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Frozen Microwavable Snacks: Foods for Mood Rather Than Nutrition : Health: Americans are spending more and more on these types of foods--from Lean Pocket sandwiches and pizzas to brownies and milk shakes.

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THE ALLENTOWN MORNING CALL

A joke floating around comedy clubs a few years ago concerned a then-overweight (but since slimmed-down) actress who stood in front of her microwave shouting, “Hurry, hurry.”

For the actress, and for most of the rest of us, speed is essential. Less significant to the actress, but more important to the rest of us, are the ways the pressures of a two-income family have shortened the amount of time most people spend cooking.

The pressures have an impact in other areas as well, but nowhere do the hurry-up tendencies of daily life mesh with the possibilities of the microwave as well as they do in the area of frozen, microwavable snack foods. Although there are other choices when it comes to microwavable snacks, from popcorn to individual-serving soups, the frozen foods case is where folks in a hurry will find the greatest variety of quick snacks.

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There are no specific statistics on frozen, microwavable snacks--the kind that, typically, come prepackaged in individual servings and can be prepared within minutes and eaten quickly and informally, using hands rather than the generally accepted polite utensils.

But Americans have been spending more and more on frozen foods in general, and that would include microwavable snacks. Manufacturers are turning out everything from Lean Pocket sandwiches and pizzas to brownies and milk shakes. Most of these choices are goodies picked to suit a mood rather than a specific nutrition plan.

Statistics compiled by the American Frozen Food Institute show that U.S. shoppers spent $9 billion more and ate 113 million pounds more frozen foods in 1988 than they did during the previous year.

About 1,510 new frozen-food products were introduced during 1988, and an equal number of new products were introduced during the past year, according to Steven Anderson, chief executive officer for the American Frozen Food Institute.

In our health-conscious times, a legitimate concern with microwavable snacks is their nutritional value, especially when compared with ready-made snacks or snacks prepared from mixes.

“On the whole, most of the microwave products are, in my opinion, high in fat and in sodium in particular,” says Tina Amato, a registered dietitian with the Allentown (Pa.) Health Bureau. “There are some better selections you can choose within each of the categories.” Frozen soft pretzels or individual-serving vegetable packs rather than a Danish or sausage biscuits are examples.

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Amato suggested people avoid microwavable snacks that have no nutritional labels on them. Typically, only foods that make some type of health claim are required to display a label, which would provide information on the amount of fat, sodium and other health-related information.

Consumers should also look at the amount of fat, measured in grams, and sodium, measured in milligrams.

Any product with a single serving that registers more than 5 grams of fat or 240 milligrams of sodium should be avoided, Amato says. Avoid palm oil (As a rule of thumb, palm oil is the least expensive of most commonly used oils, so if several oils, including palm oil, are listed, bet on the palm oil).

Jayne Hurley, a registered dietitian with the Center for Science and Public Policy, said that tests were done comparing a microwavable cake mix to a boxed cake mix that someone would prepare at home.

“Both are very fatty,” says Hurley. “I don’t know if you can make a case for them (microwavable snacks) being worse than prepackaged. They are certainly as fatty as those other products. There is no net positive or negative.”

Microwavable foods are “no worse than and no better than the ones you are whipping up at home. At home, you have more control over the ingredients. You can substitute skim milk instead of whole milk. You can cut fat and sugar. You have more control whenever you are making the food yourself,” Hurley says.

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Will the sheer convenience of the microwavable food snacks pose problems for some?

Hurley said they might.

“When people are dieting, we recommend they only have foods in the house that need to be prepared,” Hurley said. “So, if you want to binge on cookies and cake, you have to get eggs and milk out and make them. Chances are, you are not going to do that. The convenience of (microwavable foods) might lead to an increase in consumption for these kind of products.”

Judith Newman, a specialist on eating disorders at Pennsylvania State University’s Ogontz Campus, says that the convenience of the foods will not matter much to the anorexic, who suffers from appetite loss. For the bulimic, or the binge eater, the quickness of the foods’ preparation may in fact feed the food addiction.

However, with extreme cases of binge eaters, Newman said, it is not uncommon for them to “eat frozen pastries or dough before it is cooked. They eat raw things. Once that drive comes over them to binge, the taste of the food or the texture of the food is really unimportant.”

Snacking has gotten a bad name, Hurley says, mostly because of the kinds of snacks people choose. Eating several smaller meals a day is no better or worse than eating the traditional three square meals, Hurley says. It is what is chosen that is important.

Assigned to eat my way through the frozen-snack category and critique the choices, I found some winners as well as some losers.

Celeste Vegetable Pizza-For-One: High in fat (26 grams) and high in sodium (1,260), the pizza would not get rave reviews from the dietitians but still got excellent remarks from an ad hoc committee of tasters. Vegetables were good and a crisping disk included in the package to help keep the crust crisp worked as promised.

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Acme Breakfast Sandwich: This version included sausage, egg and cheese on a biscuit. The biscuit was too floury for my tastes. But overall, it was equal to the kind of sandwich one might get out of a vending machine. Another category with alarming statistics. This brand contained 1,450 milligrams sodium and 29 grams of fat.

Lean Pockets Chicken Supreme: Of the non-sweet foods tested, this was tops for taste and nutrition. It was very low in fat (4 grams), but didn’t offer any data on sodium content. The crust was crisp and the chicken stuffing was tasty.

Oh Boy Stuffed Potatoes: Because these came two to a box, there was enough to put it before the tasting committee. One tester thought the potato was bland but passable. Another felt somewhat deceived by the box, which listed real bacon was included in the potatoes. She found only tiny bacon bits and also thought the potato was peppery, but not to a degree that would make the potato inedible. Each stuffed potato takes about four minutes to cook--enough time to make one wonder if it wouldn’t be far smarter to microwave a real potato and season to taste.

Hormel New Traditions Cheeseburger: As might be expected, the fat content here is high (19 grams) and the sodium fairly high as well (550 milligrams). This brand requires only that the hamburger be defrosted for about 4 minutes, so folks with a microwave that doesn’t have a defrost mode may have to guess as to cooking times--a critical point when it comes to final quality.

Sara Lee Classic Cheesecakes: At 200 calories, 14 grams fat and 150 milligrams sodium, these tasty treats (four individual snacks) exact a steep nutritional price.

Pepperidge Farm’s Newport Hot Fudge Brownie: This is part of Pepperidge Farm’s American Collection, and while the individual-serving brownie is kind to the taste buds, it is rather pricey. I paid $1.39 for it at a convenience store, but the item is discounted slightly at supermarkets. No nutritional data is provided; probably because a snacker is probably better off not knowing the statistics.

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Rachel’s Double Chocolate Brownies: Rachel, bless her, is most likely on the Weight Watchers hit list. The 1-pound tray of frozen Rachel’s (with walnuts) is too good to be sold without a license or a prescription. Worst of all, you can eat the brownies when still frozen (Rachel suggests it on the back of the box) for a different taste treat. There are no health claims on this box, and, therefore, a snacker has no idea just how good or how bad these things are for him or her, which might be a small blessing.

Sara Lee Chocolate Fudge Cakes: These relatively dry cakes (six individually wrapped snacks) are better with coffee or tea than alone. They are of medium caloric content (190) and high in fat content (10 grams per). The sodium level was at a reasonable level (125 milligrams).

Oregon Farms Carrot Cake: A fairly tasty, fairly moist carrot cake (cream cheese frosting with walnuts). Again, no nutritional information. For the calorie-conscientious among us, you can slice one or two pieces of the frozen cake and place the rest safely back in the freezer. The slices can be microwaved to thaw.

Sara Lee Corn and Oat Bran Muffins: Both muffins come in packaging that allows the user to microwave one, or several. The corn muffins are tastier than the oat bran muffins, which are bland tasting. The oat bran muffins are also on the dry side. Of the two, the corn muffins had more fat per serving--13 grams, compared to the oat bran muffin’s 8 grams. Also, they both were fairly high in sodium--330 milligrams for the corn, 320 milligrams for the oat.

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