Becky

Becky is a coffee-drinking cube land dweller (HR Technology) with a teaching degree collecting dust in a drawer somewhere. In her spare time, she likes to read, sing karaoke, play Sims 2, and scrape up hairballs from the carpet (she and hubby share their home with 3 spoiled cats). Now there’s a visual!

She joined the frozen lunch revolution when her department moved to a building with no cafeteria, and she was tired of bringing leftovers to work. She was AMAZED to see the selection of healthier frozen lunch alternatives, and now she’s hooked.

Latest Reviews by Becky:

Lean Cuisine French Bread Deluxe Pizza

May 13, 2008 | Reviewer: Becky

Lean Cuisine French Bread Deluxe Pizza Price: $2.31 + tax
Serving: 6 1/8 oz.
Calories: 310
Fat: 15%, 9g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 29%, 700mg
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrates: 15%, 44g
Sugar: 7g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Crunchy French bread topped with a flavorful tomato sauce accented with basil, garlic and onion. Topped with mozzarella cheese, savory Italian sausage, zesty pepperoni, mushrooms, and red and green bell peppers.

Becky says: I will fully admit that pizza ranks very highly on my list of favorite foods, right behind sushi. And when I realized that I haven’t bought this Lean Cuisine before, I was a bit taken aback. A pizza I haven’t tried?!

I get a little nervous about putting French bread in the microwave – it has a tendency to overcook into a rubbery dough brick very easily. However, I was surprised this time – the entire thing was cooked perfectly – crunchy (but not TOO crunchy) on the outside, and soft on the inside. The sauce was a surprise, too – a nice hearty tomato sauce, not sweet at all. And there was lots of it! That made me happy.

The actual toppings left a little to be desired, though. I had a hard time with the fact that there was one bite of the pizza that had cheese on it, and the veggies were pretty much non-existent (I saw green pepper, but had no idea that mushrooms were even there until I saw it on the box when I went to type this!) The sausage and pepperoni were plentiful, though – was glad to see that!

Will I get this again? Definitely – although it’s not superb, it is the best microwavable ‘healthy’ pizza I’ve found so far!

Filed Under 7 WW Points, Four Stars, Frozen Pizza Reviews, Lean Cuisine Reviews | 1 Comment

Lean Cuisine Chicken Fried Rice

April 1, 2008 | Reviewer: Becky

Lean Cuisine Chicken Fried Rice Price: $2.08 + tax
Serving: 10oz.
Calories: 280
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 16%, 50mg
Sodium: 29%, 690mg
Protein: 17g
Carbohydrates: 13%, 39g
Fiber: 14%, 3g
Sugar: 6 g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Rice & white meat chicken mixed with crispy vegetables & eggs in a sesame sauce.

Becky says: Normally, I’m a huge fan of fried rice, and I make it from scratch quite a bit (my secret ingredient is sesame oil). So during my last lunch shopping excursion, I didn’t object to this meal when my youngest stepdaughter picked it out for me.

I think she just lost that privilege.

When I took this out of the box, I noticed that it was just plain white rice in the bowl. That’s okay – I figured that the sauce was probably at the bottom. Once it was stirred, I realized the not-so-great truth – while there was sauce at the bottom of the bowl, it was not enough to make a difference in taste. I think a little low-sodium soy sauce would’ve gone a long way here, but that’s not in high demand in our office.

On a good note, I was surprised at the quantity of chicken, egg, peas and carrots – they were plentiful, and cooked perfectly. The chicken was tender, juicy, and tasted like chicken. There was more egg than what I had expected, but that wasn’t a bad thing!

As far as the nutritionals are concerned, the only thing that surprised me was the sodium count. I could not taste the 29% of my daily allowance of the stuff – in fact, I could’ve used more! It just goes to show how much salt we take in without knowing it . . . I’m sure that homemade toffee that I’ve been nibbling on all day is packed with that stuff.

I doubt I’ll get this meal again. The sheer lack of TASTE was enough to do it for me – there’s better ways to add flavor without compromising the nutritional value. Get to it, Lean Cuisine.

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Chicken, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Three Stars | 5 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

Green Giant Simply Steam Seasoned Broccoli & Carrots

January 29, 2008 | Reviewer: Becky

Green Giant Simply Steam Seasoned Broccoli & Carrots Price: $1.89 + tax
Serving: 4oz
Serving Size: 1/2 Package
Calories: 60 per serving
Fat: 4%, 3g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 11%, 260mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 3%, 8g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 1 per serving
Diet Exchanges: 1½ Vegetable, ½ fat, Carbohydrate Choices: ½

Green Giant says: Perfectly steam cooked every time through our new steam seam, Simply Steam Seasoned Vegetables use special blends of herbs & seasonings to accent the natural taste & goodness of delicious Green Giant vegetables.

Becky says: I love steamed veggies, and since this product came out on the market, I ALWAYS have a few boxes in the freezer. Who wants to take the time to take out the steamer basket for the stock pot, wait for the water to boil, wait for the veggies to cook, and then try to fit the pot, steamer basket, and lid into the dishwasher? Not me!

These veggies are SIMPLE to make – all you do is take it out of the box, nuke it, cut open the bag, dump the veggie/sauce mix into a pretty bowl, and ta-da! Fresh steamed veggies, and no dirty pots in sight. The veggies come out perfect every time, crisp, colorful, and tasting fantastic. Who could ask for anything more?

Lately, I’ve been bringing these to work with me as an add-on to my lunch. The only thing discouraging here is that I don’t want to eat just half of the package (it serves 2), so therefore, I’m getting double of the nasties that make an appearance (fat, sodium, etc). But hey, I’m getting my veggies, so I’m just thinking that everything else just cancels each other out.

If you DON’T have this in your freezer right now, something’s wrong. You need to go buy right now. You no longer have an excuse for not eating your veggies. And for that, I’m not sorry!

However, I am sorry that I’m still waiting for my Brussels Sprouts. C’mon Green Giant!

Filed Under 1 WW Point, Five Stars, Green Giant Reviews | 22 Comments