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:

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

Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs

January 15, 2008 | Reviewer: Becky

Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs Price: $2.08 + tax
Serving: 9 1/8 oz
Calories: 280
Fat: 11%, 7g
Cholesterol: 17%, 50mg
Sodium: 26%, 630mg
Protein: 23g
Carbohydrates: 10%, 30g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Swedish meatballs with pasta in a savory gravy.

Becky says: When I think of Swedish meatballs, I think of football parties, Crock Pots, and poking at people with the toothpicks that you’ve used to dig out those little morsels of drippy, meaty, goodness…definitely not Lean Cuisine material. So when a good friend, J, told me that this meal was one of her favorites, I decided to give it a try – I’m game for trying (almost) anything once!

Luckily, I know how to work our office microwave – because the package asks you to cook this at 50% power. At home, I’d be outta luck, since the microwave we have is an el-cheapo that I bought when I started college…nearly 12 years ago. It doesn’t have the ability to cook at any level other than high, but I can’t bear to part with it because it just won’t die! Anyway, long story short – know how to work your microwave.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised in this dish – especially after adding some black pepper. The meatballs were big & juicy (I was expecting tough) – I could easily cut them into 4 smaller pieces and mix them in with the noodles and gravy. They’re a beef/pork combination – but something I’ve been curious about for a while now is why we never see ground turkey in any of these frozen meals. Granted, you’ll never see me eat a turkey cheeseburger, but in dishes where meat is not the main character, turkey is a fantastic replacement.

The gravy was almost savory – it reminded me of beef stroganoff – which in turn made me crave mushrooms. Besides that, the main thing the gravy was lacking was more onion – that would have definitely helped to move this gravy decidedly into the ‘savory’ category. The noodles turned out surprisingly well – a perfect al dente – which I’m found is hard to achieve in a frozen meal.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised in this meal. You definitely need a veggie side dish (ex. salad or frozen mixed veggies) to round out the meal, but I’ll have to thank J for recommending this meal to me – I’ll definitely buy it again.

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Beef, Four Stars, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Pork | 14 Comments

Green Giant Healthy Weight Frozen Vegetables

January 2, 2008 | Reviewer: Becky

Green Giant Healthy Weight Frozen Vegetables Price: $1.89 + tax
Servings Per Package About 2
Serving: 1 1/3 cup prepared
Calories: 90 per serving
Fat: 4%, 2.5g
Cholesterol: 2%, 5mg
Sodium: 10%, 240mg
Protein: 5g
Carbohydrates: 5%, 14g
Fiber: 21%, 5g
Meal Exchanges: 2 Vegetable, ½ Very Lean Meat, ½ Fat, Carbohydrate Choices: 1
Weight Watchers Points: 1 Point per serving

Green Giant says: Sliced Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas, Black Beans and Edamame, Lightly Tossed with Butter Sauce. Diets rich in foods naturally containing fiber can help you maintain a healthier body weight.

Becky says: I bought this to supplement my lack of stomach satisfaction in eating a Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones meal. I eat Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones about 90% of the time, since I’m really, truly trying to lose weight now (so I can get pregnant…go figure!).

My first mistake was NOT looking at the nutritional info before nuking this. This is TWO servings? That immediately takes this out of the ‘healthy’ category. The only time I want my veggies to have 5g of fat, they better be covered in cheese, not ‘lightly tossed’ in some butter sauce that I couldn’t even taste. What a waste of precious fat grams!

As you can see in the photo, the actual product doesn’t quite match the picture on the box…black beans make up a lot of this dish. I generally LIKE black beans, but I don’t make it a practice of cracking open a can for an afternoon snack. Green Giant’s are very dry and don’t have much flavor.

The rest of the veggies were quite delicious. I was glad to see that they didn’t skimp on the edamame, and the snap peas and carrots were crisp and fresh-tasting. I just wish that I had carrot/edamame/snap pea aftertaste in my mouth right now; instead, I still feel like I’m still chewing on black beans.

Will I get these again? Probably not – I’m still searching my local grocery stores for the individual sized Birds Eye Steamfresh bags of baby brussels sprouts . . . that will be a happy day.

Filed Under 1 WW Point, Green Giant Reviews, Three Stars | 13 Comments