Sarah

Sarah is obsessed with Harry Potter, musicals, and Harry Potter. She also really likes playing with dry ice. I mean, really, really, really likes it. Look at that photo! Dry ice love! She's a drama nerd and a politics junkie. In fact, if you met her then she'd be the most politically knowledgeable person you've ever met. Including if you've met Bill Clinton. Really, she knows that much.

Latest Reviews by Sarah:

South Beach Diet Penne & Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Broccoli

April 30, 2008 | Reviewer: Sarah

South Beach Diet Penne & Chicken in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Broccoli Price: $2.25
Serving: 10.5 oz.
Calories: 300
Fat: 18%, 12g
Cholesterol: 17%, 50mg
Sodium: 32%, 760mg
Protein: 25g
Carbohydrates: 9%, 27g
Fiber: 32%, 8g
Sugar: 6g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Smart Ones says: Breast strips with rib meat and penne in a creamy red pepper sauce with broccoli.

Sarah says: In comparison to my review of Smart Ones Roast Beef, where I was pleasantly surprised by a meal that I expected not to love, this meal was a sharp turn for the worse. I think that my expectations were simply way too high - this is yet another case of a horribly misleading and delicious-looking cover gone wrong. Everything about this little frozen meal called out to me. Whole grain wheat pasta? Check! Broccoli, my favorite frozen vegetable? Check! Some sort of sauce that’s sorta-creamy-and-sorta-spicy? CHECK! In addition to all of that, South Beach is apparently not eco-friendly, as their meal comes in a box that takes up approximately double the space that my Smart Ones takes, even though the meal is just 1.5 ounces heavier. This was yet another factor in my high expectations, as I extremely hungry when I selected the gargantuan parcel out of my freezer at lunchtime. Big box = big taste, right?

Not so much. The first let-down of the meal was the broccoli. I always eat the veggies first, because I’m a slightly OCD weirdo who likes to separate their foods and eat them in order from “least favorite” to “favorite.” It’s pretty hard to mess up broccoli, but somehow South Beach has managed it. I can’t even tell you what it was, either. The broccoli just tasted slightly off. Like maybe it had been frozen and thawed and re-frozen one too many times.

Then there was the pasta, which I had hoped would redeem my rather pathetic vegetable experience. I think the biggest disappointment was with the “Red Pepper Sauce,” which I had expected to taste . . . oh, I don’t know . . . peppery? Instead, it just tasted like sauce. Just generic sauce, that you might find in a big plastic container located in an underground hatch on a mysterious island in the South Pacific. The pasta has a strange texture, but that’s par for the course when you’re dealing with whole wheat pasta, and I really felt like it might have been enjoyable (the chicken was just fine, too) if there had been non-Dharma sauce on top of it.

Oh well, I guess that’s what you get for buying any meal with the word “diet” on the front of the package. Too bad I have two other South Beach items left in the freezer to try.

[The South Beach Diet is now known as South Beach Living. Also, if you’re into Lost but you’re never sure if this week’s episode will be new or a rerun, I recommend you check out Is Lost a Repeat?, a highly accurate, superbly informational website. -Ed.]

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Chicken, South Beach Meal Reviews, Two Stars | 8 Comments

Smart Ones Roast Beef

March 27, 2008 | Reviewer: Sarah

Smart Ones Roast Beef Price: $3.00
Serving: 9 oz.
Calories: 190
Fat: 12%, 8g
Cholesterol: 17%, 50mg
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 4%, 11g
Fiber: 13%, 3g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 Points

Smart Ones says: It’s a sophisticated dish with tender cuts of roast beef and portobello mushrooms, smothered in a tangy vermouth sauce, and a mix of crisp broccoli and cauliflower on the side. So delicious, so satisfying… and another little way you can be good today.

Sarah says: This meal sat in my freezer for quite a while. For some reason, there was always something else that seemed more palatable. But in my recent quest to get a hot body for the summer, I’ve been more careful with my caloric intake. Since I’m going out for dinner tonight, at only 190 calories this meal was the clear winner for lunch.

When I removed it from the microwave, I wasn’t overjoyed at the smell. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad smell per se, but it wasn’t amazing, either. I have to tell you though, I was pleasantly surprised at the taste! Ok, so the veggies needed a tiny bit of salt and pepper, but after that, this meal was none too shady.

The things I enjoyed, in list form:

The meat. The box didn’t lie, the roast beef was tender indeed. And delicious! And plentiful, and filling, and the list goes on and on. I have nothing but good things to say about the roast beef, which is good, since that is the name of this meal. Seriously Smart Ones, “Roast Beef?” Not, “Roast Beef and Vegetables?” Or even “Delicious Roast Beef?” You should talk to the people in your creative department. Or maybe hire me.
The vegetables tasted like real vegetables. I don’t really like the green stuff in general, so I’m extra picky when it comes to the frozen ones. But while I wouldn’t agree with the official description of “crisp,” I did think they were pretty good.

…And I guess that’s it. I liked the meat, I liked the veggies, and that’s pretty much all there was to this meal. The sauce wasn’t so bad either, though I wouldn’t call it “tangy.” All in all, for 190 calories, I feel full and decently satisfied. That’s what I look for in a microwavable lunch.

Oh, one final note - I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but they definitely show little red things (Peppers? Tomatoes?) in the veggies. It was clear to me when I opened it up that that was a dirty lie. Sort of. I did find ONE of those little buggers (Conclusion: definitely a pepper) buried under a piece of broccoli. Frankly, this didn’t affect my judgment of the meal because I freaking hate peppers. AND tomatoes. But as a good reviewer, I thought I should alert you to this little fact. You’ve been warned, pepper-loving freaks.

Filed Under 4 WW Points, Beef, Four Stars, Smart Ones Reviews | 5 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

KA-ME Szechuan Noodle Box Meal

February 12, 2007 | Reviewer: Sarah

KA-ME Szechuan Noodle Box Meal

Price: About $3, I think.
Serving: ½ package (165g)
Calories: 230
Fat: 9%, 6g
Sodium: 26%, 620mg
Protein: 7g
Carbs: 19%, 56g
Fiber: 6%, 2g

KA-ME says: Fresh-pack vegetables and noodles, authentic sauces, premium ingredients, that's why KA-ME's Szechuan noodle dish tastes so great. And what could be easier! Just two pouches. Mix, heat and serve right in the box or with your favorite entree. KA-ME brings the traditional appeal of Szechuan cuisine, with straw mushrooms and baby corn, to your table in just two minutes.

Sarah says: These noodles-in-a-box things they deliver! I've commented on it before, but I'm a big fan of the fresh-pack noodles. At first, they kind of freaked me out - cooked noodles in a plastic bag? Don't they go bad? NO, because that's where the "fresh" part of "fresh-pack" comes in, apparently. Ah, the wonders of modern science. The future is now.

So because of the pack o' fresh noodles, you get pasta that actually tasted like it was cooked on the stove, and not in the microwave. It's also nice to see real <em>sauce</em> come out of the little packet — packed with veggies, I might add! It honestly feels like you're just heating up last night's leftovers, which is refreshing after years of powdered flavoring and faux noodles that come in block form.

This particular version was pretty spicy, something you should expect from anything labeled "Szechuan." My tongue loved it, but my post-hangover stomach had second thoughts. Luckily, in SarahWorld, the tongue is Master and the stomach takes a backseat when making important decisions. I also enjoyed the baby corn and straw mushrooms: they were actually substantial vegetables. That's a good thing, since the worst part about the whole "fresh-pack" deal is that I guess it doesn't work with meat, so you're going to have to get your protein elsewhere. So on second thought, maybe the future isn't now, it's more like tomorrow, or even next week. When modern science can give me fresh-packed prime rib, then we'll talk.

Filed Under Four Stars, Ka-Me Reviews, Vegetarian | 1 Comment