Atkins Frozen Meals
 

Hey guys,

So I just saw Atkins frozen meals at Wal-Mart and about died of shock! I never use the Atkins products (most of the bars/shakes cause me to have cravings, stall, etc) but I thought these meals might be different because they aren't mock sweets. So I bought a couple that were suitable for all stages and that had minimal dairy. I only want to have them on hand for emergency type situations, but wanted to try one for lunch. I had it, it was filling, and quite good but about an hour later I was hungry (which hasn't happened to me at all in Induction)....it wasn't the type of hunger to cause crazy cravings, I just wanted more food-so about 2 hours after eating it I made some chicken/onion/tomato stir-fry. These meals do have a couple grams of sugar-so maybe that's why I had some hunger?

I was wondering if anyone else has tried these...any success...failures?

Any feedback?

I'm glad you mentioned your post-meal hunger, because I read about these Atkins frozen meals on a different forum and I'm really interested to find some quick, convenient backup meals. I've found some veggie frozen entrees and ethnic food frozen entrees that have a low carb count (10g-15g for the entire meal) but when I look at the list of ingredients, they contain things like maltodextrin and other hydrolyzed starches. So, even though the overall carb impact would be low enough to manage, I'm concerned about the effect that even small amounts of those starches will have on my insulin response. So I haven't bought any.

Does the Atkins frozen meal that you ate include any of these starches? If so, that would explain your hunger. If there are any starches in the dish, it may have caused you to release more insulin than your typical Atkins meals and, as a result, the lower level of blood sugar that results from increased insulin would make you hungry an hour or so after eating. I would hope that an Atkins brand of frozen meal would not include starches or sugars! But there may be some food chemistry reason that frozen meals typically contain these ingredients. So even an Atkins product might have to use them as part of their manufacturing process. But I have never seen these meals, so I don't know what's in them.

On a separate but related note, I had a day of meetings with students at our student center and I thought that I could just pick up a taco salad from Taco Bell, instead of packing a homemade lunch, but Taco Bell cooks their meat with a substantial amount of flour. Not a little bit -- a significant volume of their taco meat is actually flour and texturized gluten. Apparently, the flour and other starches texturize the meat, keep it juicy, and keep the product fresher for longer periods of time. Bummer...

That is a bummer about Taco Bell-whenever I am off plan, it's the first thing I go to! haha!

This meal had 7 net carbs, 320 calories, 20g fat, 640mg sodium, 2g sugar, and 23g protein.

I just read the ingrediants on this Atkins meal and it was no good-I couldn't pronounce most of them, it did contain oats, hydrolyzed soy protein, resistant maltodextrin, potato flour, modified food starch, and the list goes on...

I should have read the ingrediants but I just saw "Atkins" and assumed it was ok-lesson learned, won't happen again!

ut oh those ingredients don't sound great.

for convenience, sure I will keep a few in the freezer. didn't get any yet but I am definitely going to and try them.

back up food. I would have to eat 2 at least. 14 carbs gone. and probaby still be hungry :)

I will check them out. thanks for mentioning them and giving your report.

I have to find them in Los Angeles. Where do area do you live in FatBeGone5 Firefly428? I wonder if I can find these at Target because Walmart isn't close by.

Good to know. I try to stay away from fast food if I can but it can be difficult on the go.

This reminds me of all the hype a few years back, when Kraft Foods released their "official" line of South Beach frozen meals. Supposedly program-friendly, but not as free from additives and fillers as the adverts proclaimed :rolleyes:.

Atkins.com released an announcement earlier today at PR Newswire .. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...-182428161.html.
It appears these products won't be available "nationwide" (ie, US only) until January 2013.

Just FYI :idea:

I am NC. going to hit my local wallyworld tomorrow and check. hope they are around??

never saw them in ny

Unfortunately with most of the Atkins products you cannot rely on the "suitable for all phases" claim :( and really do need to read the label carefully!!

Most of the ones I have read the ingredients list of contain non-induction stuff like soy, nuts and starches from the upper OWL rungs!!

So while they ARE "Atkins friendly" if you are on maintenance phase they are not "induction friendly".

My back up plan is real food made easy. In fact grabing some meat and cheese and eggs is easier in my opinion than the packaged junk.

This is just my personal opinion based upon my own expriences with Atkins products, so take it or leave it.

The prepackaged Atkins stuff is not designed to help you lose weight, it's designed to keep you buying more Atkins products for a good long time to come. ;) I'm sure it's okay to maintain weight, not so good for losing. And it makes financial sense for them to do it that way, though I think it's a bit lacking in the moral department.

But as with all processed and packaged prouducts it's vital that you read the label, the ingredients, and do your own carb count instead of relying on the showy front of the package.

Maybe you can make your own freezer meals? Cook up some chicken & veggies, divide into several freezer containers, and then when needed, grab one to take to work (or wherever).

I live in a SUPER small town in Ohio and the Wal-mart here had them, I have traveled to a couple other Wal-marts and Meijers in bigger cities around me and none of them carry these meals yet.

That is exactly what I do. I have a bunch of them in the freezer at work, and at home. Any time I feel like a quick easy meal I just grab and nuke. Very easy, tasty, and I know exactly what's in them.