Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli

March 30, 2007 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Price: $2.99
Serving: 1 Package, 280 g
Calories: 350
Fat: 14%, 9g
Cholesterol: 12%, 35mg
Sodium: 28%, 660mg
Protein: 13g
Carbs: 19%, 56g
Fiber: 24%, 6g
WW Points: 7 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Butternut squash ravioli in a creamy sauce with walnuts,snap peas and carrots

Amanda says: I’ve just started writing this review like, oh, four times now and each time have backspaced my way to the beginning because, well, OH. MY. GOD. I’m just so shocked to say it: this meal is good. Like, gooood. (That’s four O’s if you’re counting; two more than required for the average “Oh, it’s good!”)

I have to be honest about my intentions when I purchased this particular LC meal from my grocer’s freezer. I bought it because I thought it would suck. And I thought it’s level of suckiness would be perfect fodder for a funny HER review. And to be really, REALLY honest, I ate this meal tonight under the pretense that it was going to be terrible, so that my boyfriend would take me out for a cheeseburger and beer at our favorite brew house. See, we made a pact not to eat out again until all of our groceries were finished off but I was fairly convinced that if I didn’t have a burger tonight, I would die. So I thought if I started to eat this meal and it was JUST SO TERRIBLE THAT I COULDN’T POSSIBLY STAND IT that Judd would take pity on me and buy me a 1/2 pound of 100% Grade A Angus Beef. Cooked medium with grilled mushrooms and onions. And thick sliced bacon. And cheddar. Oh, and spicy fries. Washed down with the cool Irish Stout of the season (aptly named The Bomb). BUT! This fantasy did not take place because I ate every single bite of the butternut squash ravioli and loved it.

This is an appropriate place to use the term chock full. This sucker was chock full of veggies. Look at the picture. They were slightly more tender than Iâ€™d have cooked them myself but they were flavorful and sweet. The squash ravioli were awesome. Really. They were soft but not mushy, and had a pleasant earthy, garlicky sweetness. The creamy sauce was just that with a mellow herb-y flavor. And walnuts! Nearly every bite had a crunch of walnuts. This was a truly suprising, truly tasty meal from Lean Cuisine that’s definitely a refreshing change from the typical chicken/rice/pasta combos. Do it. You’ll like it.

Filed Under 7 WW Points, Four Stars, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Vegetarian | 33 Comments

Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken Primavera

March 29, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken Primavera

SRP: $3.19
Serving: 1 package, 9.375 oz.
Calories: 250
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol: 8%, 25mg
Sodium: 27%, 640mg
Protein: 18g
Carbohydrates: 11%, 32g
Fiber: 16%, 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Grilled tender white meat chicken and whole grain vermicelli in a creamy garlic sauce with asparagus and cherry tomatoes

Abi says: I purchased (yes, bought with my own money) this meal without giving the box a close look. Anyone who knows me, knows that I will eat tomatoes only in the following forms:

Salsa
Sauces
Bruschetta

Every summer I go home to Oregon and try some fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes (both cherry and heirloom varieties) only to be repulsed by the horrid taste and texture of the fruit.

Fortunately for me, but unfortunately for people who love tomatoes, there were only two of those evil fruits present in Lean Cuisine’s Grilled Chicken Primavera. Yes, I said fruits. The tomato is botanically a fruit, but nutritionally a vegetable. Thanks, weird tariff laws.

Tomatoes aside, I enjoyed this meal. The broccoli held onto a bit of firmness, the chicken looked and tasted just like real poultry, and the noodles abounded with the nuttiness that accompanies whole grain pasta. There’s something about eating whole grain pasta that makes me feel like I really am doing something really good for myself. It is sort of like choosing wheat bread over a croissant at the deli (I’m such a sucker for the croissant). Too bad the asparagus, my reason for buying this meal, turned into mush.

The thick, creamy pasta sauce heightened my eating experience with the aroma of roasted garlic, but I still had vegetable issues. The sauce was barely flavorful enough to make me overlook the mushy asparagus and the inclusion of “concentrated carrot juice” and “sodium phosphates” in the ingredients list.

There are occasions when I crave white sauce. I’ve also made alfredo from scratch and I know what kind of insane stuff goes into it (1 pint of heavy cream? Holy cow), and I don’t like alfredo sauces from the store. I think I’ll choose this again in the future, especially with ‘twice the veggies’. Now, if only they’d get rid of the tomatoes.

Filed Under 5 WW Points, Chicken, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Three Stars | 7 Comments

Lean Cuisine Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken

March 28, 2007 | Reviewer: Nicole

Lean Cuisine Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken

SRP: $3.19
Serving: 1 meal, 9 7/8 oz.
Calories: 300
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 13%, 40mg
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 17g
Carbohydrates: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
WW Points: 6 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Edamame and broccoli with white meat chicken and whole wheat vermicellli in a sesame sauce

Nicole says: Upon removal from the microwave, this meal looks pretty depressing. I stirred a bit before it was ready for it’s close-up. The small sauce portion is all at the bottom, so the chicken, noodles, and veggies look naked. Luckily, if you stir up from the bottom you’ll coat the meal in a subtle, yet sumptuously scented, sesame sauce.

This meal is part of the new “Twice the Veggies” promotion from Lean Cuisine and it is no joke. There is a ton of broccoli in here, and a good bit of edamame, too. The edamame is out of the shell, which i suppose makes this daintier to eat, but it’s weird at first when you’re used to in-shell edamame. Both the broccoli and the edamame maintain firmness and a bit of crunch. I didn’t have as many yellow carrots (the new frozen meal fave - what’s wrong with orange?) or red peppers as the cover picture shows, but there were a few in there, serving a color rather than flavor purpose.

The chicken portion consisted of very small cubes, with a appropriately chickeny texture. There were maybe eight pieces, which is pretty accurate w/r/t the LC box photo. The chicken wasn’t particularly flavorful and the sauce didn’t play a strong supporting role.

The noodles are the loss incurred for “twice the veggies” - this is just about the skimpiest noodle portion I’ve seen in a frozen entree. I know a lot of people consider the noodles or the rice a “filler”, but I’m a fan of carbohydrates. I consider them an important part of texture and a conduit for purer flavor experience - I can taste sesame over “vermicelli” noodles better than over chicken or broccoli. The noodles offered are reasonably tasty, just a tad bit soft, and they are whole wheat, so you can feel crunchy-granola good, if that’s your bag. And it means they are not “empty calories” necessarily.

For a 300 calorie meal with a healthy fat, sodium, and carb content, this was reasonably filling meal. Or I was really busy and stressed out after eating it, because I didn’t eat dinner until 9:00 PM and I was fine. But it’s not “filling” in the sense I generally use, meaning I can feel the load of food in my stomach.

This fresh-tasting and reasonably priced meal will give you the energy you need for a full day of office life without making you feel like you’re walking around with a brick in your stomach.

The folks at Lean Cuisine’s PR company sent this meal to HeatEatReview.com as part of their ‘Twice the Veggies’ promotion. Yes, we got this meal for free. If you’re concerned about that the ‘free’ part affecting this review, please check out all of our Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine reviews.

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Chicken, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Three Stars | 9 Comments

Lean Cuisine Hunan Stir Fry with Beef

March 27, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Lean Cuisine Hunan Stir Fry with Beef

SRP: $3.19
Serving: 1 meal, 8.5 oz.
Calories: 270
Fat: 11%, 7g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 25%, 610mg
Protein: 15g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 37g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Broccoli, red peppers & edamame with beef steak & whole grain rice in an asian-style sauce.

Abi says: There are approximately eight edamame in this dish. This number is not enough that I would consider them a notable part of the dish, but enough to say that they’re meeting the edamame quota. The red pepper quota was in no way met. If Lean Cuisine just said ‘garnished’ with red peppers, then the near lack of Capsicum annuum would be acceptable.

Vegetable politics aside, I have to admit that this meal isn’t the nightmare I expected. I’ll admit that I was caught up in the memory of the dreaded Hunan Beef with Broccoli. Meals like that don’t leave you for a long time.

Lean Cuisine’s Spa version of the Hunan stir fry is an admirable attempt at lunch, notwithstanding the meat. The chunks of beef looked a little sketchy, so I avoided them, diving right into the rice and vegetables. The rice in this dish is amazing, with each pearly grain somehow bringing together the perfect rice nature of softness and tooth. Hello Lean Cuisine, welcome to the world of whole-grain rice, isn’t it a lovely place? The accompanying broccoli was abundant, though more yellow than I’ve ever seen in a microwaved meal. Usually, the broccoli survives microwaving and along the way is imparted with an impossibly bright hue. These florets were pallid and lifeless, turning to mush in the microwave.

After making my way through the blanched brown rice and sub-par broccoli, I started feeling pretty healthy in a self-satisifed ‘I am being so good and eating all of my vegetables’ sort of way.

And then there was the beef. Lean Cuisine’s offering consists of a few lumps of chewy meat that resemble and taste more like pot roast than anything that comes out of a Chinese restaurant. My palate was more confused than horrified as I gnawed on the beef cubes. “Just eat this or you will be hungry in an hour.” I repeated to myself during each chew. And then I was hungry a couple of hours later. I don’t think that I have a particularly marvelous metabolism, but my body is somehow able to sense that I’ve consumed Lean Cuisine and requires additional sustenance a short while later.

You may have noticed my complete lack of attention to the sauce, which Lean Cuisine describes as ‘Asian-style’. I understand that when a person or company adds -style to the end of a description, they are merely alluding to the possible heritage of or inspiration for an item. I am sick and tired of this. I don’t want {insert ethnic group here}-style things unless they actually are made in the style of that culture or contain ingredients that would be used in the dish, especially if you tack on an appellation refering to a specific region.

Hunan cuisine should be hot and spicy, aromatic, and deeply colored. While the asian-style sauce is deeply colored, it is neither aromatic nor spicy. Hunan is one of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine, so if a meal were to use the word ‘Hunan’ in its label, you’d think they could at least use something more interesting than brown sugar, soy sauce, and apple cider vinegar as the base for the sauce.

When we start misapplying terms like ‘Hunan’ (the sauce is actually closer to Cantonese cooking, but is a poor imitation of that), we’re setting ourselves on a path of changing names and history to suit marketing rather than reality. The next thing you know, we’ll be eating Tex-Mex Clam Chowder.

The folks at Lean Cuisine sent us this meal for free, but HeatEatReview.com is not receiving any paid compensation for this review. We’ll always disclose the source of our contributed meals and note the price that we would have paid for the items.

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Beef, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Two Stars | 10 Comments