Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken

November 14, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken Price: $2.50
Serving: 1 tray, 9oz.
Calories: 220
Fat: 6%, 4g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 25%, 610mg
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 14%, 43g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Grilled chicken tenderloins served in a rich and creamy roasted red pepper sauce made with fire-roasted red peppers and basil, accented with lime. Long grain white rice, hand-picked red peppers, spinach and lime are tossed together to finish the dish.

Abi says: Right now I’m researching places where I can get married. This is a lot less fun than it sounds, so all I can say is ‘Thank God for the Internet’. Not for research purposes, but for entertainment value: it is fun to see all of the crazy wedding-related stuff that people thing they have to do. I found all of this so ridiculous that I actually started another website: Stupid Wedding Crap. The name is pretty self-explanatory.

I find weight loss boards on The Knot are especially interesting because people online give sound advice (drink plenty of water, eat healthy foods, and exercise, if you’re curious). But sometimes there’s a person out there who says something like this:

If you reduced your calorie intake each day to 800-1000 calories, you’ll have no problem being able to take off that pre-wedding weight.

I have to agree, starving yourself is a pretty effective way to drop weight. And completely screw up your body. And probably turn into some sort of zombie and tear someone’s head off so that you can get to their brains. Because brains are rich in protein (yes, I am making that up, I have no idea about the nutritional content of brains). However, not everyone wants to be a zombie. Also, maybe some like to eat food because it is delicious and maybe they like being able to go for a bike ride without fainting.

People who like to eat, but sometimes just need a snack and not an entire pound of food, should consider Lean Cuisine’s Thai-style chicken. Yes, it is tinier than an actual meal (because since when does 220 calories constitute a meal?), but I think that it could be a fantastic part of one of those 5 small meals a day plans or a decent lunch if paired with an apple or carrots, a string cheese, a Diet Coke and a chocolate bar. Mmmmm.

While this dish in no way resembles any meal I’ve ever seen or eaten in a Thai restaurant (I guess that’s where the ’style’ part comes in), the rice features actual lime essence (amazing!) and the chicken swims in a hearty, tray-licking-good red pepper sauce. I am sort of scared by how much I enjoyed this little item. I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more if there had been more of it. Imagine a pack of Bubble Yum. Now unwrap that package and imagine that each piece of gum has turned into a piece of chicken. Is that enough chicken? No. Not for a meal.

If you’re thinking about keeping a frozen item in the office for those times that you need something to eat at 3:30pm, but an enormous chocolate chip oatmeal cookie from Potbelly is calling your name, this might just work.

The photo above is from Carolyn’s review of the meal over a year ago. My rice was considerably better than hers and my meal looked much prettier, if only I could find that photo.

comments

7 Responses to “Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken”

Crow on November 14th, 2007

What I could find on the nutritional content of (pork) brains: http://www.neatorama.com/2006/06/29/instant-heart-attack/ (larger image: http://thewvsr.com/porkbrains.htm)
mbbored on November 14th, 2007

OMG, I love Stupid Wedding Crap! Now I feel like a groupie reading 2 of your blogs. Or should I feel more like a stalker as I don’t have a very legitimate reason to red either? I’m not getting married, and I’m a vegetarian and unable to eat most of the meals reviewed here. Oh well, I’m entertained.
Adina on November 14th, 2007

800 calories? I think I drank that in alcoholic drinks tonight.
bree on November 14th, 2007

I love this meal…and I always pair it with a candy bar. I swear it was 5pts…wonder if I could collect on that extra point I’ve been couting every time I eat this. To me it smells like swimming rama…which is my favorite…which I usually have to go have with-in 3 days of having this lean cuisine or my head implodes.. Now that I think about it…probably can’t collect on those extra points…
Blips on January 26th, 2008

This is my absolute favorite from Lean Cuisine, it is just amazing how it taste.
Smart Ones Traditional Lasagna with Meat Sauce : Heat Eat Review : We Review TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods on May 19th, 2008

[…] a long time to cook, which means that it is using precious microwave time. Two people could cook Thai Chicken Lean Cuisines in the time it takes to heat up this lasagna. Sure, one could be a bit daring and put the item on […]
Jerry T. on May 29th, 2008

After being disappointed with the Baked Chicken (with cornbread) earlier in the day, as soon as I peeled the plastic off the top of the tray as I sat down to eat I knew I was in for some frozen meal goodness.

The rice had great texture and taste. The chicken was tender and moist (oh shoot…I’m not supposed to use those words anymore…ha ha) and the sauce was delectable. I started laughing when I read “tray-licking-good” because I was about to do that but figured I shouldn’t while at work. I did scrape as much as I could with my fork, though.

A solid four stars from me. Might have been 4 1/2 if one piece of chicken hadn’t actually made me think I was eating a piece of salisbury steak. Not sure how that happened but it had the texture of it. weird.