Linda McCartney Spicy Peanut Pasta with Vegetarian Chicken

October 15, 2007 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Linda McCartney Spicy Peanut Pasta with Vegetarian Chicken Price: $4.19
Serving: 1 meal, 10 oz.
Calories: 390
Fat: 14%, 9g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 33%, 790mg
Protein: 18g
Carbs: 18%, 53g
Fiber: 17%, 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 Points

Linda says: Semolina spaghetti with carrots, green & red bell peppers, and gourmet vegetarian chicken, tossed in a spicy Asian-style Peanut Sauce

Kelly says: Prior to consuming this meal I thought that ‘Vegetarian Chicken’ referred chicken that consumes only non-animal feed. I had a lot to learn. To Linda McCartney (who is dead, btw), Vegetarian Chicken means ‘fake chicken made out of vegetables.’

Yes, you are allowed to laugh at me. I live in the South, so I’m sure I’m not the first person who has made this mistake. Also, read the product blurb. Does it say anything about it not being real chicken? No, it just says ‘vegetarian chicken’, the least helpful phrase ever. Let me say now that if you’re thinking about switching to a no-meat lifestyle, stay far, far away from this meal. I’ll get into why later, but I just wanted to let you know now that it is not worth putting anywhere near your apartment-dweller Whole Foods mini shopping cart.

The noodles are larger than your standard spaghetti. This wouldn’t matter if it didn’t make them IMPOSSIBLE to eat in their enormousness, plus they are mushy from the get-go. I’ve had some pretty darn good Lean Cuisines (see Sesame Stir Fry with Chicken), so I know that noodles can be done relatively well. These were relatively inedible. The vegetables were forgettably fine. I ate all of them. Why? I like vegetables. Also, there are approximately 2 carrot sticks worth of vegetables in this meal. Another plus for Lean Cuisine. Too bad it was impossible to consume the fake chicken.

The process went something like this: Stab chicken chunk with fork. Pop in mouth. Attempt chewing. Find chewing quite difficult. Put further effort into chewing. Still not working. WTF mouth?!? Realize I am chewing a tasteless and rubbery fake meat item. Spit out. Repeat with new fake-chicken-nugget. Realize it is not me, it is the meat. Give up.

Sometime during the magical process that I like to call microwaving, the faux-chicken became rock-hard nuggets of evil. I know that isn’t very scientific, but that’s what happened. Thus, this Linda McCartney meal became the ultimate diet food, the 7 (seven!) uneaten breaded fake-chicken blobs mocking me from the tray. I ate all of the noodles. I ate all of the vegetables. I even consumed the not-worth-mentioning peanut sauce (It claims to be spicy, but this Polish-American girl found it blander-than-bland and I sweat when I eat at chain Mexican restaurants). But the idea of eating those chicken chunks? I’m shivering in my boots.

comments

4 Responses to “Linda McCartney Spicy Peanut Pasta with Vegetarian Chicken”

Rocketgirl on October 15th, 2007

If the chunks of protein were suppose to convey chicken, do you think the noodles were suppose to imitate earthworm?
Jill on October 17th, 2007

Arg, I hate when vegetarian chicken turns out like this… there have been a few times where I’ve found good attempts at making it, but for the most part the only way to get chicken is to cut it’s head off, sorry.
ali on October 18th, 2007

I haven’t had this Linda McCartney dinner, but I had another one , Butternut Squash ravoli with sage butter sauce, and it was inedible. The ravoli were tough, chewy and flavorless. And the butter sauce was okay but not enough to redeem the meal. I was hoping it was just that meal, but it seems like the whole line needs some quality control.

Lean Cuisine makes a butternut squash ravoli that’s really good, cheap, and easy to find (I ‘ve only see Linda’s at the health food store).

I think that some actual chickens are labeled “vegetarian” because they only eat plant, and sometimes I’ve seen vegetarian eggs that mean the same.
Meredith on October 21st, 2007

Oh my god, are you insane? I love this one! It’s practically my all-time favorite frozen dinner.