Frozen Vegetables for lunch

[jedi_d]

Hi All, 

I need some advice regarding my lunch choice, all I eat is some frozen vegetables heated up in a microwave. Is this healthy? I have a "full" dinner in the evening... 

Rgds

D

[kris999]

wow!! Bad choice of eating frozen vegetables and put that in the microwave.. How much actual nutrition can you get from the frozen food + microwave.???

I think you should make a Sandwich in the morning for your lunch.. 2 slices of Ham, 2 slices of Cheese, and 2 toasts and put them together... It's easy, you can make it in 1 and 1/2 minutes!! Plus, a banana, an apple, or an orange depending on what you prefer!! 

It's a much better healthy lunch than frozen vegetables in microwave... OMG, that was a Bad choice!!!  

Good Luck!!   

[Cooper27 in reply to kris999]

I heard that the microwave is actually one of the best ways to preserve the nutrients when cooking - better than boiling! Freezing also preserves nutrients that in the food. Your nutrients start to die off as soon as you pick the veg, and freezing helps slow this down.

[Redx1995 in reply to kris999]

I think you may have been mis-informed somewhere along the line? Frozen food is known to be better for you nutrient wise as it's frozen very shortly after being harvested. Most shop bought fresh items can be weeks old and by the time they sat in the vegetable basket for a while have lost a lot of the nutrients which will have been preserved on freezing.

Microwave cooking again is good for you. Think of those soggy sprouts which have been boiled to death. Most of the goodness has been boiled out of them and is thrown away with the water before serving.

Many items which are sold as microwaveable tend to be sold in pouches which lock the goodness in whilst they're cooked and help to preserve the taste and texture. Fish is especially good when cooked this way.

[Hidden]

What kind of vegetables? If they're starchy, e.g. including squash, parsnips and carrots, you could add some protein - omelette /some fish/quorn and it would still be a very light lunch but would be more likely to keep you full. If you're just having green veg, you may find your energy drops due to lack of carbs etc after a couple of hours and you may be more likely to snack on something unhealthy in the afternoon. It also depends what you had for breakfast though... A good mantra to follow is breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dine like a pauper. That way you use the energy from your food as you go through the day. Hope that's helpful?

[Redx1995 in reply to Hidden]

I'd not heard of this, but the mantra does make sense.

[DartmoorDumpling Restart Feb 2024]

If you like fish, the John West light lunches are excellent for work as they don't need refridgeration or any preparation, and offer a mix of fish, veg and pasta or rice for around 250 cals.  With a piece of fruit or a jelly dessert, that makes an easy office lunch.  (Look in the tinned fish aisle).

[jedi_d]

hi all, thanks for your advice, I don't get hungry so don't snack. I skip breakfast (bad  I know) but have a nice meal in the evening. The frozen vegs are peas, carrots, beans, sweetcorn, I have a piece of fruit as well. 

My aim is to lose weight and to reduce my cholesterol levels. I'm vegetarian as well. 

[MW50]

Eating the same thing day after day is not good 1. If it is lacking in any nutrientes, minerais etc. you will quickly become deficient 2. It becomes so boring you are likely to crave something really unhealthy.  I am vegetarian as well, lunch for me is a varity of salads (Rice, pasta, cous cous or green) with beans, nuts or seeds for protein.  Easily made and packed the night before and enough variety to keep me away from the chocolate vending machine!

[Cooper27]

It's healthy enough, but I don't imagine you are getting enough calories and energy to keep you going. If you skip breakfast and don't snack, your veg will be the first thing you eat, and will only be giving you 100-odd calories. You are effectively therefore only eating one real meal a day.

If you really only want to eat 1 meal a day, you are better eating it earlier in the day, so having your 'full' dinner at lunchtime instead. You're most active in the day, so that's when you need the energy. Try moving some of your calories to lunchtime to balance out, and shaking things up a bit with a nice salad and some nuts/seeds to give you protein and omegas, or have a baked potato. Maybe boil your veg and blend into soup and have a bit of bread with it?

[MissBearFace]

Is it convenient or just what you enjoy? X

[jedi_d in reply to MissBearFace]

both, convenient and enjoy

i can also eat some wholemeal bread with it. don't see the point in making soup as that will destroy the nutrients. I'll eat some nuts and some oats for breakfast, based on the feedback today. 

[Cooper27 in reply to jedi_d]

Soup doesn't destroy the nutrients. When you boil veg, all the nutrients come out into the water, if you drain the water off, the nutrients go down the sink, but if you blend into soup, you're reincorporating the nutrients before eating. I think it's become a food myth, people hear boiling is bad and think that applies to soup too...

[MissBearFace in reply to Cooper27]

I'm a vegan and so I know the perils of "what should I have l lunch which I enjoy, is cheap and is convenient"..... Cooked veg sounds like heaven to me, so I get how you do that daily! Throw some beans or lentils in there for a little protein? You'll feel awesome for the afternoon. If you can't be bothered with bread (enough to finish a loaf of it before it goes green) then rye crackers are a good way to get some extra fibre in and a few carbs. Maybe just nibble one. 

[Seuzan]

 I am also vegetarian and try to vary my lunchtime meals so that I get a variety of nutrients. I quite like having chapatis and salads, soups, sandwiches,  baked potatoes beans and quorn sausages etc   I also sometimes bring in leftovers from the night before. Varying it makes it more interesting and I think it is good to have different things to enjoy. 

[csharman81]

I buy carrots cucumber celery and then dips and have that for lunch and there all fresh and keep for the week in the fridge. I'd say frozen veg is gonna be more water than anything else and prob not very filling x

[Prin]

its whatever works for you! we are not all the same just had a bag of carrots and an oxo for lunch .........

[Caz28]

Hi, I would agree with some of the other comments and think you would benefit from having something more substantial for lunch, it will help to keep your metabolism going and therefore help with weight loss. 

[Prin]

If you want my advice if it works for you that's fine - when I was actively losing weight I had very little for breakfast and lunch and a normal diner, I still do that some days and it works for me - my goal was to burn  off what I had eaten in the day ( I exersise as well) then even if I had a 1,000 calories feast for dinner  I would still lose weight. I don't mind doing it and do it a few days of the week -depending on how much I want to eat and drink at the weekend I think of it as my kind of 5:2.

If you are bored and can't or won't follow it take the advice of the other posters good luck I have been this weight for nearly 3 years! Trust yourself