Doing this whole review and blog thing has been really helpful is passing time up here during my Summer classes, which fall on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Since I couldn't get a job (for reasons such as not having a car, or not being here long enough to merit training and a hire) I usually go home or to Rhode Island for the weekend but inevitably come back for the (sometimes Monday) Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday gauntlet. It's nice knowing that only 3 classes stand between me and a week and half Summer 'vacation' but let me tell you does time pass SLOWLY being cooped up in dorm room with no TV and hardly anyone you know within an hour's drive radius.
Since this was actually my last frozen meal I had stockpiled in the freezer, I was thinking of hitting up the grocery store later. Much to my chagrin, only Smart Ones are on sale this week (6 for $10 isn't bad, but I remember how awful their Chicken Carbonara was...) and I have no other (easy) way to get to Market Basket or any other retailer but Whole Foods. I know Kashi has some supposedly great tasting low-calorie frozen options, but I'm not ready to take the $4+ dive on one meal that's probably a little too sticks and grainy for my tastes. Seriously, I can't stand brown rice or grainy pilafs! The thought crosses my mind that I might be making my own dinner tonight, but with my limited amount of ingredients (ok I have the chicken and the pasta, but no marinades/sauces/spices makes for a nasty dinner) I'm not sure if that's the best route.
Enough with the chit-chat, on to the review!
First Impressions: Smells pretty good as I walk to the microwave to get the pouch and pour it into my bowl. As with the first review of this product line I did, I notice the sauce looks like a little thin and the color is too orangey-yellow for me, but it still coats my fork a bit and ends up getting just the tiniest bit thicker after a few minutes. I was a little disappointed at the size, feeling that a few more veggies could have been tossed in.
Taste: I took a bite of the green zucchini and it was as it should taste, but I warn you I'm not a huge zucchini supporter. Veggies are veggies, so the real test here is for the tortelloni. One of them alone is a mouthful, so I try half of one as to draw out the eating process and savor it, which is a known technique for eating less. It's not as outright cheesy as I'm used to, but it has a deeper, almost richer cheese flavor than traditional ricotta/mozzarella filled pasta is. It was difficult to get a little bit of everything into one bite, as the veggies are pretty chunky, but once I did the combo was delicious! The veggies on their own I don't love, since they're some of my least faves all together, but they balance each other out well enough and you get a nice asiago hint from the tortelloni. The only gripe I could have is that Lean Cuisine advertises this as a 'vodka' sauce which leaves me hanging; I've had many different vodka sauces before and this doesn't qualify to me as one. (Which is not to say the sauce is bad, I just feel like 'tomato cream' sauce or something would have been better)
Texture: Everything is as should be - the veggies are steamed soft but still have some crunch left in them with the exception of the tomatoes, which are stewed. I hate raw tomatoes, and since these still have a slight taste of rawness to them, I try to avoid eating them by themselves but I imagine if you enjoy a tomato in any format then that would be a great thing. So far every dish I've reviewed has had pasta in it, including this one, so I don't know what else to say about the tortelloni. There's really no way to cook filled pastas wrong except if they are underdone and gummy or overdone and mush. This dish has neither problem, so I think on all fronts the textures are about as perfect as you can get.
Usually the photo goes here, but I took the picture without having my flash card inserted and it's on my camera's physical memory... and I have no idea where my cable is. Sorry guys!
General Thoughts: So I must caution that this dish was absolutely fine -- the only 'flaws' with it have to do with my personal tastes. I'll be giving this a rating a little lower than it might actually deserve because of that, but it probably deserves a solid 4.5 stars. Food tasters are supposed to be impartial, but taste is something so personal and unique that I don't see how one can't include their own biases!
Anyways, Lean Cuisine did very well on this entree and it left me fuller than I excepted based on the portion size. My only wish now is that I could find (if it's even out there) a low-fat garlic bread to enjoy all these Italian dishes with! Mangia!
Rating: 4.5 stars (My personal taste rating is about 3 stars)
Calories: 270
Fat: 7 grams
Lean Cuisine Website with Complete Nutrition Info
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Smart Ones Chicken Carbonara
I don't have much of a pre-amble on this one, other to say that as a kid and young teen I remember the 'Lady in Red' commercials for Smart Ones. Also, my mom has tried Weight Watchers a few times and since this line is affiliated with it (the 'points' per meal are clearly indicated on this box, this one being 5 points) I figure it must be pretty legitimate food. Read on and see how it goes down:
First Impressions: The fake smokey smell of this meal is slightly unappetizing and since taste is largely a function of what we smell, I grimace thinking about having to eat this meal. It looks nice enough, with the peas, mushrooms, chicken, pasta, and turkey bacon all evident. I even see some tender onions, which means they took the recipe to heart -- most forget the smaller details such as this but I appreciate it being 25% Italian. I dive into the first bite tentatively.
Taste: The sauce is pretty tasty - it has a definite smokey flavor but it's not overboard, so I'm wondering if the turkey bacon or chicken is the cause of the heavy smoke scent this meal gave off. My first piece of chicken is reassuring - it's not overpowering in smokiness so I'm left suspecting the bacon, which I later find out leaves a bad smoke aftertaste in my mouth. As a whole, the flavors mesh well and work alright on their own. However since I'm trying to eat this with a big spoon, it's hard to get a decent sized bite. I'm cursing the people who stole most of my silverware earlier on in the Summer at this point.
Texture: So the chicken is fifty-fifty between being chewy and a little fatty in consistency and being kinda dry in the center for larger pieces. Not the best chicken I've had from this genre of frozen foods, and I'm a little disappointed as I figured Smart Ones could do better by poultry. The turkey bacon is chewey, which is totally wrong for carbonara. Usually you pan fry the bacon and onions together, if not to completely crisp it then to give it a little browning. The pasta is definitely past 'al dente' and bordering on too soft but I can get through it. The mushrooms are pretty much nasty and mushy, so I try to space them out or hide them with larger bites of chicken/pasta combos. As far as the peas and onions are concerned, they might both be the best in this category. Onions are soft and tender and the peas aren't mushy at all, with just a hint of firmness.
General Thoughts: What a let down from Smart Ones! They have a pretty versatile line of lean frozen products from snacks, breakfasts, desserts and dinners. While I've probably sampled from their brand the least I expected more outta these guys. They are the official brand of healthy frozen foods for Weight Watchers, which I had figured would mean a better quality experience. It's interesting to note a few days ago I ate their Three Cheese Ziti Marinara and thought it was a solid choice, but since I was studying for Accounting and had little time before class I didn't get to do a review. I'm hoping it was just this one flavor that was a disappointment but I'll be more cautious in the future with this brand. I've been contemplating making something else to eat just to get this over-smoked flavor outta my mouth!
I would NOT buy this again!
Rating: 1.5 stars
Calories: 260
Fat: 5 grams
Smart Ones Website with Complete Nutrition Info
First Impressions: The fake smokey smell of this meal is slightly unappetizing and since taste is largely a function of what we smell, I grimace thinking about having to eat this meal. It looks nice enough, with the peas, mushrooms, chicken, pasta, and turkey bacon all evident. I even see some tender onions, which means they took the recipe to heart -- most forget the smaller details such as this but I appreciate it being 25% Italian. I dive into the first bite tentatively.
Taste: The sauce is pretty tasty - it has a definite smokey flavor but it's not overboard, so I'm wondering if the turkey bacon or chicken is the cause of the heavy smoke scent this meal gave off. My first piece of chicken is reassuring - it's not overpowering in smokiness so I'm left suspecting the bacon, which I later find out leaves a bad smoke aftertaste in my mouth. As a whole, the flavors mesh well and work alright on their own. However since I'm trying to eat this with a big spoon, it's hard to get a decent sized bite. I'm cursing the people who stole most of my silverware earlier on in the Summer at this point.
Texture: So the chicken is fifty-fifty between being chewy and a little fatty in consistency and being kinda dry in the center for larger pieces. Not the best chicken I've had from this genre of frozen foods, and I'm a little disappointed as I figured Smart Ones could do better by poultry. The turkey bacon is chewey, which is totally wrong for carbonara. Usually you pan fry the bacon and onions together, if not to completely crisp it then to give it a little browning. The pasta is definitely past 'al dente' and bordering on too soft but I can get through it. The mushrooms are pretty much nasty and mushy, so I try to space them out or hide them with larger bites of chicken/pasta combos. As far as the peas and onions are concerned, they might both be the best in this category. Onions are soft and tender and the peas aren't mushy at all, with just a hint of firmness.
General Thoughts: What a let down from Smart Ones! They have a pretty versatile line of lean frozen products from snacks, breakfasts, desserts and dinners. While I've probably sampled from their brand the least I expected more outta these guys. They are the official brand of healthy frozen foods for Weight Watchers, which I had figured would mean a better quality experience. It's interesting to note a few days ago I ate their Three Cheese Ziti Marinara and thought it was a solid choice, but since I was studying for Accounting and had little time before class I didn't get to do a review. I'm hoping it was just this one flavor that was a disappointment but I'll be more cautious in the future with this brand. I've been contemplating making something else to eat just to get this over-smoked flavor outta my mouth!
I would NOT buy this again!
Rating: 1.5 stars
Calories: 260
Fat: 5 grams
Smart Ones Website with Complete Nutrition Info
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Michelina's Lean Gourment: Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli & Chicken
As a kid, I loved frozen meals and Michelina's brand was a classic - it was cheap, which my Mom loved, and their frozen Mac 'n Cheese or Wheels 'n Cheese were my two faves (after the Blue Box Kraft :). Now as I'm older, I re-visit the Lean versions to see how they stack up!
First Impressions: Alright, so there's no way around saying it, but Michelina's meals are SMALL. They are a great option if you're having 4 or 5 small meals during the day, but don't count on this alone if you're extremely hungry or looking for something that will tide you over from noon until a 6 or 7 pm dinner. The tray it comes in is usually a bit sad looking, and I noticed that this little meal in itself has 8 grams of fat. Upon seeing that, I think two things - 'They could have tried a little harder to reduce the calories & fat' and 'Damn, this is gonna taste pretty good!' The sauce is creamy and thick enough, but the tiny, sparse pieces of chicken and broccoli do leave something to be desired.
Taste: The sauce on its own has an ok flavor, you get a little of that peppery alfredo taste and you can tell this is where the 8 grams of fat is coming (mostly) into play. Although this little meal has 660g of sodium in it (yikes!), it's not overly salty unless you're used to a strictly low sodium diet.
Texture: The sauce has a nice consistency as mentioned above, not watery or thin as one might expect from a 'lean' version of an Italian fave. The pasta is very American in doneness - probably 2 minutes or so past 'al dente' but not yet into the unhappy 'mush' zone. The broccoli 'chunks' (as they are too small to be real florets or anything else) like the pasta are softer than they were in my previous review of the Lean Cuisine meal. They are still enjoyable and as I usually cook my broccoli until it's soft enough to cut through with a fork, I like it. The chicken crumbs (they really don't manage to get to the size of a full slice) are kind of rough for me, so I'm glad there aren't many. They have a few faint grill marks but they are definitely of the variety of chicken that is re-formed into breast patties, so the texture is a bit off, even a little bit chewy.
General Thoughts: So it's not the worst low-fat/lean thing I've ever ate, but it's woefully mediocre. Italian food is super popular in the US, so it makes sense that it captures a large segment of the frozen food market. However, I'm just part of the 'Italian food as healthy? Pfft, yeah right!' camp. Certain recipes are viable as healthy alterntives, like oil based sauces, or even a pomodoro sauce. All bets are off when it comes to cheese and cream sauces, and Michelina's proves that while you can make Italian favorites healthier, it's often with the loss of flavor. This dish would have been improved by nixing the chicken and adding some more and larger broccoli chunks. It might work better with some small side such as a salad or veggie medeley, or even as a 2-serving side dish with grilled chicken.
Ultimately, I might buy this again, but it's not a staple for me.
Rating: 2.5 stars
Calories: 280
Fat: 8 grams
Michelina's Website with Complete Nutrition Info
First Impressions: Alright, so there's no way around saying it, but Michelina's meals are SMALL. They are a great option if you're having 4 or 5 small meals during the day, but don't count on this alone if you're extremely hungry or looking for something that will tide you over from noon until a 6 or 7 pm dinner. The tray it comes in is usually a bit sad looking, and I noticed that this little meal in itself has 8 grams of fat. Upon seeing that, I think two things - 'They could have tried a little harder to reduce the calories & fat' and 'Damn, this is gonna taste pretty good!' The sauce is creamy and thick enough, but the tiny, sparse pieces of chicken and broccoli do leave something to be desired.
Taste: The sauce on its own has an ok flavor, you get a little of that peppery alfredo taste and you can tell this is where the 8 grams of fat is coming (mostly) into play. Although this little meal has 660g of sodium in it (yikes!), it's not overly salty unless you're used to a strictly low sodium diet.
Texture: The sauce has a nice consistency as mentioned above, not watery or thin as one might expect from a 'lean' version of an Italian fave. The pasta is very American in doneness - probably 2 minutes or so past 'al dente' but not yet into the unhappy 'mush' zone. The broccoli 'chunks' (as they are too small to be real florets or anything else) like the pasta are softer than they were in my previous review of the Lean Cuisine meal. They are still enjoyable and as I usually cook my broccoli until it's soft enough to cut through with a fork, I like it. The chicken crumbs (they really don't manage to get to the size of a full slice) are kind of rough for me, so I'm glad there aren't many. They have a few faint grill marks but they are definitely of the variety of chicken that is re-formed into breast patties, so the texture is a bit off, even a little bit chewy.
General Thoughts: So it's not the worst low-fat/lean thing I've ever ate, but it's woefully mediocre. Italian food is super popular in the US, so it makes sense that it captures a large segment of the frozen food market. However, I'm just part of the 'Italian food as healthy? Pfft, yeah right!' camp. Certain recipes are viable as healthy alterntives, like oil based sauces, or even a pomodoro sauce. All bets are off when it comes to cheese and cream sauces, and Michelina's proves that while you can make Italian favorites healthier, it's often with the loss of flavor. This dish would have been improved by nixing the chicken and adding some more and larger broccoli chunks. It might work better with some small side such as a salad or veggie medeley, or even as a 2-serving side dish with grilled chicken.Ultimately, I might buy this again, but it's not a staple for me.
Rating: 2.5 stars
Calories: 280
Fat: 8 grams
Michelina's Website with Complete Nutrition Info
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)