Lean Cuisine Creamy Basil Chicken

May 31, 2006 | Reviewer: Jess

Price: $2.89
Serving: 1 Bowl, 10 1/2 oz.
Calories: 290
Fat: 11%, 7g
Sodium: 26%, 640mg
Protein: 22g
Carbs: 11%, 33gs
WW Points: 6 Winning Points
Diet Exchange: 1 1/2 Lean meat, 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1/2 Skim Milk

Lean Cuisine says: Roasted white meat chicken with penne pasta, red and yellow peppers and zucchini in a creamy basil sauce

Jess says: Lean Cuisine, do you google yourself? Don’t be ashamed. It’s fairly common practice these days. Everyone does it. I’ve done it.

Well, I’m hoping that you do. And that Google has led you to this site. My esteemed colleagues and I have really good advice for you, and we’ve developed a relationship with you that you may not even be aware of! We address you personally and we always come back to you even when you do us harm. We want to you succeed and you should listen to us. You really couldn’t ask for a more targeted audience. We’re in our 20’s and still body-conscious enough to purchase food that promises leanness. We’re poor and really don’t like spending a lot on lunch and, let’s face it, you set your prices low even before the frequent (if not constant) sales at Safeway and Giant. I won’t buy you if you’re more than $3 because I know it’s just a matter of time before you’ll come back to your cheap senses. But we’re classy, and like to think that we have discriminating tastes. So we get excited about exotic food descriptions that imply cuisine of various cultural origins. Yes, we could email you directly, but we are already doing so much of your work for you. We’ve stepped forward towards you. Red rover, its time for Lean Cuisine to come over.

That said, on to this meal, which in not a finished product, but a work in progress. But all is not lost. We can fix this. First of all, stop with the cubed chicken. It’s not pretty. It’s not tasty. It does not survive the microwaving process well. And its rubbery texture can frighten the squeamish. Second, if you promise that something has basil in it (yes, basil is one of the loveliest of the herbs) you should use real basil leaves. Using basil flakes is insulting. I could have poured my own basil flakes on the meal that had not been frozen and thus nullified in taste and smell. It’s a basil sauce! Give a little! Finally, capitalize on your veggies. You claim to have perfected the veggie freezing process (I read your boxes). I don’t disagree. Your zucchini was scrumptious and the peppers tasted like peppers. But the scant offering of veggies leads this meal to blandness. Now that you’ve eliminated the chicken, throw me some more of those zucchini slices. And I’m still impressed by your snap peas from a previous meal, so give me some sugar (meaning add snap peas to this meal).

I think this relationship between Heat.Eat.Review and Lean Cuisine has beautiful potential for growth. Let’s be better, together, okay?