WHAT'S IN NESTLE'S LEAN CUISINE LASAGNA?
LEAN CUISINE LASAGNA — FAR FROM HOMEMADE™
Information updated August 2023
Lean Cuisine was originally created by Stouffer’s who is today owned by Nestlé.
Lean Cuisine is a decades old frozen product line whose core position was once anchored in dieting (that’s what Healthy Eating was called in the old days). Today, the Lean Cuisine brand offerings are more extensive and the elasticity of the brand has been stretched in an attempt to stabilize a declining business.
LEAN CUISINE LASAGANA: One of the offerings in Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine is Lasagna with Meat Sauce. Let’s look at the ingredients in this product. (Source for ingredients: Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine Web site 8/23)
NESTLE’S LEAN CUISINE LASAGNA IS FAR FROM HOMEMADE™: Nestlé’s Lasagna with Meat Sauce contains numerous ingredients Not In Kitchen™ >> items we would not use in our kitchens at home if we were making Lasagna from scratch. Ingredients such as Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Chemical Preservatives including Citric Acid, Flavors, Sweeteners, Soybean Oil, Textured Soy Flour and Stabilizers.
Citric Acid is an FDA-recognized Chemical Preservative. (Source: U.S. FDA 2023)
Q: Have you ever purchased Soybean Oil or Textured Soy Flour for your home kitchen? Do you want Soybean Oil and Textured Soy Flour in your “lean” Lasagna?
NESTLE’S LEAN CUISINE LASAGNA HAS ADDED SUGAR: One serving of Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine Lasagna has two instances of Sweeteners including Sugar + Dextrose. Dextrose is a type of Sugar from which candies like Smarties are made.
Shown below, the Nestlé Lean Cuisine Web site 8/23 says, “The name LEAN CUISINE is synonymous with eating well” . . . but there are 6 Sources of Added Sugars in Nestlé Lean Cuisine Chicken Club Sandwich including two instances of Corn Syrup Solids . . . and it contains two ingredients banned at Whole Foods >> Sorbic Acid and Sodium Nitrite. (Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 8/23).
6 Sources of Added Sugars including two instances of Corn Syrup Solids >> think about that for a moment >> in a product which claims to be all about “eating well”.
Q: Do you expect to find multiple inclusions of Added Sugars in a “Lean” product positioned around healthy eating?
Seen below, FROZEN LASAGNA COMPARISON: Let’s compare Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine Lasagna with Meat Sauce to Closest To Homemade® brand Amy’s Vegetable Lasagna. (Sources: Nestlé Lean Cuisine Web site 8/23; Amy’s Web site 8/23)
Amy’s Vegetable Lasagna is made with Organic Pasta, Organic Tomato Purée, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and contains no added Soy, Sugars, Flavors, Preservatives or Colors.
FROZEN MEAT LASAGNA COMPARISON: Below is a comparison of Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine Lasagna with Meat Sauce to Closest To Homemade® brand Rao’s Meat Lasagna. (Sources: Nestlé Lean Cuisine Web site 8/23; Rao’s Web site 8/23)
Q: Which one of the above would you rather eat? Why do you think Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine Lasagna is so Far From Homemade >> are these ingredients reflective of a company which makes decisions based on the needs of the Consumers or the Corporation?
From the Nestlé Web site: Nestlé “works hard to ensure that your LEAN CUISINE meal contains the nutrition needed for an active lifestyle.”
And here’s a quick look at another offering from Nestlé’s Lean Cuisine which is banned at Whole Foods and contains 7 Sources of Added Sugars including Fructose >> Lean Cuisine Glazed Turkey Tenderloins with 24 grams of Sugar including 10 grams of Added Sugar.
And here’s a look at some old ads from Lean Cuisine, historically anchored in female-targeted body image benefits still touted today:
Discover food and beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.
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