I really really really wish that JC would make their extremely costly foods alot healthier. I have seen some changes that they are trying to make. but JC needs to get rid of all white flours, the fiber simply must increase (no less than 3 grams per item and preferrably more)- the sunshine sandwhich should have already been a whole grain english muffin. If the foods were higher in nutrients, lower in pesticides (organic) as well as lower in crappy ingredients such as, partially hydrogenated oils, mono and dyglicerides, high fructose, refined sugars, etc etc. the ingredients list is so long on some of these.
We are learning quickly that the fewer ingredients and the closer to natural and organic the healthier for our bodies. I ate a chicken stuffed sandwhich today and was horrified by the ingredients. I felt unhealthy eating it. I am extremely discouraged to be eating foods that I know are seriously not adding to my health. I feel that JC should really make this a program about health and fat loss. The cost of the food is outrageous and really the value of the product really needs to match the price.

You can make all your foods with whole grains. The desserts even. You can use whole wheat pastry flour in the making of the cakes. You can use cane sugar instead of refined white sugar. It would be so awesome if all the artificial ingredients were gone and what would rock harder than anything is if it were all or mostly organic. Especially the cheeses and meats. Wow how awesome that would be?

I would stay with the program longer and feel generally more content if I felt like I was putting whole foods into my body especially for the price.

I agree with you Gypsy Blue...JC should take the lead in creating dishes with healthier food ... get rid of the white flour...less transfats. Even the fast food restaurants have changed their ways.

No offense.... but if you don't like the ingredients.... why are you doing the program or even on the JC website? The program isn't for everyone, so if you don't like it you might want to think about trying somethint different. JC is not going to change their ingredient list because of your post... good luck.

This forum is called "food feedback" for a reason....

I agree with the OP personally... I do very much enjoy the JC food items... but couldnt possibly imagine eating it on a long term due to some of the more dodgey ingredients.

Whole grains, less ingredients, etc are very quickly becoming standard.... heck even haagen daaz ice cream has a line now called "5"... only 5 ingredients!

For the price we pay.... I dont think there is any excuse that JC shouldnt be keeping up with health standards, especially when its the goal to become healthy.

Agree. Seems to me that JC is there to help people lose weight and in a healthy way. I really do not like the bad ingredients in the food, high fructose corn syrup, trans fats (which is totally a heart health issue). Anyway, I have sort of looked the other way because of the weight loss. Seems JC's diet experts should get in the 21st century. Agree also about the sunshine sandwich which would be so much better for us if it had a whole wheat bun. But I must say I have enjoyed the food, frozen, not the other staple food as it reminds me too much of nutri-system.

Having been a long time member at JC, I have seen great progress in making the foods healthier through the years. I do not believe there are any foods left containing trans fats. Also, some of the newer foods offer healthier ingredients, like the whole grain blueberry pancakes (in place of the silver dollar) and my consultant said the new spaghetti and meatballs was made with whole grain pasta and flax.

I bet this is a trend that will continue at JC, which would be great.

This is great to hear. I like the program and with my work schedule, would prefer to stay on the food, even after reaching goal weight. If JC continues the trend toward meet/exceeding current nutritional standards and knowledge, I will be with them a long time.

I guess I agree and disagree. On the one hand I will tell you that I was SO FAR from CONSISTENT healthy eating prior to Jenny Craig that having smaller portions of the food that I love was a GREAT way for me to transition. Now that I've been on it a while I agree with you that healthier foods would be great but I think I am at a place(from a skill set perspective) to prepare those for myself. I would also be concerned about the added cost to have organic dinners. The program is already cost prohibitive for so many.

BUT again for me I went from having fried chicken, pepperoni pizza binges, and sugar overdoses to Jenny and believe me nothing about me thought about organic fried chicken! I didn't get 80lbs overweight on organic produce and lean meat! I guess I see it as a gradual progression. Eventually I'd love to eat the way you described but I've been really thankful to finally have found a program that has helped me see you really can eat anything in moderation and lose weight. It's more about the portion. Now to amp it up to the organic all natural no processed stuff would be the next step for me but not just yet. I agree with you though....I'd love to eat like you described the majority of the time eventually.

So...that's my agree/disagree comment! Either way I hope you reach the goals you have set for yourself whether that's with the current JC program or with a program you design for yourself that includes more of the foods you would like to eat right now.

Hope

once again... if you don't like the food- don't do jenny craig. telling them to change their ingredients to make you happy is ridiculous. it's like calling pizza hut and arguing with them over what kind of cheese they use. they make it how they make it, you either like it or you don't. FYI- jenny craig food isn't supposed to be eaten "long term". at halfway some of your own foods are worked in, and if you're following the program correctly, you should get to your halfway point and goal weight pretty quickly.

You make a point that JC is what it is......however, some of us have a very large amount of weight to lose. I had 150 pounds to lose when I started. I'm at the 24 week mark and I'm down 32 but I've got a long way to go. I'd prefer healthier foods made with better ingredients if I'm going to be able to stick with this program for the length of time it will take me get to goal. And, believe me. I take one meal off a week and even then I choose carefully.

There are organic frozen foods in the grocery store that don't cost any more than JC meals. I'd be happy with whole wheat pasta, brown rice and other whole grains. These do not cost that much in the scheme of things. In the meantime, I try to ignore what's in the JC meals. I'm at JC because I needed to learn portion control. I'm no longer eating JC breakfasts or snacks because they had too much sugar in them for me to lose weight. So I'm eating lunch and dinner which is a small portion of my food for the day. The rest of what I eat is healthy and whole grain.

JC should start making the switch IMHO. We should be learning what it's like to eat those healthy foods for our transition back to the real world of cooking.

JC IS starting to make the switch. The new blueberry pancakes are whole wheat and their catching a lot of flack for it... many people want the old pancakes back! Also the toffee bites were reformulated to use whole grain. Change comes slowly, but it is happening.

I just bought the blueberry pancakes to eat as a lunch. I'm excited.

I would like to see some lean, heart healthy meals in addition to what is already out there. I was just searching tonight to see if there was a topic on "Heart Healthy" - - I wondered if JC proclaims to be within the realm of "healthy" for us. Yes, I need to lose weight for my health, but I have high cholestrol already so I don't want to contribute anymore to that.

I didn't really check that part out when I joined.

Well, they just released the Wok Style Beef with WHITE rice. What does that tell you?

I needed to learn portion control, BIG time and JC has done that for me. I'm down almost 39 pounds since February 1. But.....I can't stay on this food too much longer. I'm already not eating the breakfasts and sweet snacks because they have too much sugar. I'm also not happy with the decisions JC has made in ingredients.

I just tried two of the new Healthy Choice Natural frozen dinners and they are AWESOME! One is portabella marsala.....olive oil, whole grain pasta....etc.

The other also had portabella mushrooms in it as well but I can't remember the name.

I need to agree to disagree as well. Most people that are joining Jenny Craig were eating extremely unhealthy before so this food is a huge step in the healthy direction. I always feel so much more energetic and upbeat when I am eating on plan.

Frankly, having the foods changed to all whole grains, less sugar, less flavorings would make them taste less appealing and then no one would stay on plan for very long.

Like many of the other posters have said, maybe JC is not for you if you are so disappointed in the quality of the food.

Now I must respectfully disagree. I was eating VERY healthy before JC. More healthy in fact. I was eating the WW Core program with all whole fresh ingredients. I just wasn't losing weight because I couldn't/wouldn't master the portion control.

I've been on JC SOLID for 9 months. I've lost 39.2 pounds and have another 120 to go. I've followed the program religiously for this time with only a few meals and one 2 day vacation in between. My cholesterol has gone up in overall, and LDL. My HDL went down. Only my triglycerides went down a bit. Even if heredity is an issue, I'd have hoped for some improvement in the numbers.

Plus, it's a taste/health issue. I want wholesome less processed foods. They will fill my tummy better and satisfy me. So far my Internist hasn't removed me from the program. I'm headed to a kidney specialist who may remove me since my creatinine levels have also increased while on the program.

haven't been here for a while, but it's reassuring to see that the rude remarks still pop up - reminds me why I took a leave of absence in the first place.

anyway, regarding the topic of eating healthier. I struggled with this too. I always ate very healthy, non-processed food. Problem was, I always ate too much of it. Portion control was the issue.... not ingesting crap. So, when I went on JC, I appreciated the portion control, but was never fully comfortable eating such poor quality food - especially the snacks, which are pure junk food, quite honestly. I know they're supposed to be viewed as a treat or indulgence, but I think they could do better - letting us indulge AND doing it in a healthful way.

The real issue is, what happens when we reach goal? How has eating ultra refined food while on JC setting us up for making healthful choices when we're on our own? Or, is all it's doing is teaching us to continue to eat processed portion-controlled foods like Lean Cuisine, etc.

Compared to fast food (which is probably what the majority of us came from eating), JC IS healthier already.

I'm all for eating pre-processed food to LOSE the weight, compared to McDonald's, Taco Bell, Arby's, etc etc etc, ANY food is better then FAST food, not to mention, the amount of fruit and veggies I'm eating now has quadrupled.

I buy organic fruits and veggies, do you? That alone is MUCH healthier then I've been in YEARS.


What makes more sense to me, is to have different sets of food. One set for losing, the other set for maintaining.

The losing set of food MUST taste good, tbh. How else are you going to get someone to go from a Big Mac and fries to eating all those veggies? Baby steps, that's how. And if you FILL the menu full of "healthier" food (read, a WHOLE different style and FLAVOR of eating then most of the new folks are used to) you run the risk of alienating new folks before they have a chance to lose.

If there was a separate set of food for halfway and maintenance, that would make more sense, as you are already adjusted to the portions. Then the food could start working on your taste buds.

If you're on maintenance, wasn't the main goal of all of this to train everyone to CONTROL THEIR PORTION SIZE first and foremost? Doesn't JC start training you how to cook for yourself at half way point? I just started, and I thought they did, but maybe not..... ??

They do train for maintenance but I'm no where near that. I'm down 40 pounds in 9 months and have another 120 pounds to lose. I'll be on this long term which is why I'm so concerned.

I'd agree that it isn't much of an issue for those who don't need to be on the plan too long. I haven't even reached halfway yet.