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We love a good bargain at Costco, but there are some things that just aren't worth it. Take the frozen food section: Not only are some of the frozen foods at Costco plain old unappetizing, but there are specific items that can wreak havoc on your overall health. (You'd be surprised at how much trans fat or sodium can lurk beneath the surface of a frozen breakfast sandwich.) Here are some of the worst frozen foods that you can get your hands on at Costco.
You’re not alone if you consider chicken pot pies to represent the gold standard when it comes to comfort foods. However, the nutritional breakdown for a frozen Marie Callender’s chicken pot pie versus one that you can make from scratch is not something to overlook. A Marie Callender chicken pot pie has an impressive 17 grams of protein, but it also has upwards of 32 grams of fat and only 4 grams of fiber. The real troublemaker in that breakdown is the high fat content, which can take a toll on your cardiovascular system and put you at a heightened risk for heart disease.
Jumbo corn dogs awaken a childlike feeling of nostalgia in many of us. Unfortunately, our metabolisms are not at all like what they used to be when we were kids. Your typical battered corn dog can have as much as 700 milligrams of sodium and 4 grams of saturated fat. That is not your ideal situation if you’re committed to keeping your cardiovascular health in good standing.
As a general rule of thumb, shrimp is a great healthy food option. Shrimp is packed full of beneficial proteins as well as omega-3 fats, a combination that's great for both your heart and your brain. However, the frozen shrimp in a bag of Royal Asia Honey Walnut Shrimp are sauced and tossed in quite a bit of sugar and oils. Plus, these particular shrimp have a ton of sodium, with upwards of 600 milligrams per serving.
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Costco has a well established reputation for its widely adored Kirkland Signature chicken bakes. It’s a highly sought after item from Costco food courts near and far, but these chicken bakes are also stuffed with sodium. Specifically, we’re talking as much as 1,370 grams of sodium per chicken bake. Overconsuming sodium has been linked to health problems such as metabolic dysregulation.
Related: Things You Should Never Buy at Costco, Sam's, or BJ's
Unfortunately, many deli sandwiches have developed quite the reputation for not being the most healthy options. This is largely due to the combination of the processed meat and cheese, which can greatly elevate one’s risk for developing heart disease. This deli style sandwich from Raybern’s is particularly rough, in that you can end up consuming 45% of your daily recommended saturated fat.
In no way are people out there drawing assumptions about lasagna being a lean and low-impact meal option. By design, lasagna is loaded up with all kinds of cheeses and meats. One serving of the Italian sausage and beef lasagna option from Kirkland Signature is filled with upwards of 39% of your daily recommended sodium. Plus, the kinds of ultra processed meat in this lasagna dish have been linked to a heightened risk for developing certain kinds of cancer if consumed in excess.
Related: Costco Prepared Meals That'll Feed Your Whole Family
Jimmy Dean English muffins have a long way to go before coming remotely close to a healthy frozen food option. For starters, the actual croissant does not handle the defrosting process. It can end up having a crumbly exterior while the inside has a strange, rubbery texture. Plus, the actual sausage is packed with sodium.
Related: I Tried 7 Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches, But None of Them Put Starbucks to Shame
We get it. Everyone has monstrous pizza cravings every now and again. Honestly, sometimes the only thing you can do is just cave in and treat yourself. However, there are certain frozen pizzas that you should steer clear of when you can help it. Motor City Pizza Co.’s Detroit style frozen pizza is one of those pizzas to avoid, as it’s loaded with saturated fat. Saturated fat is notorious for raising your body’s cholesterol levels, which can put you at a greater risk for developing heart disease.
While these reasonably-sized burritos might seem innocent enough, they are not up to speed when it comes to maintaining a healthy sodium-to-carbs ratio. Specifically, each shredded beef burrito from Don Miguel has around 60 grams of carbs. That’s just far too much when you consider that the rest of the burrito only has 24 grams of protein.
Totino’s pizza roles are a leading culprit when it comes to guilty food pleasures. You can end up putting away 230 calories from eating six pizza rolls. Those pizza rolls from Totino’s “pizza factory” are packed with sodium, saturated fat, and preservatives — all things that you would do best to avoid putting in your body when you can help it.