Healthy Choice General Tso’s Spicy Chicken

January 25, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Healthy Choice General Tso's Spicy Chicken

Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 meal, 10.8 oz.
Calories: 410
Fat: 14%, 9g
Sodium: 25%, 600mg
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 21%, 64g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
WW Points: 8 Points
Diet Exchange: 1 Very Lean meat, 4 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 Fat

Healthy Choice says: Tempura battered chicken breast chunks, covered with a spicy brown sauce and served with a rice medley that includes peas, carrots, and tangy red peppers.

Abi says: Tempura is Japanese for ‘The only fattening item in our entire cuisine arsenal’. This explains why tempura is so popular in the United States. I have long been fascinated with tempura, not that I ate any as a kid. Instead, for the entirety of my childhood, there was a little blue box of ‘Tempura’ on the shelf in our kitchen. The cover of the box showed a battered shrimp being dipped into cocktail sauce. While visiting my mom this summer I noticed that the box is still in the pantry. I’m sure that the tempura batter has lost some of its nutritive value over the years.

Fortunately for me, Healthy Choice has created a tempura-battered item that I can eat without any feelings of guilt or ponderings of product expiration dates. Granted, I’m not especially keen on the meal. While I probably won’t buy it again, I wasn’t mad at myself for purchasing this meal.

I didn’t grow up eating Chinese food, so the term ‘brown sauce’ has positively no meaning. Also, it contains no positive meaning. In fact, to me it implies that a tasteless sauce has been foisted upon protein or vegetables in order to better lubricate them during the eating process. I have studiously avoided any and all meals that are topped with ‘brown sauce’. Considering that I enjoyed Healthy Choice’s version of brown sauce, I would probably like it in restaurant meals too.

The chicken portion of this meal is larger than expected (this is also a 410 calorie, 8 Point meal), the sauce is full of mysterious flavors, and the rice exhibited a lovely fluffiness. If you’re on a diet and looking for some semi-healthful Chinese food, give this meal a try.

Tanya at IateApie.net noted that “this meal was Asian “inspired” and it’s more like a less spicy version of regular General Tso chicken.” [Read her review]

comments

5 Responses to “Healthy Choice General Tso’s Spicy Chicken”

Jessica on January 25th, 2007

Notwithstanding the mixing of cultural metaphors, is the chicken spicy at all?
Marvo on January 26th, 2007

But would General Tso approve of it…if he were alive today and knew how to work a microwave?
Nicole on January 26th, 2007

Aww, Abi used my fake translation format. I love it. I’m going to have to spoof her soon.
Abi Jones on January 26th, 2007

Jessica - The chicken is flavorful, but not spicy. I too was confused by the use of the word ‘tempura’ to describe the breaded chicken. Tempura is definitely Japanese and General Tso’s Chicken is definitely not Japanese.

Marvo - General Tso would not approve of this meal. He would eat raw chickens whole, that’s how tough he was.

Nicole - I thought Jess originated that.
Sarah on March 1st, 2007

Abi, I am really disappointed that you’ve already reviewed this. I thought it was quite possibly the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted in my young life. INTERESTING, NON?