Dec 29, 2008 6:32 pm US/Eastern
Good Housekeeping Puts TV Dinners To Taste Test
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Last year, Americans consumed more than seven billion pounds of supermarket convenience foods, from boxed pasta dishes to frozen dinners. However, dieticians say they're not always nutritious. Now the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute put 1,000 of these food items to the test.
It all started with the success of the frozen TV dinner in the early 1950's. Today, aisle after aisle of convenience meals now line grocery store shelves. With hundreds of new products being launched each month.
"We looked at nutrition labels of over a thousand products, and then picked out the 300 top choices," said Delia Hammock, senior nutrition advisor with the Good Housekeeping Institute.
Hammock said while these convenience goods give families a sit-down dinner without the restaurant expense, not all are created equal. So she put her team to work in a taste test.
"Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers with ziti and meat sauce was one of the favorites. It comes in a plastic container with its own little strainer so you can cook the pasta and the sauce separately and mix them together," Hammock said.
Another bonusL it's portion controlled at only 340 calories a serving.
Taste-testers next examined Blue Horizon Organic Spring Rolls and found them easy to make. "These spring rolls cook very quickly in the microwave," Hammock said. "Three of them only have about 150 calories."
Cedars Chickpea Salad was a surprise favorite side dish. It has chickpeas, vegetables and dried cranberries. A half-cup provides almost one-fourth of your daily fiber.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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