Back in the shoulder-pad era of the 1980s, Conagra’s chairman got a wake-up call in the form of a heart attack and a week-long stay in intensive care. While recovering — and probably rethinking every steak-and-potatoes business lunch he’d ever had — he discovered that “healthy” and “tasty” didn’t have to be sworn enemies. That realization sparked the birth of Healthy Choice — frozen meals promising fewer calories, less fat, and reasonable sodium levels. Fast-forward a few decades and it’s time for a little nutritional checkup. Are these meals actually healthy? Many Healthy Choice entrées do pack solid nutrition with lean proteins, respectable veggie portions, and vitamin lists longer than a CVS receipt, but others ... well, let's just say their sodium content might raise your eyebrows and your blood pressure. The FDA calls a dish “high sodium” when it hits 20% or more of your daily recommended limit, and several Healthy Choice meals cruise past that mark at 26%. A few also soar past the same threshold for added sugars, turning your chicken bowl into a surprise dessert. The worst Healthy Choice meals are listed below:
Café Steamers Barbecue Seasoned Steak with Potatoes. It's full of beef strips, russet potatoes, corn, bell peppers, and onions — all coated in a whiskey barbecue sauce. It also has 16 grams of added sugar, or about one-third of your daily recommended allowance. Even a ⅔-cup serving of vanilla ice cream has less added sugar.
Simply Steamers Grilled Chicken Pesto & Vegetables. It's packed with grilled chicken breast, broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. Unfortunately, the basil pesto sauce is the party pooper, contributing 13% of the daily recommended value of saturated fat and 85mg of cholesterol. Salt doesn’t exactly stay on the sidelines, coming in at a staggering 600mg, or 26% of your daily allotment.
Café Steamers Sweet & Sour Chicken. This one contains tempura-battered chicken, bell peppers, onions, and pineapple over rice — and drenched in sweet-and-sour sauce. When they say “sweet,” they’re not kidding. That sweet-and-sour sauce contains 21g of added sugar, a heft 42% of the daily limit stuffed into a single bowl.
Every meal on this list exceeds the FDA's recommended threshold for foods high in either sodium or added sugars. Given the health risks of diets high in sodium or added sugars, the names on their packages should be "Unhealthy Choice." Of course, nutrition isn't one-size-fits-all and we're not your doctor, nutritionist, or the microwave police. Everyone's dietary needs and priorities are different and so is everyone's definition of "healthy" and "unhealthy." What happens next is between you and your microwave.
