Freschetta Brick Oven Pepperoni Pizza

February 29, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Freschetta Brick Oven Pepperoni Pizza Price: $3.50
Serving: 1/4 pizza, 5.44oz.
Calories: 410
Fat: 31%, 20g
Cholesterol: 13%, 40mg
Sodium: 47%, 1120mg
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 13%, 38g
Fiber: 10%, 3g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 9 Points

Freschetta says: Inspired by traditional family recipes handed down for generations, Freschetta Brick Oven has a classic square shape, a crispy fire-baked crust and is topped with only the finest ingredients.

Abi says: My unending love affair with Freschetta pizza concluded with my consumption of this item. It is 8am the next morning and I can still taste the disappointment.

I looked forward to this pizza. It was on sale at Safeway (I bought it while filming unused shopping card footage for the Kid Cuisine video review), so I purchased this meal with the abandon I usually reserve for known products. When I finally pulled it out for a dinner, I realized that the baking time was considerably shorter than most pizzas. This needed a bake time of just 12 minutes. Score one for the new pizza.

When I pulled the amazingly baked after just 12 minutes pizza from the oven, I placed it on a cutting board and realized the genius of the brick oven pizza.

It is a square item in a square box. This means that while the pizza is thinner than other pizzas, it actually fills the box that it comes in.
Cutting a square pizza into reasonable slices is easy. Seriously, this is genius. Cutting pizza is a total pain unless you have one of those special cutter guides that they use at Costco (and they do not wash them in between uses - ew). Or, you might be a pizza-cutting pro like the folks who work at Abby’s Pizza, a place my parents used to tell me was named after me - don’t ever do that to your kids, it will totally make them think that they own a pizza parlor.
If your oven bakes unevenly (mine does not, the oven is the best-working thing in this apartment) this pizza will be easy to rotate.

With little difficulty, I cut the pizza into eight somewhat even slices, plated up three and took the pizza downstairs to watch the news during dinner. Each of my slices was a lovely amalgam of bright red sauce, melted cheese and pepperoni. I took a bite as was greeted by an uncomfortable burning sensation. I figured that while the crust of the pizza had cooled, perhaps the sauce was piping hot and that’s what did me in.

So I sat back for a minute to let me pizza cool. While watching the news I realized that every commercial was for products that I hope I will never need:

Lotion marketed to women with menopause-caused dry skin
Cold medicine for people with high blood pressure
Fiber Supplements
Impotence Drugs

Television news is for old people. And people who eat this pizza and end up with high blood pressure because it is so amazingly salty. You see, the sauce wasn’t hot. The pizza was so freaking salty that it burned my mouth. I like spicy, salty, mouth-burning, vindalooesque foods, so this pizza confused the bejeezus out of me. I couldn’t handle the salt? Could that be true? This pizza was so salty that I couldn’t even taste the sauce or cheese or the I-don’t-want-to-know-what-it-is meatiness of the pepperoni.

I sincerely appreciate the Schwann corporation and their dedication to making Freschetta pizza, but I wonder if I got a bum pie. A salty bum pie. Time for another glass of water.

Filed Under Freschetta Pizza Reviews, Frozen Pizza Reviews, Two Stars | 8 Comments

Ethnic Gourmet Chicken Tikka Masala

February 28, 2008 | Reviewer: Sarah

Ethnic Gourmet Chicken Tikka Masala Price: $4.59
Serving: 10 oz.
Calories: 260
Fat: 10%, 6g
Cholesterol: 15%, 45mg
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 11%, 32g
Fiber: 11%, 3g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Points

Ethnic Gourmet says: Seasoned white meat chicken pieces in a robust, creamy sauce, with seasoned, long-grain brown rice. All natural, no artificial ingredients, flavors, colors or preservatives. Minimally processed.

Sarah says: It’s been quite a long while since I wrote anything for HeatEatReview, and I’m glad that I’m able to come back on a high note. Now, a very important thing for me to explain before I start discussing the tasty logistics of this meal is that I am now centrally located in the midwestern United States. As such, you might start to see a difference in some of the items I purchase and the items that are available in your local supermarket. Unless, of course, you are made of awesome and you also live in the Hawkeye State.

That said, the grocery chain here (called HyVee) has, in recent years, developed a “health foods” section which is actually quite impressive. (Back when I was a youngin’, it was just ten rows of corn, corn and more corn!) It’s several small aisles filled with organic, vegan, gluten-free, and otherwise new-age hippie foods. I ended up in this section this week, on a mission to stock up my house with healthier, lower calorie foods as I attempt to burn off the December pounds. And I’m glad I did, because that is where I found this meal.

I was skeptical at first. The price was a little high, and we don’t really do Indian food here in Farm Country. As someone who has lived on both coasts, the lack of diverse cuisine is probably my biggest complaint about the midwest. But I’ve been craving a little curry in my life, and so I threw the box into my cart.

I decided to eat it after a trip to the gym - a good call, as I’m always (counter-intuitively) less hungry after a trip to the gym. It smelled delicious, and I was extremely pleased to find that despite the misleading look that my photograph might give you, there was plenty of fantastic chicken meat buried beneath the sauce. And I mean PLENTY - I actually ran out of rice before the chicken was gone! The sauce itself was tasty, though true lovers of Indian cuisine will probably wish that it was a bit spicier. I can’t really fault them for this though, as the box clearly notes that the meal is “Mildly Spiced.” It still had enough oomph that I needed a glass of water to accompany it, so all in all, not so bad!

Probably the only complaint I had about this meal was the rice. There was plenty of it, and I felt good about myself eating something so healthy, but as a rule, brown rice is harder to cook as well as white rice. It comes out a little dry, and I think that this might partially be because I had to cook the meal for an extra minute in my microwave in order to completely heat the chicken. But I still ate all of the rice, and it was very filling.

Veggie lovers might be sort of disappointed with the meal, so I guess it’s a good thing that I’m not a veggie lover. There are some peas in the rice, but I can only assume that they’re there to add color. I mean, why do I need peas in my rice? Ugh. I hate peas. But since I doused each forkful of pea!rice in my chicken and sauce, I barely even noticed that they were there. Thank goodness.

All in all, at only 260 calories this meal did one hell of a job. I felt full after eating it, and it left me craving a trip to the one Indian restaurant in town. I’ll definitely buy it again.

Note: I just realized that over a year ago, my darling Jess reviewed the same meal and was not impressed. Maybe they’ve since improved it? Or maybe I’m just easier to please. Who knows?

Filed Under 5 WW Points, Chicken, Ethnic Gourmet Reviews, Five Stars | 11 Comments

Alexia Waffle Fries

February 27, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Alexia Waffle Fries Price: $3.79
Serving: 8 pieces, 3oz.
Servings Per Bag: 6
Calories: 150
Fat: 7%, 4.5g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 14%, 330mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 24g
Fiber: 10%, 3g
Sugar: 0g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

Alexia says: Fun and flavorful, Alexia’s New Waffle Fries are a delicious interpretation of the European Classic, Pommes Gaufrettes. Lightly seasoned with Sea Salt, Pepper, and just the right amount of onion and garlic, Alexia Waffle Fries make a fantastic snack or a great accompaniment to your favorite entree

Abi says: My original review notes from this meal say only:

Fries of awesome!!!!!!

I am not an egregious user of exclamation points, so you should trust me when I say that these are the best frozen fry products I’ve ever tasted. After lackluster experiences with both the Alexia onion rings and the Alexia potato wedges, I wasn’t expecting such a fun eating experience.

Before we really get into how these taste, you should know that yes, there are about 6 servings in the package and yes, 8 fries will be enough. I know, it doesn’t seem like it will work, but these are waffle fries. They are hefty.

I don’t know how it is for you, but there’s something about waffle fries that makes me feel like a kid again. They are fancifully shaped and somewhat reminiscent of county fairs and boardwalks. Fortunately, these waffle fries are more than fit for adults, too. They were not at all greasy, so you could definitely have some folks over for a movie or drinks night and heat up a pan of these in the oven. Except, you won’t want to do that. No, instead you’ll be wishing that these came in a resealable bag because you’re going to have them with your lunch every day for a week except that you won’t get six servings out of the bag because on Friday you’ll say to yourself “I could eat all of the fries left in this bag, no problem.” And you would be wrong because eating all of them and a corn dog will totally make you sick and you will regret it.

When gorging doesn’t come in to play, Alexia waffle fries are delicious in every context. I tried these plain, with ketchup, dipped in homemade fry sauce and drenched ranch. Flavorful and fantastic alone or with a sauce, I should try sprinkling these with parmesan and forego dipping altogether.

I’m not sure than another frozen fry can ever measure up, but I’m okay with that possibility so long as these fries exist.

Filed Under 3 WW Points, Alexia Reviews, Certified Kosher, Cholesterol Free, Five Stars, Trans Fat Free, Vegan, Vegetarian | 12 Comments

Smart Ones Spicy Szechuan Style Vegetables & Chicken

February 26, 2008 | Reviewer: Becky

Smart Ones Spicy Szechuan Style Vegetables & Chicken Price: $1.52 + tax
Serving: 9oz
Calories: 240
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol: 2%, 5mg
Sodium: 37%, 900mg
Protein: 11g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 36g
Fiber: 16%, 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 4

Smart Ones says: A delectable Asian sensation of crisp, color vegetables and tender white meat chicken, simmered in a sweet and spicy blend of hoisin and soy sauces. So delicious, so satisfying . . . and another little way you can be good today.

Becky says: My husband and I swear on the Chinese buffet as being one of the best hangover cures. In our ‘really poor’ years, we lived on stir-fry, and sushi is my absolute most favoritest food in the world. Basically, it takes a lot for me to not like an Asian dish, fresh or frozen, and this meal teetered on the edge.

All in all, the components of this dish were all there, it’s just that the proportions were just a tad bit off . . . where were the veggies? The meat? All I got was a pile of noodles drenched in a salty, sweet, mildly spicy sauce, with a few pitiful-looking veggies thrown in haphazardly. On the label, they claim to include carrots, red bell pepper, zucchini, water chestnuts, celery, bok choy and bean sprouts. Well, what I saw were some carrots, a few pieces of zucchini and water chestnuts, some red mush (red bell pepper?), some green flecks (bok choy?), mushy greenish goo (celery?) and what looked like broken noodles (bean sprouts?). Add to that a couple pieces of finely diced chicken, and you’ve got yourself this meal.

The noodles, while too plentiful, were good, I’ll admit that. They cooked to the perfect consistency and temperature, even when a small personal crisis took me away from my desk for a few minutes, and I had to re-cook it for 30 seconds.

All in all, this dish reminded me that there is such a thing as bad Asian, and I’m not talking about the buffet. I take that back. This dish wasn’t horrible, it just wasn’t good enough for me to get it again. But if Smart Ones added more vegetables and cut down on the salt in the sauce, I’d add this one to my shopping list.

Filed Under 4 WW Points, Chicken, Four Stars, Smart Ones Reviews | 2 Comments