“What I’ve learnt from eating frozen meals for one week straight.”

I’m in my early thirties and have recently been diagnosed with insulin resistance – often referred to as pre-diabetes. Having been what many people considered a healthy weight during my early and mid-twenties I began to gain weight at a rapid pace as I approached the big 3-0. Having done every diet imaginable I finally got myself to a doctor and was diagnosed.

As a result I need to make some major changes to my diet.

That said, knowing what I need to do and actually doing what I need to do are not always one in the same. I’m not particularly culinarily gifted and often opt for an easy take away in the evenings, which are full of all the things I should be avoiding. So when I was given the opportunity to road test Woolworths and Michelle Bridges Delicious Nutritious range I jumped at the chance.

There are eight varieties in the Delicious Nutritious range including:

• Beef & Tomato Casserole
• Spicy Chimichurri Beef & Veg
• Italian Style Chicken
• Asian Style Chicken
• Salmon Fishcakes
• Chicken Pesto Pasta
• Mild Massaman Beef
• Moroccan Style Chickpea Tagine

There’s bound to be something for every palate.

The first thing you’ll notice about the meals is that they’re steamed – there is no piercing of lids or pulling back corners. Also, each meal is separated into two sections which can be snapped apart and are steamed for different amounts of time – something I didn’t realise on my first try (note to self: Always read the instructions.)

The next thing you’ll notice is how many vegies are packed into each meal. There are three serves in every single one, and this is truly where the Delicious Nutritious meals differ from other frozen meals I’ve tried. Vegetables are expensive in comparison to carb heavy options such as noodles and rice, so while other frozen meals are calorie controlled they’re still mostly carbs. This is a massive no-no for anyone with insulin resistance, like me.

In fact the Delicious Nutritious meals address some key issues with the average Australian diet that includes some rather scary statistics. 9 out of 10 Australians aren’t eating enough vegetables, six out of 10 are overweight and six out of 10 don’t eat enough fibre. It’s good to know that each Delicious Nutritious meal:

• Contains three serves of veg
• Is less than 450 calories.
• Has a Health Star Rating of 4 or above
• Is high in protein
• A good source of fibre
• And uses RSPCA approved chicken and no added hormone beef

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the taste of all the Delicious Nutritious meals. They are not the frozen meals of yesteryear, they resemble and look like something you could have cooked at home and the ingredients seem to me, to be high quality which is particularly noticeable in the meats. My personal favourites are the Asian Style Chicken and the Beef & Tomato Casserole.

Eight days after introducing the Delicious Nutritious meals to my diet and increasing some other healthy activities like drinking more water and walking to work, I just felt so much better. Gone were my high fat takeaways – I’ve been eating more vegetables than any other time in my life, I’ve been sleeping better, my skin looks better and combined with a bit of regular exercise I just feel like I have more energy in general.

I would highly recommend Delicious Nutritious to anyone who is time poor in the evenings but wants to eat healthy food. I felt I could trust that having the Delicious Nutritious range in the freezer meant I always had something to eat that was good for me. The meals are really well balanced and live up to their name being both Delicious and Nutritious.

Would you give frozen meals a chance? 

Still looking for inspiration? Check out a selection of the Delicious Nutritious range below.