Michelina’s Swedish Meatballs

December 20, 2006 | Reviewer: Abi

Michelina's Swedish Meatballs

Price: $1.00
Serving: 1 package, 10 oz.
Calories: 500
Fat: 35%, 23g
Sodium: 41%, 990mg
Protein: 20g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Carbs: 16%, 48g

Michelina says: Try our version of a Nordic masterpiece. Our lean ground beef meatballs are mildly spiced and simmered in a rich gravy flavored with sour cream, vermouth and Worchestshire. Dished up with a helping of tasty pasta, itâ€™s a veritable smorgasbord!

Abi says: While teaching 3rd grade in South Texas, I occassionally ate a Michelina’s meal. I could easily have afforded any other brand of frozen meal, but for some reason I stuck with Michelina’s Lasagna. This explains why I ate a lot of Triscuits and string cheese for lunch.

If only I’d tried Michelina’s Swedish Meatballs back then. They are so definitely worth a dollar that I’m still in shock over how much I enjoyed eating this meal. For a buck you get 5 meatballs, a bunch of plain noodles, and creamy spiced sauce. Michelina’s has the unusual habit of keeping the sauce and noodles separate during the cooking process. This may be because they’re cheap or it may be because it keeps the noodles from getting too mushy.

While the phrase ‘flavored with sour cream, vermouth, and Worchestshire’ doesn’t get the saliva flowing, the actual effect of those ingredients in sauce is more than acceptable. Also, this is not a “veritable smorgasbord”. It is meatballs, sauce, and noodles. Michelina’s, please get a dictionary and note that “veritable” means “real or genuine” and “smorgasbord” means “an extensive array or variety”. When a meal consists of three common items, it is not a “veritable smorgasbord”.

And dear eaters, keep in that while you will be enjoying the one-buck-adventure, others near
you will merely see that you’re eating meatballs in white sauce out of a cardboard box.

So, if a hot guy sits in a cube next to you, perhaps you should avoid this one. No hot guy? Enjoy your dollar lunch and treat yourself to a cocktail or two at happy hour tonight.

Rereading this review, I considered writing the above paragraph like this:

So, if a hot person of the gender to which you are most attracted sits in a cube next to you, perhaps you should avoid this one. No person you may be attracted to? Enjoy your dollar lunch and treat yourself to a beer or cocktail or other non-gender-specific beverage and happy hour tonight.

It doesn’t flow as well, does it?

comments

11 Responses to “Michelina’s Swedish Meatballs”

Colleen on December 20th, 2006

Doesn’t flow as well, and is harder to understand. Good call on keeping the first draft of that paragraph.
Jessica on December 20th, 2006

I have never had a bad frozen swedish meatball meal - so I’ll have to try this. My favorite has always been Stouffer’s - and when I’m watching my calories, then I have Lean Cuisine. This is just one of those meals from my latchkey childhood that I can’t let go.
Colleen on December 20th, 2006

I agree, frozen meatball meals are great. I love the LC one. My only problem is that there’s too much pasta in it. I would rather have a frozen meal that consisted only of sweedish meatballs, and maybe some frozen veggies. And just a LITTLE bit of creamy sause.
MaryAnne on December 21st, 2006

Colleen, I agree with you. Why is there a need to add pasta, potatos, or rice to at least 65% of frozen meal options out there? I understand adding a starch, but I would just want the meatballs as well. I love meatballs. Also, on the subject of sauces, maybe it’s just me but my meals seem to always be swimming in sauce (I steer clear of gravy). In fact, the other day I thought my chicken santa fe was a stew. It was not. I’m curious to who and how one decides how much sauce the American public would like.
Brandon Abell on April 5th, 2007

This is my absolute favorite so far. Cheap, mild, and tasty. I’d rather go to IKEA, but for something I can pull out of my office freezer and have ready in less than 5 minutes there’s no way to go wrong. Really needs green beans or something in it though. Or lingonberry.
Rachel on November 13th, 2007

I love this dinner. i like Michelina’s. I am a college student and they are affordable and yummy. I like this swedish meatball meal, but I love the fetticini alfredo one more. i also like the lasagna alfredo with broccoli. Its perfect for a college student.
k on November 14th, 2007

i love these too! I’m sad though because I ate one today and it only had 3 meatballs.
lisa on December 9th, 2007

it would flow okay if you make the second part:

No person you may be attracted to? Enjoy your dollar lunch and treat yourself to a tasty beverage or two at happy hour tonight.

also, i think that michelina’s swedish meatballs are one of the best cost to taste ratios out there.
Mira on January 21st, 2008

I’m in Canada, and our line of Michelina’s is a little different from the American one— I love the Swedish meatballs but they’re only 320 calories and 11g of fat here. They’re also slightly more expensive- on sale, between 3-for-$5 or 5-for-$10. But still, sweet deal!
Marjorie Ryland on July 11th, 2008

i bought a box of your Swedish meatballs and they were terribly salty. I was very disappointed. I ate them because I had nothing else prepared. I feel you should test future shipments.
Marjorie Ryland on July 11th, 2008

I bought a box of Swedish Meatballs and they were terribly salty. I feel you should test future shipments.