Food In Real Life

DiGiorno 200 Calorie Portions

Looks: They didn't add enough cheese for it to melt all the way to the edges, the tomato sauce more closely resembles a thin sheet of red paint, and the green peppers by far outnumber the chicken bits. (It's called "Chicken with Peppers", not "Peppers with Chicken.") 3.5 out of 5

Taste: The crust is chewy right out of the microwave, but it becomes crackery if you let it cool. The chicken, cheese, and sauce were all passable (on the high end for microwave pizza), but I definitely would have appreciated more of them. (Although then I suppose they'd have trouble calling it a "200 calorie portion."

One word of warning: don't take the "recommended cooking instructions" at face value. There are two 200-calorie portions in each box, and for the first one, I cooked it exactly how long the box recommended I cook it based on my microwave's wattage (2 minutes). For the second portion, I left it in the microwave for only 1:20. Can you guess which is which?

So if you cook it under close supervision and stop the microwave when the cheese melts, you'll be ok. 3.5 out of 5

• Add your own rating of this food's appearance
• Comment on this post.
• Read other readers' comments.
• Visit the Official DiGiorno 200 Calorie Portions Product Page

Marie Callender's Rigatoni Marinara Classico

Looks: Instead of a thick juicy tomato sauce, I see a dry brown bowl of noodles and meat. 3 out of 5

Taste: Bland. The sausage coins were ok, but everything else was just bleh - gritty meatballs, lackluster sauce, overcooked noodles. 2 out of 5

• Add your own rating of this food's appearance
• Comment on this post.
• Read other readers' comments.

Lean Cuisine Cheese Lasagna & Chicken

Looks: When you take into account the fact that I didn't properly plate this meal, it's very well depicted on the packaging. (There's a second chicken patty underneath the sauce.) 4 out of 5

Taste: Much better than I expected - I expected soggy chicken and tasteless lasagna, but the chicken was firm and juicy, and the lasagna's ricotta filling was very apparent. The lasagna noodles weren't overcooked on the edges either. This is one of the few microwave lasagna meals I've tried that I would buy again. 4 out of 5

• Add your own rating of this food's appearance
• Comment on this post.
• Read other readers' comments.
• Visit the Official Lean Cuisine Cheese Lasagna & Chicken Product Page