recipe a day, feel free to read this brief guide and learn something new.

• Orange chicken recipes

I’ve already covered this topic in one of my previous articles, so if you want to learn one of the many recipes of orange chicken, just visit the article. Please be aware that there are many variations for this recipe: for instance, you can marinate the chicken before frying it, or you can add some rice wine and lemon juice to the sauce.

• Orange roasted turkey

This is a recipe suitable for festive dinners, when you have a lot of guests. That’s because you have to use one whole turkey and these birds surely grow big! In case you want to cook it for less persons, it’s still fine, but you’ll have to eat a lot of leftovers over the next week or so. Roasting is supposedly a healthier cooking method than deep-frying, so if you’re concerned about your health, you can take this into consideration when you make your cooking plans.

• Hearth healthy chicken orange recipe with basil

Hearth conditions are nothing to joke about, because they are usually silent killers. You think everything is fine with you, and one day you drop dead to the sorrow of your beloved ones (at least this is what we all like to believe, but reality sometimes shows the contrary). This orange recipe is healthy because it’s made with marinated baked chicken, squash and spinach. Oranges are part of the marinade, together with the fresh basil and with a little bit of mustard.

• Roasted salmon with orange-ginger glaze

Salmon fillets can be found in pretty much every food store, but if you can’t find them, you can buy any other fish fillets instead. They won’t taste like salmon (that’s normal, why would people pay that much for salmon if it had the same taste as merlucius?), but the food would still have an interesting taste. The salmon fillets are baked, then brushed with the marinade and baked again until the glaze is formed.

• Roast duck with orange sauce

It will take you probably two hours to roast the duck, so make sure you aren’t busy when you start cooking this dish. Meanwhile, you have enough time to make the orange sauce (don’t forget to add one bay leaf to it, just for the flavor) and maybe take a little afternoon nap (but if you forget to turn the duck in the oven after the first 30 minutes, your dinner is going to be a nightmare for your guests). So, are you hungry already? If you know another interesting orange recipe, please feel free to post it here, in the comments section.