Price: $4.99
Serving: 4-6, 18.7 oz.
Calories: 230 per serving, prepared
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 9%, 25mg
Sodium: 25%, 510mg
Protein: 13g
Carbohydrates: 11%, 32g
Fiber: 17%, 4g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 4

Archer Farms says: The vibrant flavors of Morocco come to life in this delicious dish. Enjoy chicken and whole wheat couscous topped with an aromatic, spice-rich sauce, tangy dried apricots, and sweet Zante currants. Bring home a world of taste and convenience with meals by Archer Farms.

Chaviva says: I try not to go to the store hungry — it’s the ultimate no-no when it comes to eating sensibly. But, you see, I wasn’t at the store, I was at Target on a mission for toothpaste and razors and other girly necessities, but having this problem where I have to wander the aisles of the Target food section, I ended up staring at loads of Target’s Archer Farms products, stomach grumbling violently.

So, as is typical with the hungry person in any food aisle, I started grabbing various things — granola bars, chips, and then, I saw the prepackaged meals. Now, I have to mention that I grew up on Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper and I’ve vowed to myself since those days that prepackaged meals where you “just add meat” are not the way to go; they tend to be loaded with crap and just aren’t good for you, not to mention they taste like overcooked, over-salted Goodyear tires. But this meal, it HAD the meat! The Apricot Currant Whole Wheat Couscous and Chicken entree struck me as something exotic and — being in a state of hunger I couldn’t repress — absolutely delicious sounding. So I grabbed the box, checked out the easy-to-prepare instructions, made sure everything was in the package, and went on my way. At home, I ripped open the box to find four things — a bag of couscous, a bag of dried fruit, a packet of sauce contents, and a can of chicken. All this lazy, unmotivated cook had to do was throw some water in a few pans and measure out some olive oil. AMEN, says the lazy, hungry girl.

It took about 5-10 minutes to prepare this whole dish, and I have to say that it took less time to make this seemingly homemade dish than it does sometimes to prepare a microwavable meal, so color me stoked. I decided that for the sake of feeling like I actually made this whole meal from scratch, I put it on an actual plate instead of the typical paper plate (killing nature one plate at a time, I’m sorry, but lazy when it comes to dishes). The chicken+sauce is served atop the couscous, and one bite in and I could taste the “vibrant flavors” and “spice-rich sauce” that Archer Farms described on the box. Oftentimes these things can end up tasting like a rubber chicken stew, but this dish really came out tasting like something you’d get at a five-star restaurant. The dried fruit with the sauce and the chicken have given a beautiful aroma to my apartment, and since this has plenty of servings, I’ve got leftovers, which makes any (non)cook happy.

My only gripe to Archer Farms is that their nutritional content is really confusing. Being a Weight Watchers person, it’s helpful for the listings to be pretty precise, but there are starred, double-starred, and triple-starred reference notes. They list the nutrition “as packaged” — why? is anyone going to eat everything raw? — as “1 cup prepared,” and “1.5 cups prepared.” I did my best and hopefully I managed to get everything right up there, and in truth, at 4 points a serving (that’s for the 1 cup prepared), this dish has all the goods and none of the crap. On the other hand, I recognize and can identify every item in the ingredients list, which is rare for a lot of items.

In my experience with Archer Farms products, I have yet to be disappointed. I’ve had the cereals, the granola bars, some of the desserts, soups, etc. I don’t know what it is about their stuff, but it usually ends up being some of the healthiest stuff, but without the Whole Foods prices. And my gripe for fresh produce at Targets with the full-gamut of grocery items was somewhat satisfied today — they had onions, apples, peppers, lettuce, and other items in coolers. Target is well on its way to serving up some of the best foodstuffs out there with meals like this that are quick, painless, and absolutely delicious.

With clothes, housewares, home goods, shoes, jewelry, and food, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a slut for Target. Should I get the “Hello. Good Buy” tattoo on my arm or my forehead?