Stouffer’s Corner Bistro Sesame Chicken Meal

July 31, 2006 | Reviewer: Bale

Finally, we have a male reviewer at the HeatEatReview Headquarters.

Stouffer's Corner Bistro Sesame Chicken Meal

Price: $5.00 ($2.50 on sale)
Serving: 1 meal, 12 5/8 oz
Calories: 510
Fat: 22%, 15g
Sodium: 58%, 1380mg

Stouffer’s says: Breaded sesame chicken tenderloins on a bed of noodles, julienne carrots, green beans and red peppers with a sweet & sour sauce.

Bale says: Stoufferâ€™s Corner Bistro meals are pretty tasty. Their Sesame Chicken meal keeps up with the other meals Corner Bistro meals Iâ€™ve had the opportunity to try. The Sesame Chicken meal contains a decent portion of chicken and sauce, but I’m a hungry guy who could use a little more of both. Overall these meals are a pretty satisfying choice. They can get a little expensive ($5 retail) but are entirely worth $2.50 when they’re on sale for half off at the local grocery store.

Filed Under Chicken, Four Stars, Pasta, Stouffer's Frozen Meal Reviews | 4 Comments

Trader Ming’s (Joe’s) Spicy Kung Pao Chicken

July 28, 2006 | Reviewer: Abi

Upsides: delicious and plentiful sauce, peanuts, plenty of veggies. Downsides: three big hunks of chicken required a knife and I was hungry in an hour…

Trader Ming's (Joe's) Spicy Kung Pao Chicken

Price: $2.59
Serving: 1 bowl, 12 oz.
Calories: 340
Fat: 8%, 6g
Sodium: 17%, 400mg
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 19%, 56g
Fiber: 11%, 3g

Trader Ming says: Keep Frozen

Trader Ming's (Joe's) Spicy Kung Pao Chicken

Abi says: I could write a review about this bowl. It was pretty good and deserves the four stars I’ve bestowed. Upsides: delicious and plentiful sauce, peanuts, plenty of veggies. Downsides: three big hunks of chicken required a knife and I was hungry in an hour. I feel like I should preface this chat by noting the Amy is half-Chinese.

Abi:Most popular category on the website is chicken, followed by vegetarian
Abi:That could just be because that’s what we have reviews of
Amy:Yes, and most people are smart enough to know that beef is gross as a frozen entree
Amy:Are there pork frozen meals?
Abi:Yeah
Amy:There are?
Abi:Nicole reviewed a boneless pork rib
Amy:Oh, like hungryman?
Abi:The McRib of frozen meals
Amy:oh grossssss
Abi:and Banquet
Abi:Also, anything with pepperoni probably has pork
Amy: those things should be banned
Amy: oh yeah
Abi:pepperoni is delicious!
Amy:ok
Amy:i will give you pepperoni
Amy: and maybe sausage
Amy: like on bagel bites
Amy: but that is it
Abi: ooh, Bagel Bites
Abi:I am hungry
Amy: not me
Amy: I ate way too much lunch
Abi: hmmm Trader Ming’s isn’t holding up
Abi:Freaking chinese food
Amy:Most chinese food goes fast
Abi: What’s up with that?
Abi:It was relatively low in sodium too
Amy:I think the Chinese like eating
Amy:So they made food that digests quickly
Amy:So they can eat shortly after eating
Abi:Italians like eating too, but you’re not super hungry after some lasagna
Amy:The Chinese are smarter
Abi:But they’re not exactly Renaissance men
Abi:ok, that was bad, I’m sorry
Amy:i will let it slide
Amy:this time
Abi:I think this will be my review for the meal, our chat
Amy:I am all for it

Filed Under Chicken, Four Stars, Trader Joe's Reviews | 8 Comments

Linda McCartney Butternut Squash Ravioli

July 26, 2006 | Reviewer: Kate

I imagine it is pretty hard to fill Linda McCartney’s shoes even if you are a one-legged, activist model. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to Linda McCartney’s meals last night in the grocery store.

Linda McCartney Butternut Squash Ravioli

Price: 2 for $6 on sale
Serving: 1 package, 283 g
Calories: 470
Fat: 22%, 14g
Sodium: 18%, 420mg
Carbs: 24%, 69g
Fiber: 15%, 4mg
Protein: 17g

Linda McCartney said: Wholesome. All Natural. Delicious.

Kate says: The McCartneys have been in the news lately since Paul is spliting up with his second wife. I imagine it is pretty hard to fill Linda McCartney’s shoes even if you are a one-legged, activist model. Perhaps that is why I was drawn to Linda McCartney’s meals last night in the grocery store.

The ravioli’s appearance didn’t meat (haha…I typed meat and didn’t notice until I went back to edit) my expectations from the photo on the box. The photo is colorful and the squash and roasted pecans look bright and appealing. The actual food was monochromatic and a bit off-putting. After my first bite, I said aloud, “It’s al dente!” with glee. After a few bites I realized it was rather chewy in several places, but chewy is still better than soggy pasta.

The meal was tasty in the way that anything drenched in butter and smothered with cheese is tasty. Unfortunately I could only taste the squash in a few bites, but the buttery, cheesy pasta was still good.

At 470 calories, the meal is too highly caloric to make it into my regular rotation of lunch time frozen food, but I would eat this again.

Filed Under Four Stars, Linda McCartney Reviews, Vegetarian | 7 Comments

Kashi Southwest Style Chicken

July 24, 2006 | Reviewer: Nicole

Kashi Southwest Style Chicken Price: $3.00 (sale at Giant)
Serving: 1 entree, 10 oz.
Calories: 240
Fat: 8%, 5g
Sodium: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 11%, 32g
Fiber: 24%, 6g
Diet Exchanges: 2 carbohydrates, 2 very lean meats
Weight Watchers Points: 4 Points

Kashi says: Chicken marinated in lime juice, cumin and olive oil, grilled then sliced. Served over our KashiÂ® 7 Whole Grains Pilaf, tossed with fire roasted onions and corn, green and red peppers and topped with southwestern sauce.

Nicole says: Wow! Flavor! Texture! Nutritious and low-cal!

I generally won’t spend over $2.50 on a frozen entree. At Giant last night, however, these Kashi frozen entrees caught my attention - they are a new offering from Kashi and Giant has them on sale two for $6.00 (reg. price @ 3.50.) Not a huge savings, but the clean white box and tasty looking pictures were alluring.

The first ingredient is the grain/sesame pilaf. This is not something I’d normally choose to eat, but it has a lovely texture; it is moist but not mushy. Next on the list is chicken, and it is a nicely sized portion - about 8 or 10 small-medium peices and one large peice. The chicken tastes like chicken and has the texture of chicken - it’s like someone actually cooked lunch for me. The veggies are well represented save the “fire-roasted onions” - there were only a couple onion peices. The corn really LOOKS fire roasted, just like on the box, and cooks up pretty crisp. The peppers are just a bit soggy. The seasoning of the meal is outstanding - it is tasty and you really can detect the lime juice and cumin.

The Kashi Southwest Style Chicken is medium-sized for a frozen entree, and the caloric content is very low, but it manages to satisfy my appetite. After trying this meal, I look forward to the three other Kashi entrees I purchased, and would definitely buy this one again. I don’t think I’d pay above the sale price of $3.00, though the quality is worth it, only because I’m cheap. I would definitely recommend this product, and would even if they weren’t sending me a $5 coupon since I followed the instructions on the box and completed a survey about the meal.

Filed Under Chicken, Four Stars, Kashi Frozen Meal Reviews | 12 Comments