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For most of us, Trader Joe's is our home away from home. The beloved grocery store chain offers shoppers a variety of fresh, organic foods at affordable prices that can't be beat. Not to mention, they sell cookie butter and always have fun free samples to try.
Despite its eccentric decor and diverse selection of foods from different cuisines, shoppers often forget that not everything sold in Trader Joe's is exactly healthy. To most shoppers' surprise, the unhealthiest options aren't found in the baked goods aisle, but rather the frozen food section instead.
Some of these frozen foods may seem healthy on the outside, but they're actually loaded with excessive and startling amounts of saturated fats, sodium, cholesterol, and sugar. So, remember to avoid these 5 frozen foods the next time you're shopping at Trader Joe's.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
Chicken Pot Pie is a favorite to most, but this version of the classic dish should definitely be crossed off your grocery list. This frozen meal may be high in protein (12 grams), but don't let that fool you into thinking it's healthy. It's also jammed packed with sodium (730 milligrams) and saturated fats (12 grams), making it an incredibly unhealthy choice for dinner.
[Photos: Trader Joe's]
By now we all know that red meat isn't the best for us, but that's not the only reason why you should avoid Trader Joe's Grass Fed Angus Beef Burgers. Each patty contains a whopping 290 calories, 80 mg of cholesterol and 23 grams of fat. While that may not seem terrible at first glance, it's important to understand that eating one burger would account for 35% of one's daily fats intake and 45% of one's saturated fats intake. And that's not including any toppings, buns or condiments.
It's a no brainer that mac & cheese isn't the most nutritious meal out there, especially when you bread it and fry it. But, Trader Joe's frozen Mac & Cheese Bites should definitely be avoided. Not only is the serving size of this appetizer (3 pieces) filled with 30 milligrams of sodium and 7 grams of saturated fats, but they also contain 40 milligrams of cholesterol. And let's be real, we'll probably be having more than the recommended serving size of these tasty bites.
There's nothing more convienent than heating up a frozen pizza when you don't feel like cooking dinner. But next time you feel like picking up a frozen pizza from Trader Joe's, you might want to avoid the BBQ Chicken Pizza. One serving of this frozen pizza equals 670 milligrams of sodium. That's about a third of your daily reccomended sodium intake.
Whether it's fresh from your favorite takeout restaurant or from the frozen food section of your local grocery store, there's no healthy way to have mandarin orange chicken. This delicious meal may always taste good, but it's definitely not the best meal for you. Trader Joe's frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken meal is loaded with cholesterol (95 milligrams) and sodium (330 milligrams), making it an unhealthy choice for your next dinner.
