Heather

Heather has been happily heating and eating since 1978. She is currently pursuing graduate coursework in anthropology and enjoys eating cheap, convenient, and occasionally tasty meals. She's been an on-and-off again vegetarian for seven years and recently made the momentous decision to go whole hog (or whole not-hog, as the case may be) to adopt a vegan lifestyle. For the sake of her craft (and cheesy deliciousness), she'll still review some vegetarian (cheesy!) meals for Heat Eat Review from time to time.

Latest Reviews by Heather:

Amy’s Kitchen Breakfast Burrito

September 20, 2006 | Reviewer: Heather

Heather takes it to Amy’s Kitchen for being a bit suspicious in their burrito naming conventions. Does tofu = breakfast for you?

Amy's Kitchen Breakfast Burrito

Price: $2.29
Serving: 1 Burrito, 170 g
Calories: 250
Fat: 11%, 7g
Sodium: 23%, 540mg
Protein: 9g
Carbs: 13%, 36g
Fiber: 20%, 5g

Amy’s says:Organic potatoes, tofu, black beans, vegetables and salsa wrapped in an organic flour tortilla. Non-dairy/no cholesterol.

Heather says:By and large, I love Amy’s products. By and large, so does HeatEatReview.com. Just take a look at that Amy’s brand link down there if you don’t believe me. Lucky Amy, she is favored well here.

This favoritism may be largely due to the fact that Amy’s Kitchen is consistently yummy. When I picked up this burrito, for example, I did so with a fair amount of certainty that I would find it tasty. I was not let down.

The one exception I do take to this product is its name. “Breakfast” burrito, you say, Amy? Er? I don’t know about the next person, but the words ‘breakfast burrito’ make me think of scrambled egg product wrapped in a flour tortilla and served out a drive-through window at your nearest McDonald’s. They do not, however, make me think of healthful whole wheat tortillas filled with potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and tofu. I think Amy may be trying to be a little too creative with her name choices, as this product doesn’t look all that distinguishable from any of her other bean burritos, except perhaps that it is lacking cheese. So what exactly makes it breakfast-y? The tofu? No, Amy, no. Just name the thing a tofu-potato burrito and call it a day. Vegans tend to like tofu. We’re okay with it. Really. Next time, embrace your inner vegan and just place the tofu name proudly on the cover.

Even if you’re not vegan, you might want to enter our contest.

Filed Under Amy's Kitchen Reviews, Three Stars, Vegan, Vegetarian | 6 Comments

Lightlife Smart Pretzel Dog

September 6, 2006 | Reviewer: Heather

Lightlife Smart Pretzel Dog

Price: $2.29
Serving: 1 Pretzel Dog (142 g)
Calories: 350
Fat: 12%, 8g
Sodium: 30%, 730mg
Protein: 20g
Carbs: 17%, 50g
Fiber: 16%, 17g

Light Life says:Veggie dog wrapped in pretzel dough.

Heather says: Let me first admit that my contributions to this site have made me perhaps a little bit more of a spendthrift in my grocery shopping forays than I once was. In the name of each assignment, I somehow feel emboldened in my choices of food product. This isn’t confined to my participation here. I normally like to try new things, and that extends to my food choices. I’m an anthropologist, after all, so I suppose it’s only natural.

So it was that I found myself at Whole Foods last night pondering this product. Someone would actually make this and eat it? And, I imagine, if it is here on this market shelf, somebody must be buying it. So then, why not me?

My first thought about reading this product’s rather lackluster description was that it needed more adjectives, and perhaps more creative marketing. After having tasted it, however, I found that the description is spot-on, and that there simply aren’t any complimentary adjectives that could be used to more accurately describe it. As you can see, this product looks just like a hot dog. It tastes like not much of anything at all. If I were forced to describe it, however, I would say that it most definitely does taste like a veggie hotdog wrapped in a pretzel.

So, yes, the next time I’m craving a hot dog wrapped in a pretzel, I imagine this would suffice. However, the only circumstances under which I can imagine that happening ever again would be if I was starving to death and every single other edible thing had suddenly vanished from the face of the earth (bugs and dirt included).

In short, thumbs way down.

Filed Under Light Life Reviews, One Star, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna

August 23, 2006 | Reviewer: Heather

Let’s just say that if the most impressive thing a company has to tout about a product is “No Preservatives,” you should know that you’re not about to eat the most healthful of meals.

Stouffer's Vegetable Lasagna

Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 package, Size: 10.5 oz
Calories: 390
Fat: 27%,18 g
Sodium: 30%, 730 mg
Protein:17g
Carbs: 13%, 40g
Fiber: 16%, 4g

Stouffer’s says: Lasagna layered with a colorful medley of carrots, spinach, broccoli and onions with a parmesan and romano cheese sauce.

Heather says: I’m a little shocked at myself for having bought this particular entree, and even more so that I had the gall to review it here. And I have but one defense for my non-healthful choice: comfort food. Between grad school and job interviews, my life has been a perfect storm of anxiety lately. I also woke up a good hour late for work, and - frankly - it looked like the most satisfying thing that could be procured from my kitchen in the ten seconds I spent pondering lunch as I headed out the door.

I used to eat this fattening little thing all the time back in my nonprofit days. I loved it for many reasons, not the least of which is the consistency with which it pleased me. It also reminded me of my favorite Marriott Hotel veggie lasagna. I traveled all over the country for the above mentioned non-profit job, but I swear that the white-sauce veggie lasagna served by Marriotts the world over tasted consistently delicious every time. In fact, it tasted very much like this thing it just took me ten minutes of monopolizing the office microwave to heat up.

I should digress to mention the cover of the box. Let’s just say that if the most impressive thing a company has to tout about a product is “No Preservatives,” you should know that you’re not about to eat the most healthful of meals. However, the back of the box did helpfully inform me that this meal counted as vegetable serving = 1. Unfortunately, what it did not say was that serving of animal fat = too friggin’ much.

In its defense, this meal did provide 40% of my daily Vitamin A allowance, 35% of my daily calcium allowance, and 100% of my daily cheesy deliciousness allowance. In my eyes, it is redeemed.

Filed Under Four Stars, Pasta, Stouffer's Frozen Meal Reviews | 14 Comments

Whole Kitchen Chana Masala

August 7, 2006 | Reviewer: Heather

Whole Kitchen Chana Masala

Price: $2.99
Serving: 1 package, 12.3 oz.
Calories: 470
Fat: 17%, 11g
Sodium: 25%, 600mg
Protein: 11g
Carbs: 28%, 85g
Fiber: 41%, 10g

Whole Kitchen says:Our Whole Kitchen chana masala is made in the traditional Indian fashion. Garbanzo beans are enveloped in a savory spiced sauce and served with white Basmati rice. This vegetarian taste of India goes from freezer to table in about 5 minutes.

Heather says: Well, hello there, fellow lovers of convenience and cheap frozen meals. Thanks for having me. This will be the first of my considerably biased and editorialized reviews of vegetarian and â€“ when Iâ€™m feeling really virtuous â€“ vegan products. Like you, I love food. And like you, ostensibly, food reviews. They not only entertain me but also serve to save me a buck or two now and then. And being a destitute graduate student, I certainly appreciate a dollar saved.

Now then, letâ€™s get started, shall we? For my first review, I pounced upon what looked like a safe old favorite: Whole Kitchenâ€™s Chana Masala. I love Indian food in general, and chana in particular. Iâ€™d never tried this particular product but have been pleased so far with the Whole Foods product lines, so I thought it might be at least moderately edible.

I would sum up this product thus: Blech.

I suppose I had high hopes for this meal, because I love chana so very much. I even stirred it around and fluffed the rice a bit in an attempt to make it look better for its online debut. Sadly, my efforts didn’t improve its taste in the least. The lovely Basmati rice had clumped together
awfully and was, by and large, crispy. There was also not nearly enough sauce, which just highlighted how icky the rice turned out. Not that it would have helped much, for the masala itself was lackluster. The chickpeas were soft, as they should be, but the sauce was unremarkable. The only thing I could think to do to improve upon its taste was add salt, and yet — judging by the nutritional information — that would be inadvisable.

All in all, this meal was a bit of disappointment. In general, I don’t make much Indian food at home, precisely because it ends up tasting exactly like this meal…blah. But I will say this much for my cooking - at least I can make a batch of non-crispy Basmati rice.

Filed Under Two Stars, Vegetarian, Whole Kitchen Reviews | 3 Comments