Microwave – Page 15 – Food In Real Life

Simply Asia Rice Noodle Soup Bowl

Looks: The noodles and broth are much yellower than pictured, and all of the vegetable pieces sank to the bottom when I stirred it. Also, no chopsticks! Do they think I just keep chopsticks around my house? I had to settle for using Q-Tips. 4 out of 5

Taste: It doesn’t really have one. The broth is non-offensive, and vaguely reminds one of chicken soup, and the noodles are filling, but tasteless. If you’re looking for a quick warm bowl of something to chew on, this is it, but if you want something tasty, look elsewhere. 2 out of 5

Healthy Choice Traditional Turkey Breast

Looks: I’ll say this: the vegetable mix looks *exactly* like it does on the box. The cherry crisp isn’t far off either (some of the oats migrated to the corner during the freezing process), and while it’s a little jumbled (and hard to see in the picture), the turkey + stuffing + gravy looks very much like the box. Not bad, Healthy Choice! 4.5 out of 5

Taste: Hands down, the best frozen turkey I’ve ever had. The first bite was moist and flavorful, the second bite (and third and fourth…) was downright juicy. The gravy had a meaty, peppery taste, and the stuffing wasn’t soggy. It even had raisins in it, which I love. The cherry crisp could have used some more crisp – it was mostly cherries, but the taste was fine – and in accordance with the FDA’s new “Respect the Veg” program, I am obligated to mention that the vegetable mix was “delicious” and “mouth-watering” and not at all “bland” or “lame.” 4 out of 5

SmartOnes Macaroni & Cheese

Looks: The sauce is a bit thicker than pictured (you can’t make out the individual noodles as well), and it’s a little lumpier too. 3.5 out of 5

Taste: SmartOnes is definitely the top of the heap when it comes to microwave meals. This dish avoids all of the traps that microwave macaroni usually falls into: the noodles are properly cooked; the cheese sauce isn’t gummy, but it isn’t watery either; and while it isn’t “bursting with cheese flavor” as the box claims, it does have a cheese flavor. 4 out of 5

Banquet Fish Stick Meal

Looks: Do you see, on the box, where it says “Enlarged to show quality”? It should really say “Enlarged because there’s hardly any food in this box,” because the “quality” they were showing doesn’t exist in real life. The breading on the fish sticks was slipping off, the macaroni noodles are not the proper scale, and the pudding is dark and lumpy, not smooth and creamy. 3 out of 5

Taste: Disappointing. The fish sticks were chewy, which I didn’t know was possible, because it’s minced fish meat – how can that be chewy? The macaroni was watery and tasteless, and there was so little pudding that I couldn’t find a spoon small enough to fit into the little bowl. (I’m obviously kidding about that; I just couldn’t think of any words to describe the pudding’s taste.) I would never buy this meal again. 1 out of 5