Healthy Choice

Question: At what age is it a healthy choice to introduce eating fish to a child? I currently have an almost 1 year old boy. I know that eating fish is a very healthy choice & I want to introduce it to him as soon as it's safe. But I have heard that it is not safe for toddlers to eat fish. Does anyone know any facts about this? My Son is turning 1 on the 14th. I know that fish is a healthy choice to eat & I want to introduce it to him as soon as it's safe to. But I have heard that fish is not safe for toddlers due to toxins in them (or something) Anyways he can chew pretty much anything. I'm not worried about him choking but can toxins be an issue? There are no allergies to fish in my family but there are lots of other food allergies. He does have a milk allergy & is allergic to peaches & apples also. If it's just allergies to look out for can I just slowly introduce it a little & watch for alergic signs?

Answer: STEF is correct! Making sure there are no bones is the issue! Another good way, buy a Food grinder, then, the fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish that YOU BUY TO EAT, grind up a glass full for your son! No additives, Cheaper, Healthier, eats/drinks what you eat!

Question: Can you buy the dessert that comes in the Healthy Choice Frozen Meals by themselves? Or the recipe? You know those fruit-crisp desserts that come in some of the Healthy Choice meals along with your entree and veggies? They are sooo good! I am always left wanting more. They are usually cherries, apples or both with some type of glaze/sauce and a crisp on top. I'd love to buy it by itself or have a recipe for it!

Answer: For a simple way of making your own crisp, buy a can of pie filling at the store. Whatever kind you like! (Apple, cherry, peach, etc...) Spread the filling into a 9x9 casserole dish. In a separate bowl, mix together your "crisp" parts. You can use oats, chopped nuts, or even corn flakes! Give them a rough chop then mix with honey until the mixture gets thick but spreadable. Spread on top of the pie filling and top with cinnamon, brown sugar, or whatever you like! Bake in the oven at 350 until the top is golden brown! It shouldn't take very long since there aren't any raw ingredients in the dish! I serve mine warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side! I also like to put more honey on the crisp after it's on the serving plate! Yum!

Question: Do you ever make your baby a Lean Cusine or Healthy Choice dinner and call it good? The ones I bought come with pasta alfredo, broccoli, and carrots. I know even though it's called Healthy Choice it's probably not the healthiest but man I am worn out and I just don't feel up to making dinner tonight. My 11 and half month old doesn't seem to care, she eats it up. Do you think I'm a bad mom? Do any of you moms do this when it's been a hectic day?

Answer: I think that's awesome!!!! Why isn't that healthy? I mean, it beats the heck out of lunchables or McDonald's!!! I'd totally feed that to my kids if they would eat it. One of them would, but one of them won't eat anything that has sauce on it. Go figure. lol I do NOT think that makes you a bad mom! How is that bad? God, that's better than most kids eat on any given day! ***I don't think those Gerber meals are any better. In fact, I might be inviting some thumbs down, but I think that stuff is overpriced and not very good. Most of the "veggies" are peas... peas is like only 2nd to corn in the least healthy veggie out there. I'd rather give my kid a lean cuisine with broccoli. Better yet, get an Amy's Kitchen!

Question: Is strawberry jam/strawberry perserves a healthy choice to put on your bread? I know that the one I use Smuckers starberry perserves has only 50 calories a tablespoon, but is it a healthy choice to put on wheat bread?? What are the pros and cons?

Answer: Its all sugar. Forget the caloric intake on the nutrition lable and look at the ingredence on the back of the jar. Everything you eat is broken down into sugar and stored or burned that way. Sure it says it only has 50 caloies but how much sugar??? Sugar will make you gain weight just as fat will. So stay away from those sugary sweet things and put some peanut butter on your bread instead! That is higher in fat and calories, yes true, but it also had protien and healthy nutrients your body needs to fight hunger and function all day. If you are just looking to cut calories then you might want to think about cuting out the added sugars tool. Calories are calculated by how much fat a product has in it. So if you dont have much fat... then their are prob fewer calories in it than something that does contain fat. Sugars will just get you in the end anyway, just as fat will.

Question: What should I look for when buying frozen dinners like lean cuisine and healthy choice? To be exact, I mean what should I look for when reading the nutritional lable. Are they really a healthy choice?

Answer: Look for the points Sam. There are 50 calories in a point. It is good, which has already been pointed out, to watch the sodium on TV Dinners as they can be very high in sodium. The RDA of sodium is 2400 milligrams a day. You can help compensate for sodium by flushing it out with 8 eight ounce glasses of water a day. Sodium also works well with potassium, so eat a banana a few times a week.

Question: What healthy choice to put on toast? Should it be margerine, butter, peanut butter, jam, etc? I don't know ! :( I need a HEALTHY choice .

Answer: Peanut Butter (make sure it's the natural kind with the oil on top that you have to mix) and sugar free jelly.

Question: What is the recipe (or similar one) to mimic the Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken Margherita? This microwave meal is delicious, but when I try to search for the recipe online I get the recipe that uses Ragu's Chicken Margherita sauce, which is more of a spaghetti sauce whereas the Cafe Steamers uses more of a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. I am dying to be able to make this delicious meal myself but could use a little help. Any suggestions to mimic the sauce in the Healthy Choice microwave meal is greatly appreciated. thanks. aspiring chef =)

Answer: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Grilled-Margarita-Chicken-Ever/Detail.aspx http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Balsamic-Vinaigrette/Detail.aspx i think if you made those, served it over rotini..youd have something pretty close

Question: does anyone have the recipe for the spicy brown sauce used in Healthy Choice Fresh Steamers, General tso? I love the sauce in the Healthy Choice Fresh Steamers General tso's Chicken and Vegetable bowl, does anyone know where to buy it or how to make it?

Answer: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts, skin side down, in a 9 X 11 pan. Dice tomato, chop parsley, cut bacon into 1/2 inch squares and add on top of chicken. Chop up garlic and add to top of chicken. Cut lemon in half and squeeze lemon onto chicken. Sprinkle cheese over chicken, cover pan with foil, and bake 45 minutes. Uncover foil and bake another 12 minutes or until cheese is golden brown

Question: Booster Juice is advertised as healthy, but I have my reservations about it. Is it really a healthy choice? I know there are different kinds of booster juices you can buy, some healthier than others. I wonder if it really is as healthy as it is made out to be. I see people at my gym drinking it all the time, but I can't help but think that it's loaded with sugar and other things I don't know about. I've looked up the various labels for the drinks but I don't quite understand the way they are broken down. Do you think booster juice is a healthy choice?

Answer: ?Hey, i love booster juice. it is healthy and has boosts and all but is very fattening. and also its hard to trust because it is a chain and they process all their products

Question: Which one is better lean cuisine or Healthy choice meals? Sometimes I eat frozen food meals, but I know they aren't the healthiest. Which one tastes better lean cuisine meals or healthy choice meals? Do you have any personal favorites?

Answer: Lean Cuisine is my favorite - they have a huge selection. Last time I had a Healthy Choice meal it tasted like cardboard. I don't think frozen meals are all that unhealthy, especially if you eat solid, wholesome foods for your other meals. My fav Lean Cuisine: Any of the panini sandwiches or pizzas, pasta primavera with chicken, lemon chicken, I could go on - they are really all pretty good. I don't like seafood, so I avoid those, but my bf likes the salmon.

Question: You eat Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice everyday? How can a person eat Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice lunches everyday and still be the same weight size? One of my co-workers. It just amazes me how she remains to be kind of fat and chubby. We've been working together for 5 years and all 5 years she has been this size and eats these same lunches everyday.

Answer: You are seeing what she eats for lunch at work. You are not seeing what she eats at home.

Question: Which do you think is better, lean cuisine or healthy choice? I tried to eat a healthy choice dinner yesterday and it wasnt very good. So i ate part of a lean cuisine and it was better. What do you think is better? or any other ones i may not know about?

Answer: lean cuisine for sure. i think the meats on their meals are higher quality too, i always seem to get gross peices in the healthy choices and haven't had one since.

Question: Why is the meat in Healthy Choice meals so nasty? Everytime I make a healthy choice meal, I cant bring myself to eat the meat. It is always so chewy or fatty or grissly, its just gross. If these meals are supposed to be so great for you, why is the quality so bad? Anyone else find this to be true? I think other frozen diet food tends to be similar.

Answer: I have found Health Choice and Lean Cuisine both to be nasty. I'd rather eat a Stouffer's and just make sure the total calorie count is low. Or a piece of chicken and salad. Good for you, tastes better, less garbage.

Question: Are the Healthy Choice meals really healthy for you? Ok so I am trying to get back into shape and start eating healthier. I have seen the new Healthy Choice fresh mixers on tv twice with in 5 minutes. So I was wondering are they really healthy for you? Do they taste good? or like card board? Please if there's any other information you could give me, or suggestions for some other meals would be awesome. I am a student now and I kinda need on the go lunches that can pop in the microwave if I'm running late or any breakfast meals would be awesome too! Thanks for everything!

Answer: they just contain less fat and salt, that sort of thing. i think they taste nice. but they have small portions. (prolly why they're so 'healthy')

Question: Is Healthy Choice microwave meals all vegetarian? There is a new Healthy Choice microwave meals. I don't eat meat at home so I typically don't buy most microwaveable meals. However, it seemed like every box of theirs was vegetarian friendly. I find it weird that a whole line of product - unless specified - would be vegetarian. Is there something I am missing? http://www.healthychoice.com/frozen-meals/all-natural.html I mean their frozen microwavable meals.

Answer: Unless it specifically says it is vegetarian, chances are it is not. More than likely something in it is a meat product/by-product, even if it's not listed as such (the words "natural flavors" encompasses a lot). Keep in mind if a product claims to be healthy in the name and all natural, it is probably neither healthy nor natural.

Question: In my school cafeteria, I get a baked potato for lunch about 3 times a week. Is this a healthy choice? I'm in middle school, and the main lunch choices are pizza, salad, sub sandwich, baked potato, Campbell's soups, or Arby's beef sandwich. Obviously, the pizza (served with a side of fries, usually!) is NOT a healthy choice, and I guess I've decided that a baked potato is a good main dish. However, I was wondering how healthy a baked potato actually is. Is it alright for me to get this basically everytime I buy my lunch - about 3 times a week as I said above - or should I just go for bringing my lunch every day? Note: The sub sandwiches have soggy bread and aren't appetizing what-so-ever, and their salads don't fuel me enough for the rest of the day.

Answer: Yeah, baked potatoes are an excellent choice for healthy lunches. Now if you're eating just a potato, or if you're slathering it in melted cheese, salt, and sour cream, that's not so healthy. But topped with some broccoli and maybe some bacon bits, you're well on your way to a healthy lunch!