Heat Eat Review

• Home
• about
• archives
• the editrix
• contribute
• contact

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~Harriet Van Horne

Get reviews sent to your Email or via RSS

Amy’s Kitchen Country Cheddar Bowl

October 6, 2006 | Reviewer: Abi

Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 bowl, 10.5 oz.
Calories: 400
Fat: 29%, 19g
Sodium: 29%, 690mg
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 14%, 4g

Amy’s Kitchen says: Organic vegetables, baked organic tofu, and organic rotini pasta in a delectable sauce made with aged English cheddar cheese.

Abi says: I generally love the items that Amy’s Kitchen dishes out. They manage to make my mealtimes satisfying with the added bonus of organic ingredients, which make me feel pretty darn good about myself. That and they use paper bowls, which sure beats scrubbing out plastic trays for recycling purposes.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Steve Warnert, Director of Sales & Marketing for Amy’s Kitchen just what made the Country Cheddar bowls ‘Country’. While he noted that Rachel (the founder of Amy’s Kitchen and mom of Amy) would have her own story, these bowls reminded him of growing up in Minnesota, the land of casserole. He opined that “the Country Cheddar Bowl is perfectly reminiscent of classic comfort food that blends hearty vegetables, cheese and a great sauce to bring it all together.”

While I am from Oregon, which produces some darn good cheese (Tillamook) I will have to bow down to the cheesemaking expertise of the people of Vermont, Wisconsin, Appalachia, and Denmark. Why? Each of these places has a unique cheese-making history that seriously predates the tradition in Oregon. While I’m reasonably sure that Wisconsonites make terrific cheese, I cannot applaud this cheddar bowl. In fact, I’m worried that I’m doing a disservice to the frozen-meal-eating public by including the above image because my cheddar bowl experience in no way resembles the vegetable-y goodness in the picture. Too bad I forgot my camera that day.

When removing the item from the microwave oven, the president of my organization (a.k.a. The Big Boss) gave my meal a look that was none-too-friendly. When you’re trying to work your way up the corporate (or non-profit) ladder, alienating your boss with poor food choices isn’t the way to go. The only thing I could really do was look him in the eye and say ‘Well, it never hurts to try new things’, thinking that my obvious sense of adventure would impress him. Let’s hope that my bravado was enough to tear his eyes away from the trainwreck of a meal choice.

While digging around for rare brocolli florets, I couldn’t get over the feeling that this was a less-good version of macaroni and cheese. The sauce was lumpy, the vegetables non-existent, and the carbs too-well-represented. Amy’s Kitchen can boast a distinctive pantheon of vegetarian and vegan meals. This bowl fails to meet the level set by those other meals.

Amy’s Bowls previously reviewed (and much better received) by the HeatEatReview.com Staff:
Amy’s Kitchen Pesto Tortellini Bowl
Amy’s Kitchen Sheperd Pie (comes in a bowl)
Amy’s Kitchen Vegetable Pot Pie (ditto)
Amy’s Kitchen Santa Fe Enchilada Bowl
Amy’s Kitchen Teriyaki Bowl
Amy’s Kitchen Stuffed Pasta Shells Bowl
Amy’s Mexican Tamale Pie

Boston Market Country Fried Chicken

October 4, 2006 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Veda generally eats vegetarian meals at lunch. Today, she makes a foray into the world of Boston Market, one populated with breading and gravy.

Price: $1.19
Serving: 1 box, 14 oz.
Calories: 540
Fat: 41%, 27g
Sodium: 65%, 1579mg
Protein: 21g
Carbs: 18%, 53g
Fiber: 27%, 7g

Boston Market says: We use tender all white meat chicken dipped in a seasoned batter, breaded, then cooked to a golden brown. It’s served up with country style gravy and our Homestyle Mashed Potatoes along with a side of tasty peas and carrots.

Veda says: Where do I even begin with this one? I suppose I must first try to justify my shameful choice. If you knew me, you’d know that most of my dietary mistakes are preceded by the phrase, “But it was on sale”. So, I’ll begin there. It was on sale for $1.19. The little yellow sign made me do it, I swear. Even then, with such an appealing price staring me in the face, it took several minutes of pacing in the frozen food isle. Dare I sink to such a depth? Well, clearly the answer was yes.

So many things were wrong with this meal, but I’ll start with what could’ve been the redeeming quality and failed. The veggies. Peas and carrots. Granted that they are starchy, but they ARE vegetables and still have some healthful qualities. This was UNTIL Boston Market smothered them in so much salt and butter that I initially thought it was mashed potatoes with one or two carrots stuck in it. I kid you not. Once microwaved, these would be innocent veggies, floated in a sea of buttery shame. I had to drain them before I ate them.

Now onto what’s wrong with the concept of frozen, microwaved, “fried” chicken. I don’t think they lied. This chicken was oily enough to have been fried at some point. It’s just that somewhere along the way, the breading became a soggy, salty mess. How that soggy breading didn’t manage to share it’s moisture with the chicken, I cannot imagine. Thank goodness for the gravy (which I usually hate), because without it, I may have been forced to drink the carrot/pea butter, just to choke the chicken down.

Finally, we come to the mashed potatoes. Lovely, fluffy, favorite side dish of mine… Just not this time. The potatoes (what little there were) were heavy and weighed down with - you guessed it - salt and butter. Now, I am a fan of both, but how much can you consume? Not much. I didn’t even make it half way through this meal before I had to go shell out $5.75 for a palate-clearing salad. I can only conclude that you get what you pay for and apparently $1.19 only buys salt and butter. The next time a little yellow sign, attached to nearly inedible edibles, calls your name… Run, run fast.

Smart Ones Spicy Szechuan Style Vegetables and Chicken

October 2, 2006 | Reviewer: Jess

Price: $2.50
Serving: 1 tray, 9 oz.
Calories: 240
Fat: 8%, 5g
Sodium: 37%, 900mg
Protein: 11g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 36g
Fiber: 16%, 4g
WW Points: 4 Points

Smart Ones says: A delectable Asian sensation of crisp, colorful vegetables and tender white meat chicken, simmered in a sweet and spicy blend of hoisin and soy sauces.

Jess says: Have you ever ordered Chinese food in a “bad” neighborhood? If you have ever had your white box placed in revolving plastic door in the middle of a bullet-proof window then the answer is yes. If the Chinese restaurant also sells chicken wings, the answer is also yes. There was a lovely little store meeting this description across the street from my high school. At “lunch”, we would hum mission impossible ditties as we bounded across the traffic while the security personnel were looking elsewhere (other high school girls).

This meal tastes just like food from that store (oh the memories that came ajourneying to my mind)! It’s just as overly salty and just as skimpy on the chicken. Does it have that extra essence of mischief and ill-spent youth? Only if you add it. The fact that this meal is reminiscent of my old haunting ground is actually a compliment to the meal. Microwave food succeeds if it resembles real “made hot and stayed hot” food, even if that meal is less than inspiring.

Speaking of inspiring, this meal advertises that it is so good for you that this somehow carries over to your moral fiber. It claims “Tastes so good, you want to be good”. Sure. Why not? I’ll pay it forward, by offering this advice: You should eat this meal, but it’s not of “staple lunch item” quality. Just throw it in for a little “spice of life” and only if its heavily discounted. Oh and I like picked some trash up off the street the other day. The Earth says “Thank you, Smart Ones”.