Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita Cafe Steamer – Revisited

Another revisitation of a reader submission:

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Sydney’s picture:

Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita Cafe Steamer

My picture:

Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita Cafe Steamer

Looks: As it lacks the thick brown sauce pictured on the box and the long pieces of chicken with discernibly browned skin but white meat, I do believe that this box has seen a little photoshopping in its day. 3 out of 5

Taste: You may remember that Sydney called this bowl of food “the worst thing I have ever eaten.” I think it’s fair to say that I had a different experience. It’s certainly not the best thing I’ve ever eaten, but it’s a mildy pleasing combination of the noodles + chicken + sauce trio that comprises essentially every Healthy Choice meal out there. 3 out of 5

Lean Cuisine Pasta Romano with Bacon

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Lean Cuisinse Pasta Romano with Bacon - Ad-2

Looks: Except for the absence of melted cheese (which most likely melted into the sauce as it cooked), Lean Cuisine accurately portrayed this meal. Probably because it doesn’t look disgusting in real life, so there’s no reason to fake it. 4.5 out of 5

Taste: Nothing special, but nothing terrible. In the grand scheme of pasta, there are five levels of taste:

1. Michelina’s
2. Chef Boyardee
3. Dry pasta with canned sauce
4. Homemade pasta with homemade sauce
5. Homemade pasta with homemade sauce in Italy

This meals comes in somewhere around #3. The slight bacon taste gives it a little edge over your generic jarred spaghetti sauce, but I might not have noticed that there was bacon in this if I hadn’t already known it. 3 out of 5

Red Baron Sausage Biscuit-Style Scrambles

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Red Baron Sausage Biscuit-Style Scrambles

Looks: Have you ever seen something more delicious looking, especially at 7am? The only thing missing is the faint glow of the heavenly halo that the box depicts, but even though you can’t see it, be assured that I felt the presence of a higher power immediately before eating this. 4 out of 5

Taste: I know I’ve reviewed the bacon version of these in the past, and I know that some people don’t like it when I review two similar items, but some people can just sit on it. Maybe someone who hates bacon was wondering, “Gee, I wonder if the sausage version of that is any good…” Well, now they’ll know: the sausage version is even better than the bacon version. I had no trouble with overcooked biscuit this time, and the egg, cheese, and sauce combination was still delicious. The bacon topping had been a little bit dry, but the sausage topping is perfectly hydrated. I’ve bought an entire freezer to fill with these as soon as they go on sale. 5 out of 5

Jimmy Dean Sausage and Cheese Croissant Breakfast Entree

Jimmy Dean Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Entree - Ad

Jimmy Dean Sausage and Cheese Breakfast Entree

Looks: The entire thing looks like it’s had the air taken out of it. Did I accidentally step into my vacuum chamber again? 3.5 out of 5

Taste: I reviewed the potatoes and apples in a previous post; their presence gives this meal a maximum possible score of 3.5 out of 5. The croissant sandwich is actually quite good – not good in terms of real croissants, real sausages, or real cheeses, but good in terms of “I’m late for work and need something to shove in my mouth on the way there.” It reminded me very much of the croissant sandwiches that Burger King sells for breakfast – soft and not too spicy. This passable sandwich brings the overall meal average to 3 out of 5. 3 out of 5