When it comes to lunch at your desk or dinner on a busy or late night, what’s a better choice—takeout or a frozen “diet” meal? I don’t know about you, but when I was first living on my own at 20, I subsisted mainly on Amy’s organic meals and other heat-and-eat dishes. I was so clueless in the kitchen…

In their February 2010 issue, Consumer Reports takes a look at frozen entrees from companies such as Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Kashi, and Healthy Choice.

What they mainly found was that these meals taste pretty good but tend to be too small—many clock in at 300 calories or less. However the magazine points out that this provides a good opportunity for consumers to add vegetables and fruits to balance out the dish. Another downside was that a lot of these frozen items pack a lot of sodium, with 800 mg being a pretty typical amount, though 600 mg is considered a reasonable amount for someone taking in the recommended 2,300 mg or less per day.

Still, Consumer Report considers a frozen entree a much better option than takeout because of their automatic portion control—especially a plus for people trying to monitor their weight in a healthy manner.