Sometimes a dinner just can’t be from scratch.  Sometimes a meal just can’t be a tender roast fresh out of the oven or a homemade soup that has been simmering all afternoon.  Sometimes LIFE happens.  Life has been happening to me all week and to be honest, after spending the afternoon running around, I didn’t want to whip up a “from scratch” dinner.  Enter Trader Joe’s.  Flashback 3 weeks, when after sampling some pasta at their oh-so-wonderful sample station, I thought how genius it would be to have some in my freezer for an easy, last minute meal.  I turned the package around an scanned the ingredients.  No hydrogenated oils, no soybean or cottonseed oils, no corn syrup, no artificial or colorings, no msg…perfect!  I snatched up two bags and figured pairing this with some warm bread and/or salad would be a great, easy, somewhat “whole” dinner.  Score!

The key to purchasing a  decent, healthy, prepackaged frozen meal is to always read the ingredients.  Know what you are putting into your body.   So, don’t rule out prepackaged meals in a pinch but be smart about it.  It can make life easier when LIFE happens!