Tell me about perishable dieting food kits

Cafe Society
1

This is still the forum for food discussion, right?

My dad is an executive at a food & fragrance management company. One of the potential companies that they were looking at acquiring is a mail-order dieting company (because this is on going business, I’d rather not mention their name here), and this company sent him one of their 30 day kits. This kit consists of a wide variety of breakfast (pancake mix, muffins, pastries, cereal), dinner (mac&cheese in a cup-o-noodles-like case, cheeseburger, pasta, chicken dishes, pizza, etc), and snacks (pretzels, caramel popcorn, etc), each of which come in a bag or box. Most of the dinner packages look similar to frozen dinner boxes such as Stoffers, except NONE of them are to be refrigerated or frozen. There is also no expiration date on any of the packages.

My dad tried out a couple of these meals, and said they were pretty good. However, eating pre-packaged meals is not his style, so he passed off the rest of the kit to me. I do potentially have enough food now to feed me for a month straight, assuming I eat nothing but their food.

This does raise a couple questions though.

First of all, what is the deal with ROOM TEMPERATURE dinners? I tried out the pizza one last night, and the box contained a three piece kit - a crust (which was about the size of a CD), a bag containing sauce, and another bag containing shredded cheese, which was too hard to eat out of the bag. I was to put these together and cook in a toaster oven for 5 minutes…I got somewhat distracted and I think it was about 8 minutes before I got back to it…it looked burned but still tasted ok. Definitely not a meal that would fill me up though. Anyway, pizza is one thing, but I don’t get how meals with actual meat in them can actually be stored for long periods of time without being frozen. Is this stuff actually healthy for me? Does it contain REAL meat, or artificial ingredients that taste like the real thing? And does this stuff really last forever?

Secondly, since I’ve never actually participated in one of these dieting programs before, is it going to be healthy or safe for me to eat this stuff, alongside my regular diet? Should I actually try to participate with their online daily menus? From the information I’ve already read, most people who use this program can lose weight, but will gain it back as soon as they STOP using the program. I could stand to lose about 10 pounds, but I don’t want this stuff messing around with my body, especially if it’s something I need to come dependant on. No way am I going to order one of these kits myself, considering that the price is higher than what I normally spend on food in a month.

BTW - so far I’ve also tried the caramel popcorn (really good, actually), the pretzels (very dry, but not bad as long as I had a glass of water with it) and the blueberry muffins (VERY dry, and I hardly tasted the blueberry…I’d add butter or cream cheese to it, but that would kind of defeat the point).

Lastly, if anyone else has participated in one of these programs, I would be interested in hearing how it went for you, how long you survived on it, whether or not you’d recommend it?

2

I have participated in one that shipped frozen foods once a week. It arrived packed in dry ice and the meal were ok. the biggest problem was I didn’t really like the breakfast and the snacks. Breakfast was either oatmeal or a low carb bagel with a tsp of cream cheese. not very filling. Snacks were protien drinks that tasted like liquid jello and weren’t very filling either. i often had to supliment the lunch and dinner with salads and fruit. The lunches and dinners were tasty and varied although I found them to be small. Other people complained abot having to eat so much.

Not exactly the kind you asked about since it was frozen foods but I stayed on it about 6 weeks and I did lose a few pounds.

3

I think the generic term is shelf-stable foods. I’ve never bought those diet meals, but I do have some single-serving shelf-stable casseroles in my desk at work. The reason is that we only have a dorm-sized refrigerator for six or seven people. The food is not bad although I only consume them when I’m completely unable to get out of the office.

The beauty of the mail-order diet food companies (like NutriSystem and similar companies) is that the plan participants are a captive audience for the product. (I would think that if you’re frugal, you could probably do this yourself for less money by shopping around and getting Lean Cuisine and similar frozen meals when they’re cheap and stocking up.)

4

I gave the Mac & Cheese a try. The preparation method is the same as cup-o-noodles. While it’s better quality than cup-o-noodles (but what isn’t?), the stuff hardly tastes like mac & cheese, and it has a very bitter aftertaste. I’m not going to rush into the other 4 packages of this stuff.

I don’t think I worded this the right way in the OP, but another concern I’m having is whether this stuff is actually HEALTHY. I know it’s supposed to help me lose weight, but at what cost is this weight loss coming from? I just can’t see how powdered cheese and packets of sauce can otherwise be good for me.

5

Check the sodium content. Most of the canned, shelf-stable or frozen foods I eat are really high in sodium. But that’s mostly a problem only if you’re on a sodium-restricted diet. Aside from that, the amount of preservatives and artificial ingredients is high (but given what your father does for a living, this is probably a good thing in your family).

6

The big key here is “free.” I’d never actually pay for this stuff, but since I do live on a very tight budget, getting offered a free box of a month’s supply of food (which goes for about $350 if you join) isn’t something I can pass up without at least checking it out. It wasn’t until I actually got it back to my apartment and was unboxing it that I realized this was a diet company, as opposed to a food company that made shelf-stable food. Because of that, I wanted to get more insight into what I’m actually eating before I consumed much of it.

This mac & cheese carton (1 serving = entire package) has 250 calories, 40 from fat, 4.5g of total fat, 15mg cholesterol, 750mg of sodium, 41g carbohydrate, 15g of protein. I’m really not sure if that is healthy or not (I should be ashamed, since my mom is a retired home-ec teacher!) but I recall that the Annies Mac & Cheese which I buy has something like 300 calories…and then when you read the fine print you see that the box has 3 servings!

7

I am overweight with high blood pressure, and also have type 2 diabetes. I know that for me, the best diet is to eat low-fat, low-sodium foods low in the glycemic index, in controlled portions. It’s the “controlled portions” that I have trouble with.

So last fall I decided to try NutriSystem. Their commercials say that their foods are low in the glycemic index, and their web site makes similar claims. They even have a special selection of foods specifically for people with type 2 diabetes.

So I signed up for two months of foods. I received the first month’s foods, along with detailed meal plans; you don’t just eat what they send you, you have to add specific amounts of protein, carbs, salads, dairy, etc.

I noticed right away that the foods were NOT low in glycemic index, but were in fact very high . . . lots of pasta, rice, sugar (you’d think diet food for diabetics would contain artificial sweetener) . . . and tons of sodium. All the food I shouldn’t be eating. I called one of their “counsellors” and was told that these meals are scientifically selected, and I should stick with the program. So I stuck with the program. I followed it to the letter. And I also exercised.

Long story short: I actually gained weight. My blood glucose rose to an alarming 200-300 (should be 100-120). My blood pressure went through the roof. When I showed the diet to my doctor, his blood pressure also went through the roof.

Their claim that their food is low-glycemic index is nothing but a lie. I can’t even wrap my brain around any justification for their claim. And to sell this garbage as an appropriate diet for diabetics is nothing short of criminal.