I have a secret reward in my freezer and that’s not even a euphemism

Super big thanks to Lean Cuisine for sponsoring this rambling walk down memory lane. Who knew I had so much to say about frozen dinners? Make sure to check out the Lean Cuisine Rewards program that allows you to collect PIN codes from each meal that will earn you all kinds of amazing rewards from entrées to tablets and beyond.

“You can’t have a treat everyday,” I tell my kids.

Of course, that’s a big fat lie. Whether it’s a glass of wine or a specialty coffee, I manage to reward myself with a little something almost everyday. And my latest obsession? Dinner for one after everybody’s gone to sleep. That’s right, I kid you not. A Lean Cuisine in your freezer can make your day.

I can tell you all about when I had my first frozen dinner. My mom was working the late shift as an emerg receptionist at Sick Kids hospital and my brother and I were hanging out with my dad.

“Tonight,” said my dad, “We’re having TV dinners.”

He’d been talking about these TV dinners for a couple weeks. He thought we’d get a kick out of them; the little compartments for meat and veggies,  creamy mashed potatoes and even a teensy little dessert. So this one night he finally picked up three of these dinners at the supermarket and then proceeded to heat them up in the oven for 35 minutes.

Dudes. I don’t even know why they bothered inventing frozen meals before they invented the microwave. Just cook something, for crying out loud.

But he was right. We got a huge kick out of those meals. I mean, sure,  it’s not often that frozen corn is the culinary highlight of a meal, but it was fun. Sitting in front of the TV eating food that came with dessert built in and no dishes to do was totally cool.

I cannot for the life of me, though, tell you about the second time I had a frozen dinner. I know I held onto the memory of that first experience for a very long time but eventually the novelty wore off and I wound up forgetting about them. I seriously had no idea about the evolution that was happening in freezers all around the world. None.

So, in my early twenties, when my best friend finally told me the real secret to her impressive weight loss was not, in fact, eating better or exercising more, but was frozen dinners, I was all, “Get out of town!” It was the nineties; everybody was telling each other to get out of town all the time. Just watch a Seinfeld rerun.

“It’s all about portion control,” she said.

“But … but … is that even healthy?!” I asked.

I still don’t know that I’d recommend eating only frozen dinners, but holy hell had they become a lot better than I’d remembered. Pastas and rice and lean pieces of chicken breasts and veggies. I had no idea.

I soon brought myself up to speed. We didn’t have a car when I was pregnant with my first baby and the nearest supermarket wasn’t a super-easy walk. And well, to be completely honest, I’d been working in bars and restaurants for years and didn’t have the best fresh-grocery buying habits to begin with. I started working in an office tower and needed to bring a lunch every day. I didn’t have a supermarket near me, but I did have a brand-spanking new Shopper’s with a little grocery section. You can see where this is going.

I became a frozen dinner guru. I can tell you, however, that there is no portion-control weight-management happening when you heat up two meals and then try to slyly heap all the food into one container so as not to look like a total pig. Hey! I was growing a baby (and several chins a couple of which are like children to me now).

But then I had my baby and no longer had to eat in an office tower lunch room. We moved to a place with a grocery store across the street and I got big into pureeing my own locally grown organic baby food, as one does. I had a couple more babies and what we used to call “the big pot” is now simply “the pot.” I can’t remember the last time I bought food that didn’t have “Family Size” or “Club Pack” or “Extra Value” stamped on it. I could probably spend ten hours a day in the kitchen making food for these people if I wanted to. There hasn’t been a lot of call for individual-sized anything.

Until now. My kids are eight, five and two-and-a-half and we are in full-extracurricular-swing. The family calendar is jammed with activities for the older kids and the youngest one doesn’t need me as much. So suddenly we are five different people shuffling off here and there. I mean, usually one of us parents feeds the kids dinner. But it’s not always me! Or we split up and I just end up making one kid a sandwich while I unload the dishwasher. Just last week I drove downtown with the kids to drop them off at Ed’s work so I could attend a book launch. I then high-tailed it back home on the subway so he could go play hockey later that night.

And there I was, all by myself in a house full of sleeping kids. I hadn’t had dinner, but there was no way I was turning on the stove for just me. Enter Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken and Vegetables over rigatoni in an herb sauce to save the day. Was it as good as something I might have cooked? Er, yeah, it was. Skipping dinner just got rewarding.

The best part is that inside the package is a unique PIN code for the Lean Cuisine Rewards program. You can earn Rewards with every Lean Cuisine entrée you purchase and then either redeem them for a free entrée, or save up for bigger awards like exercise equipment, gift cards and more. So, you see, I pretty much have to stock up on Lean Cuisine now. It would be irresponsible not to.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a date with Lean Cuisine, a glass of red wine and last week’s Mad Men. Try not to be jealous.

How do you reward yourself? Tell me in the comments and the first five answers will receive a bonus PIN number to start your own rewards account. You can save up for a free entrée or save towards any other reward.

This post was generously sponsored by Lean Cuisine Rewards, but the opinions and images are my own. For more information, visit www.leancuisine.ca/en/rewards.