Lean Cuisine

[gardengirl77]

I was in the grocery store today when I noticed that several Lean Cuisine entrees say gluten free on them (the one I remember is fiesta grilled chicken). I have not noticed this before. Wondering if anybody has tried the Lean Cuisines and whether they were something I should try. I live in a small town and have to drive to get to a store that has gluten free food, so it is nice to know that there may finally be something I can get here for nights I just want to do something quick. Thanks for any insight!

 

Update: I am sure it is Lean Cuisine. Here is a pic.

[kareng]

Are you in the US? I looked at them on line and didn't see any mention of gluten-free. In fact, the fiesta chicken you mentioned, still lists wheat on the web site. It's possible they haven't updated the website yet. I looked at several flavors that didn't have obvious pasta ( which isn't many), and they all had wheat.

[LauraTX]

I found a post on reddit where a person had written them asking what was gluten-free and they got a very nondescript answer.  I am going to write them with some specific questions about whether they test, etc to see if I can get some better info.  I would love a cheaper option for frozen dinners, but am hesitant to jump in with these.

[Tricia7]

are you sure you saw lean cuisine and not the Weight Watchers Smart Ones (some may refer to all 'diet' frozen dinners as lean cuisines) as smart ones has made a few gluten-free options. One being chicken enchilada. Had one this week and tastes just like it always have, It's a great $2 option for a quick meal.

 

Open Original Shared Link

[gardengirl77]

Are you in the US? I looked at them on line and didn't see any mention of gluten-free. In fact, the fiesta chicken you mentioned, still lists wheat on the web site. It's possible they haven't updated the website yet. I looked at several flavors that didn't have obvious pasta ( which isn't many), and they all had wheat.

 

 

This is what I saw in the store. In the purple circle, it says gluten free.

 

[kareng]

 

Great!  I guess the only way to know about their manufacturing practices is to ask them?

[RMJ]

This link has information someone says they obtained from Lean Cuisine:

Open Original Shared Link

[w8in4dave]

There is a pic of the product .. I am saying Yay!! If you call them and get a great answer I say yay! ... I do not eat frozen or pre packaged meals. I am very careful. If you can , more power to you! woot!

[LauraTX]

I heard back from Lean Cuisine.  They are made on shared equipment, with a thorough cleaning regimen.    They did not answer my question on whether or not they test the finished product.

 

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us about LEAN CUISINE®. We welcome questions and comments from loyal consumers such as yourself and appreciate this opportunity to assist you.

All attempts are made at our production facilities to prevent cross contamination of gluten into other products not containing these ingredients. After a product with gluten is produced, all equipment that comes in direct contact with the gluten is completely disassembled and cleaned thoroughly prior to resuming production. Where possible, products containing gluten are scheduled to occur during a two-shift operation, followed by a clean up of equipment. When only one shift of product is needed, it is scheduled so that a clean up will occur at the conclusion of production and prior to making anything else on the equipment. 

The following products are gluten free and are clearly marked on the front of the package. 

Rancho Braised Beef 
Herb Roasted Chicken 
Chili Lime Chicken 
Chicken Marsala 
Fiesta Grilled Chicken 

We listened to our consumers and are working to create more gluten free items. Please check the front of the package for those items that are clearly marked "gluten free." 

 

We appreciate your interest in our products and hope you will visit our website often for the latest information on our products and promotions."

[HappyMom623]

This is interesting! I've never seen these but then again, I don't really look at those any more. My Husband eats these all the time.

[kareng]

Finally saw one with the big gluten-free on the front.  Looks like it might take a while for all the older, non-labelled ones , to work their way thru the system.

[GlutenStinks15]

I heard back from Lean Cuisine.  They are made on shared equipment, with a thorough cleaning regimen.    They did not answer my question on whether or not they test the finished product.

 

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us about LEAN CUISINE®. We welcome questions and comments from loyal consumers such as yourself and appreciate this opportunity to assist you.

All attempts are made at our production facilities to prevent cross contamination of gluten into other products not containing these ingredients. After a product with gluten is produced, all equipment that comes in direct contact with the gluten is completely disassembled and cleaned thoroughly prior to resuming production. Where possible, products containing gluten are scheduled to occur during a two-shift operation, followed by a clean up of equipment. When only one shift of product is needed, it is scheduled so that a clean up will occur at the conclusion of production and prior to making anything else on the equipment. 

The following products are gluten free and are clearly marked on the front of the package. 

Rancho Braised Beef 

Herb Roasted Chicken 

Chili Lime Chicken 

Chicken Marsala 

Fiesta Grilled Chicken 

We listened to our consumers and are working to create more gluten free items. Please check the front of the package for those items that are clearly marked "gluten free." 

 

We appreciate your interest in our products and hope you will visit our website often for the latest information on our products and promotions."

 

This is terrific news! I tried the Smart Ones Rice and Beans and it killed me - I tried picking out the corn but I must have missed some.

[kareng]

I had the braised Ranchero beef with mashed sweet potato.  quite tasty.  A nice spicy sauce.  The sweet potatoes were a bit bland but there was enough sauce To use with the potato.  And at less than $3 - its half the price of most gluten-free frozen meals.

[Glutengals]

I had the braised Ranchero beef with mashed sweet potato.  quite tasty.  A nice spicy sauce.  The sweet potatoes were a bit bland but there was enough sauce To use with the potato.  And at less than $3 - its half the price of most gluten-free frozen meals.

 

I heard back from Lean Cuisine.  They are made on shared equipment, with a thorough cleaning regimen.    They did not answer my question on whether or not they test the finished product.

 

"Thank you for taking the time to contact us about LEAN CUISINE®. We welcome questions and comments from loyal consumers such as yourself and appreciate this opportunity to assist you.

All attempts are made at our production facilities to prevent cross contamination of gluten into other products not containing these ingredients. After a product with gluten is produced, all equipment that comes in direct contact with the gluten is completely disassembled and cleaned thoroughly prior to resuming production. Where possible, products containing gluten are scheduled to occur during a two-shift operation, followed by a clean up of equipment. When only one shift of product is needed, it is scheduled so that a clean up will occur at the conclusion of production and prior to making anything else on the equipment. 

The following products are gluten free and are clearly marked on the front of the package. 

Rancho Braised Beef 

Herb Roasted Chicken 

Chili Lime Chicken 

Chicken Marsala 

Fiesta Grilled Chicken 

We listened to our consumers and are working to create more gluten free items. Please check the front of the package for those items that are clearly marked "gluten free." 

 

We appreciate your interest in our products and hope you will visit our website often for the latest information on our products and promotions."

 

I was very excited to see your post and investigated a little myself, and even though the rep said that those lean cuisine items are gluten-free, their website still shows ingredients that include wheat.  If you look at the chicken marsala, hydrolyzed wheat gluten is listed as an ingredient.  The chile lime chicken has soy sauce in it and lists wheat as an ingredient as well.  I stopped searching since I don't trust this list fully and I'm hoping that maybe they just haven't updated their website so I will have to look at the nutrition label in the store.  just wanted to give you all a heads up to really investigate the label on what you purchase since it seems like there's conflicting information.

 

Thanks,

[kareng]

I was very excited to see your post and investigated a little myself, and even though the rep said that those lean cuisine items are gluten-free, their website still shows ingredients that include wheat.  If you look at the chicken marsala, hydrolyzed wheat gluten is listed as an ingredient.  The chile lime chicken has soy sauce in it and lists wheat as an ingredient as well.  I stopped searching since I don't trust this list fully and I'm hoping that maybe they just haven't updated their website so I will have to look at the nutrition label in the store.  just wanted to give you all a heads up to really investigate the label on what you purchase since it seems like there's conflicting information.

 

Thanks,

You should always go by the ingredients on a product as, legally, that will be the correct ingredients at the time they were made. I have seen a few of the old ones still in the grocery case - so look for the ones that are labelled gluten-free.

[LauraTX]

They probably reformulated some of these to be gluten free, so as Karen said, there can be old ones on the shelves for another year or so maybe.  So the ingredients on the website may be for the old version... those kinds of things tend to lag behind sometimes, and companies don't always put up the most current info.  The couple ones I tried had good ingredient lists, since I always look at those.  Taste, however, was not that great.  But edible if I am out of the house and need something.

[chocominties]

I think it's important to remember that these are frozen items, so they might not get rotated out of the freezer case as quickly as a shelf item would.  

 

That said, I've tried a few and they're decent.  The ranchero beef was pretty good, and so was the barbecue chicken with cheesy potatoes.  The sauce on that one was a little sweet, but it was fine and the chicken felt like real chicken.  Not so with the herb roasted chicken I had prior to that one.  That one has a mix of broccoli and potatoes that is really, really good, but the chicken itself is a leathery patty of chopped and formed chicken product.  The sauce is okay on the fake chicken, but I didn't like it on the veggies.  As I said to my coworker, if they packaged JUST those veggies, I would have enjoyed it much more.

 

In my local stores these are often on sale for $3 or less, which is half the price of the other gluten free frozen dinners.  The caloric content is low, but if I eat these after a filling breakfast (my morning routine is 2 eggs, 2 apples and usually some kind of gluten-free hot cereal) they're enough.  I don't think I'd survive eating them on an empty stomach.  

[squirmingitch]

Boy chocominties you sure described the herb roasted chicken one perfectly! That was exactly what my dh & I thought about it. Fake chicken UGH! That's the only one of those we have been able to try since that's the only one our store carries. I do have to say that big breakfast or no it just isn't enough to feed a man. 

 

We also tried the Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers Chicken Fresca & thought it was all around better. The chicken in it is better too but not terrific & it also seems to be more filling.

 

We eat them in a pinch.