by Lisa Fillers

Created on: January 17, 2009   Last Updated: January 29, 2009

Frozen entrees differ from frozen meals in that they contain only the main entree, as the name suggests. Many companies which produce only frozen meals package their selections by the name of the main entree it contains. Other companies produce both frozen meals and frozen entrees and both are wonderful when considering only convenience.

The frozen entree evolved from the frozen meal, which was first created in 1945 by Maxon Food Systems for use on airplanes by military and civilian airline passengers. These were followed by Jack Fisher's FridgiDinners. It was not until Frozen Dinners, Inc. came into being in 1949 that frozen dinners became popular. The business was owned by brothers, Albert and Meyer Bernstein. By 1954, when Swanson began producing frozen meals, the concept gained a strong hold. This may be in part to Swanson's coinage of "TV Dinner".

During the early years of the TV dinner the food was rather bland. Competition between the companies producing these convenience products brought to the market much tastier meals. However, along with the improved taste came the use of a much higher salt content and preservatives such as MSG. Both high salt content and MSG are detrimental to our health and fitness. The salt is masked by the use of increased spices which also help make the food more flavorful. It was not until we became more health conscious and more concerned with our weight that we took notice of the unhealthy amount of these additives. Salt is listed as sodium on the label and is known to put us at risk for high blood pressure and heart related problems. MSG, monosodium glutamate, stimulates the brain into thinking the food you are eating tastes good and can cause acute migraine headaches, stomach aches and diarrhea.

As the companies producing frozen meals began seeing a decline in sales as health and fitness gained a hold, they began producing a healthier line of products. Healthier, however, does not mean they are healthy for us. While several companies began producing healthier frozen meals, the frozen entrees changed very little or not at all. For several years the companies produced both a diet line and a regular line of products.

Banquet, Swanson, Encor, Manna, Tyson, and Weight Watchers are companies which produce frozen entrees. Weight Watcher entrees are marketed under the name Smart Ones. Their entree differs from other companies as it is a large portion entree for one person. One such entree is their lasagna. Manna is a company which

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