Lean Cuisine Salmon with Basil

December 24, 2007 | Reviewer: Becky

Lean Cuisine Salmon with Basil Price: $2.12 + tax
Serving: 1 entree, 9 5/8oz.
Calories: 220
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 28%, 660mg
Protein: 18g
Carbs: 8%, 24g
Fiber: 16%, 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Wild salmon on a bed of whole wheat orzo pasta with yellow and orange carrots and spinach in a basil sauce.

Becky says: I like seafood. A lot. I like it prepared in every way imaginable (yes, that includes raw!). But frozen fish worries me – I am treated to flashbacks of my youth, when the only fish that my mother dared to feed us was canned tuna or cod that had been frozen, and thawed, and frozen again numerous times before being broiled to a consistency that resembles something that should not be consumed by anyone. Needless to say, I didn’t have high hopes for Lean Cuisine’s salmon.

But this is one of the instances where I am glad to say that I was wrong, wrong, oh so wrong. Once cooked, the salmon in this dish is tender and moist, and has very little of the nasty ‘fishy’ flavor/smell that is so often present in frozen fish. Once you separate the fish with your fork and mix everything together, there’s plenty to go around. Even though the veggies are limited to carrots (yellow and orange) and spinach, there are plenty of each. The spinach is cooked, but not slimy, and the carrots maintain their somewhat crunchy texture. The sauce is fantastic, though if you don’t like basil, you probably won’t care for it. I was pleased with how well the flavor accented the fish and vegetables.

I’m not sure why orzo pasta was chosen to accompany this dish, but kudos to whoever thought it up! This small, tender pasta soaks up the sauce well, and doesn’t overpower the dish. My main complaint overall is that there isn’t more pasta. The meal only has 220 calories, for crying out loud, people . . . I need MORE! That’s why I usually end up bringing a package of veggies to nuke when this is on the menu…or today, I just ate more Christma…I mean, holiday cookies & candy that co-workers brought in to work.

Overall, this meal has become one of my ‘standards’ – something that I know I like, and purchase on a regular basis.

comments

15 Responses to “Lean Cuisine Salmon with Basil”

sir jorge on December 24th, 2007

I don’t believe it…I’m having a hard time with this one.
Abi Jones on December 24th, 2007

Well, the review says ‘Becky says’ not ‘Abi says’. After my horrible experience with the Healthy Choice Dill Salmon, I vowed that I’d never review frozen salmon again. However, if Whole Foods wants to send me any refrigerated salmon, I’ll gladly accept it.
Crow on December 25th, 2007

Salmon? Blech…basil (good in and of itself) and mutant yellow carrot aren’t helping either.

What is a yellow carrot anyways, a carrot that sunbathed throughout several decades without sun screen, and now molests the pool boy?
Becky on December 27th, 2007

See, and I agree - the Healthy Choice salmon is by far the WORST thing I’ve ever attempted to consume. But this is not Healthy Choice, and I really think you should try it once before deciding on hating it…
Abi Jones on December 27th, 2007

Oh, I am a salmon snob :). Even when it is ‘fresh’ at the grocery store, I’m careful that I don’t buy previously frozen salmon. Aaaand, in restaurants I have them cook my salmon medium, so that it isn’t even done all of the way through.

But okay, I will try it. Once. When they go on sale.
Victoria on January 6th, 2008

I do enjoy the salmon with basil but would enjoy it even more if the sodium content was reduced, minimally, by half. We will never appreciate the natural taste of food until we eliminate the need to salt it. This dish can never truly claim the “healthy” food coice title with a sodium content of 660 mg.
milo on January 9th, 2008

Wow, I normally agree with these reviews, but this particular lean cuisine is the worst I’ve ever tasted. I can barely choke it down and usually end up throwing it away and making a different one. I find the salmon way too fishy and the spinach, just ugh…
grace on January 23rd, 2008

I have never written in to heateat but I had to share my experience with this meal. After reading your review and determining that as a poor college student I deserved a little bit of salmon(and basil and vegetables oh and pasta?) I tried it. It was a disaster, my entire apartment plus the hallway plus the dumpster outside smelled like a rotten fish buried in an herb garden. STAY FAR AWAY!
jill on January 30th, 2008

This is my favorite lean cuisine meal, I have 3 in the fridge right now. I’m new to frozen/diet , and have made some insanely Dreadful picks, but this one is a keeper.
Erin on February 6th, 2008

This was awful. The box shows, nicely pink salmon with a bed or orzo some veggies thrown in there. What you get is green gunk (is that spinich?) color via the carrots (are those carrots?) and 5 tiny micro pieces of salmon. Even though it looked worthy enough for the garbage before heating it up, I still gave it a try. Heated up it was not much better. It was a mash of materials after you find the orzo, with the now cooked tiny pieces of salmon. Nothing like the box pictures or describes. I ate the salmon, and that was about it.
Becky on February 19th, 2008

Wow - I’m honesty surprised that there are so many haters of this meal! LOL I definitely consider myself to be a food ’snob’ - but then again, my palate is pretty varied. I’m just tying to imagine everyone’s horrid experiences, and I can’t! I guess all I can say is try it - if you like it, great - if not…you know where the trash is!
Julie on March 17th, 2008

“It was a disaster, my entire apartment plus the hallway plus the dumpster outside smelled like a rotten fish buried in an herb garden.”

See, this is what I’m afraid of with this and any other frozen meal that contains fish. I eat pretty much all of my frozen meals at work for lunch and I don’t want to stink my coworkers out of the office. Maybe someday I will work up the nerve to give this one a test run at home, but ugh, I don’t know. There are better seafood options out there, I think.
Ruth on March 24th, 2008

I was very afraid to try this–frozen, raw salmon in a box–and afraid to take the first bite; but I thought it was great. Once I got over my fear, I realized the flavor was excellent. I’m having my second tonite!
Jerry T. on May 29th, 2008

I want so badly to give this at least four stars but it was just too salty. Like was written above, drop the sodium content and it would easily be four stars. And if it was a larger meal (like those Healthy Choice Steamers), I’d be leaning toward the whole shootin’ match!

SO much potential with this one.

But, until then…a mere three stars from me.
Renee on July 22nd, 2008

I’ve had this a few times, and it just does not do it for me. Maybe I’m just a salmon snob, but I feel like the fishy taste really seeped into the sauce and consequently the orzo. The Salmon with Lemon Dill Sauce is marginally better and more filling, but overall I’m just not a fan of salmon in a frozen meal.