Archive for the ‘Green Beans’ Category

Healthy Choice Asian Potstickers, Revisited

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

Ever since reader Dena Struchtemeyer sent in her review of Healthy Choice’s Asian Potstickers, I had wanted to try some myself to see how closely my exerience would mirror hers. I hope to do this with other reader reviews in the future, so let me know how I’m doing.

Healthy Choice Sweet Asian Potstickers - Ad

Dena’s potstickers:

Healthy Choice Sweet Asian Potstickers

My potstickers:

Healthy Choice Sweet Asian Potstickers

Looks: Not as vibrant or as fresh as the box depicts, but much moreso than Dena’s. The portion sizes are accurate though. 3.5 out of 5

Taste: The potstickers were chewy (the way I like them), but the filling was mostly tasteless – tofu is not known for its flavor. On the other hand, the rice surrounding the potstickers was terrible; gritty and dry, completely unpalatable. I’d eat the potstickers again if I was able to get them for free, but I’d still throw the rice away. 2 out of 5

Posted in Cabbage, Carrots, Frozen, Green Beans, Healthy Choice, Microwave, Red Peppers, Rice, Scallions, Soy Sauce, Tofu, White Onions | 2 Comments »

Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken - Ad

Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken

Looks: The chicken is soggy, not crispy, and there aren’t any sesame seeds on it. Additionally (or subtractionally), there aren’t as many vegetables in the noodles as the box pictures. Everything else is pretty close, except that I couldn’t find the chopsticks in the box and had to go buy my own. 3.5 out of 5

Taste: The main detriment to this meal is the soggy chicken breading. It would be close to perfect if not for that, although I don’t think I’ve ever had crispy chicken come out of a microwave. The noodles are substantial, but they don’t have much of a flavor, and I would have liked to see (and taste) more vegetables. (The plum sauce beneath the chicken and noodles was surprisingly good though.) 3.5 out of 5

Posted in Chicken, Frozen, Green Beans, Lean Cuisine, Microwave, Pasta, Peppers, Plum Sauce, Sesame Seeds, Spaghetti | 7 Comments »

Healthy Choice Meat Loaf

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

Healthy Choice Meat Loaf - Ad

Healthy Choice Meat Loaf

Looks: If I had plated it like it is plated on the box, it would have matched up nicely, except for the dessert. The colors are all very similar, and the portion sizes are the same. The apple cranberry crisp, however, doesn’t look like what they show on the box at all. It doesn’t contain any cranberries (that I could find), and the apple pieces are way too small. 4 out of 5

Taste: Let me paint you a picture: You like meatloaf. You buy some meatloaf. You cook the meatloaf. You sit down to eat the meatloaf. You take a bite of the meatloaf. You chew the meatloaf. You spit out the meatloaf. Why did you spit out the meatloaf? Probably because there was a piece of what you can only hope was gristle the size of a baby’s tooth in your first bite. (The rest of the meal was ok, but this first impression made it impossible to enjoy the other food quadrants.) 1.5 out of 5

Posted in Apple, Cranberries, Frozen, Gravy, Green Beans, Hall of Shame (Taste), Healthy Choice, Meatloaf, Microwave, Potatoes | 8 Comments »

SmartOnes Lemon Herb Chicken Piccata

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

SmartOnes Lemon Herb Chicken Piccata - Ad

SmartOnes Lemon Herb Chicken Piccata

Looks: A little soupier than pictured, and without the fresh grillmarks on the chicken. Besides that, most of the colors were right on (especially the vegetables, which is usually a crapshoot), and the ratio of food amounts is as pictured. 3.5 out of 5

Taste: I did not expect to like this dish, given my experience with the last chicken and rice dish I tried, but much to my surprise, I loved it! The chicken wasn’t dry, and the vegetables still had some crispiness to them. The sauce was especially good, with a strong chicken flavor but with light lemony aftertones. I’ll definitely be buying this again. (As with its looks, the soupiness was the main drawback.) 4 out of 5

Posted in Carrots, Chicken, Frozen, Green Beans, Microwave, Piccata, Rice, SmartOnes | 2 Comments »