Healthy Choice Sweet Bourbon Steak

June 7, 2006 | Reviewer: Abi

Price: $2.50
Serving: 1 meal, 12.3 oz.
Calories: 380
Fat: 11%, 7g
Sodium: 19%, 680mg
Protein: 25g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 28%, 7g
Diet Exchanges: 2 Lean Meat, 1 1/2 Starch, 1 Carbohydrate
WW Points: 6 Points

Healthy Choice says: Our seasoned beef strips are seasoned with sweet bourbon sauce, crafted with with brown sugar, molasses, and Kentuckey bourbon whiskey. This meal is complemented with creamy garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli and carrots, and a sweet and crispy peach dessert to provide a satisfying, complete meal.

Abi says: Healthy Choice is careful about making promises that it can’t keep. Just check out that description. Apparently the beef is cooked. Uh, thanks Healthy choice, I would really hope so. Also, this meal comes with Vegetables, which means that they can give you just two skimpy bits of stringy carrot and call it a day.

Between the actual purchase of the meal and consumption, I try not to read the description of the meal. This is an excellent method for not feeling completely let down by your meal. For example, the description lists ‘garlic mashed potatoes’. As I ate the potatoes (the best part of the meal), I thought to myself ‘Wow, these are just a pile of tasteless goo that could really use salt, pepper, butter and a better texture’. Little did I know these were actually GARLIC mashed potatoes. I’m not sure if I feel more ~~gyped~~ gypped or less ~~gyped~~ gypped now. Is ~~gyped~~ gypped a word? After typing it three times it looks quite strange.

I just looked it up, apparently the word ‘gypped’ has two p’s.

On to the peach dessert, that taunted me with promises of peachiness. While carefully removing the film from ONLY the dessert, I thought ‘yum, I love apple crisp’. Then I read the box and realized that it was peach crisp. Ok, I could deal with a sort of brown peach crisp. Until I saw the peaches, that is. Carton of BB's

Did you ever use guns growing up? I did. Guns are great fun for kids (when used responsibly and with adult supervision) of all ages. Of particular enjoyment is the entry-level BB gun. It is a starter gun that you can enjoy as a child and as an adult. While I’m not a fan of hand guns or gun shows, I am a fan of responsible gun use. I am also a fan of the way that BB’s essentially come in milk cartons. Yes, milk cartons of BB’s. Pretty awesome. Here’s a bunch of BB’s, actual size:

My dessert contained fewer peaches (volume-wise) than shown in that photo of BB’s. For shame, Healthy Choice.

While this entire review is chock full of useful information that should help you avoid the dreaded Sweet Boubon Steak de Healthy Choice, it will not do you any good. This meal was recently discontinued by ConAgra. Hooray, consumer safety, hooray.

comments

6 Responses to “Healthy Choice Sweet Bourbon Steak”

Jess on June 7th, 2006

What about the Bourbon? Was there any essence of bourbon? And does this mean that bourbon is a healthy choice?
Abi on June 7th, 2006

I heart bourbon. Not as much as coworker Ashley (who doesn’t write for HeatEatReview.com), who is actually from Kentucky (I think). I enjoy the offerings of Knob Creek and Labrot and Graham’s Woodford Reserve. The Woodford Reserve is a super-premium developing brand (according to their website) and quite wonderful.

To answer your question, bourbon is not a healthy choice and there is no essence of bourbon in this meal. I’m grateful for that, otherwise bourbon may have been ruined for me forever.
Marsh Gabin on March 3rd, 2007

I think your description of the meal may have ruined bourbon chicken for me, so I can only imagine.

I find myself trying these meals from time to time, but they always seem to taste like the cardboard box they come in. And, unsatisfied, I go get a snickers out of the vending machine.
Keenan Nichols on August 29th, 2007

I think that the Healthy Choice Sweet Bourbon Steak is one of the tastiest microwave meals. This review hardly does it justice. It’s become one of my favorite dinners.
Jool on December 4th, 2007

Drat! I really liked this one. Except the veggies - the few carrots came out sorta stiff and sorta limp. I guess it didn’t go over well with other people since it is discontinued. Oh well. Sad for me and my like of the meat and potatoes dish. As an aside, the potatoes in similar Healthy Choice meals need to be uncovered, I think. Otherwise, they are still cold and icky in the middle.
RONALD on March 27th, 2008

I REALLY LOVE YOUR SWEET BOURBON STEAK, I CAN REALLY TASTE THE BOURBON IN IT. I REALLY WISHED I HAD THAT RECIPE. I HAVE BECOME MORE THAN CRAZY ABOUT THIS ONE MEAL THAT YOU CAME OUT WITH. TO TELL THE TRUTH I LIKE THE SAUCE AND MEAT BETTER THAN THE VEGETABLES.