They used to call them "casseroles," and your mom made them. Now they're called "skillet dinners" or "frozen meal kits," and they're made by someone like Stouffer's or Bird's Eye. It's the same idea, but now all you have to do is take the bag out of the freezer, pour it out and heat it up.
When you're in a hurry, a frozen meal kit seems to fill the bill. But, they're not all created equal.
We analyzed six widely available frozen dinner kits, trying to hit a variety.
We thawed them, then separated the contents in measuring cups, using tweezers to account for every sliver of green pepper and grain of rice. We compared them to the recommended serving sizes from the U.S. government's Food Guide Pyramid — one-half cup of pasta or rice, one-half cup cooked vegetables and three ounces of meat (about the size of a deck of cards, or about 1/3- 1/2 cup of chopped meat.)
Most of them (except for the Chef's Choice stir-fry dinner) offered plenty of starch. But some were skimpy on the meat, while others were low on vegetables. Most of them weren't exceptionally high in fat and calories, keeping within the American Heart Association's recommendations of 30 percent calories coming from fat. But that's if you stick to the serving size listed on the label. Also, many have a high sodium content, providing nearly half of the day's recommended allowance in one serving.
Health guidelines call for at least five fruits and vegetables daily, and most people depend on dinner to supply much of their veggie quota. But of the products we tested, only Stouffer's Oven Sensations (if you're counting potatoes as a veggie instead of a starch) and the Chef's Choice Stir Fry supplied at least 2 servings of veggies.
Don't count on a skillet dinner kit to provide one-third of your day's nutritional requirements. All of them fall way short in iron and calcium, and many are low in vitamins A and C. You can boost the nutrition content by tossing a cup of nutrient-dense veggies like broccoli into the mixture, and topping it with grated cheese for calcium. Serve a side salad and whole-wheat bread to round out the meal.
Keep in mind, also, that most of these serve only two people (and if you're used to hearty servings, you'll want more). With each bag priced around $5, you'll pay about $15 to feed a family of six.
Would you save money by assembling your own skillet meal? A 16-ounce package of mixed veggies is $1-$1.50, and two servings of pasta costs roughly 40 cents. A pound of chicken or beef is another $2-$3, depending on whether it was on sale. The cost of some type of sauce to bind the ingredients together could range from 25 cents for a homemade white sauce to 75 cents for creamed soup to $2 for jarred Alfredo. So, your homemade meal could end up costing almost as much — but it might taste better.
The main catch, of course, is convenience. If you don't have time to chop and cook meat, consider streamlining your favorite casseroles by using canned chicken or beef, which is ready to use. You can also find pre-cooked chicken or beef in the meat case — but once again, you'll be paying for convenience.
The skinny on one-meal skillet dinners
Here's a rundown of what we found:
1. TYSON THREE-CHEESE CHICKEN & PASTA
Description: Radiatore pasta with vegetable blend and chicken white meat.
Cost: $4.99 for a 26-ounce package, suggested 4 1/2 servings. (19.2 cents per ounce)
What you get: 1 cup of chicken, 2 cups of pasta and 2 1/4 cups veggies.
There's barely enough here for four servings, so forget that suggested 4 1/2 servings. Divided by four, each person would get 1/4 cup of chicken, 1/2 cup pasta and a little over 1/2 cup veggies. The chicken is well-seasoned, but the "three-cheese" title is a misnomer; you'd be hard-pressed to find even "one cheese." To jazz this up, you'd want to stir in a little grated cheddar or Parmesan of your own. (This would also add some much-needed calcium and protein, since it's skimpy on the chicken.)
Daily recommended nutrients per serving: 15 percent vitamin A, 10 percent vitamin C, 2 percent calcium, 6 percent iron.
Fat, calories and sodium: 190 calories, 45 calories from fat and 570 mg sodium (24 percent of daily limit for the average adult eating 2,000 calories a day).
2. BIRD'S EYE VOILA! ALFREDO CHICKEN
Description: Grilled seasoned white chicken with pasta in an Alfredo cheese sauce with broccoli, carrots and garden peas.
Cost: $4.69 per 20-ounce package, suggested 3 servings (23.5 cents per ounce).
What you get: 3/4 cup chicken, 1 1/4 cups pasta, 2 cups veggies.
A serving provides only 1/4 cup of chicken, about 1/2 cup pasta, and 2/3 cup of veggies. This offers a little more in the vegetable department, but the Alfredo sauce is pretty much non-existent. Adding Alfredo (Parmesan and cream) would boost the calcium content a bit but also add more fat.
Daily recommended nutrients per serving: 15 percent vitamin A, 10 percent calcium, 30 percent vitamin C, 6 percent iron.
Fat, calories, and sodium: 250 calories per serving, 80 calories from fat, 1,100 mg sodium (46 percent of adult daily limit).
3. STOUFFER'S OVEN SENSATIONS
Description: Seasoned steak, roasted potatoes and peppers in a savory sauce.
Cost: $5.49 for 24 ounces, suggested 2 servings (22.9 cents per ounce).
What you get: 2/3 cup beef, 1 cup veggies, 1 1/4 cups potatoes.
This dinner is more generous with the beef, and that's why it has a bit higher iron content. Also, counting the potatoes, you're getting more than two servings of veggies. It also has a nice beefy sauce. The dinner has an oven-roasted, caramelized flavor (even when cooked in a microwave, so it's likely a result of flavor-engineering). The high vitamin C content is high due to the peppers, but there's very little calcium. (So drink a glass of skim milk.)
Daily recommended nutrients per serving: 15 percent vitamin A, 50 percent vitamin C, 4 percent calcium, 15 percent iron.
Fat, calories and sodium: 300 calories, 60 calories from fat, 830 mg sodium (34 percent of daily intake).
4. LEAN CUISINE SKILLET SENSATIONS
Description: Beef teriyaki and rice with vegetables and pineapple in a teriyaki sauce.
Cost: $5.49 for 24 ounces, suggested 2 servings (22.9 cents per ounce).
What you get: 1/2 cup beef, 1 3/4 cup veggies, 1 1/4 cups rice.
This is skimpy on beef — only allowing 1/4 cup per person, and heavier on veggies and rice. That's probably why it's low in fat. The meat feels a little mushy. This dinner is high in vitamin A but extremely low in calcium and iron.
Daily recommended nutrients per serving: 70 percent vitamin A, 20 percent vitamin C, 4 percent calcium, 8 percent iron.
Fat, calories and sodium: 290 calories, 30 calories from fat, 890 mg sodium (38 percent of the daily limit).
5. ORTEGA SKILLET MEALS
Description: Creamy Chicken Monterey, with grilled chicken strips and rice in a sour cream sauce.
Cost: $5.99 for 23 ounces, suggested 2 servings (26 cents per ounce).
What you get: 2/3 cup chicken, 2/3 cup of veggies (olive, peppers and corn), 1 1/4 cup rice.
Of the six products we tried, this one had the creamiest spicy sauce, and that's probably why it's so high in fat and sodium. It's low in the meat and veggies department, making up for it with more starchy rice.
Daily recommended nutrients per serving: 20 percent vitamin A, 30 percent vitamin C, 20 percent calcium, 6 percent iron.
Fat, calories, and sodium: 450 calories, 180 calories from fat, and 1,200 mg sodium (half of the daily limit for an adult).
6. CHEF'S CHOICE SHRIMP STIR-FRY
Description: Oriental style vegetables, shrimp and "gourmet" sauce.
Cost: $5.99 for 24 ounces, suggested for 2 1/2 servings (25 cents per ounce).
What you get: 1 cup shrimp and 3 cups veggies.
This meal is high in vitamins and extremely low in fat and calories. So you may want to serve it over rice to make it a little more filling.
Nutritional information per serving: 60 percent of vitamin A, 45 percent of vitamin C, 10 percent of calcium, 6 percent iron.
Fat, calories and sodium: 150 calories, 5 calories from fat, and 1,110 mg sodium (46 percent of what you should have daily).
E-MAIL: vphillips@desnews.com