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.

Price: $2.85 at Wal-Mart
Serving: 6.75 oz.
Calories: 330 per serving
Fat: 11%, 8g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 25%, 630mg
Protein: 22g
Carbohydrates: 14%, 43g
Fiber: 21%, 5g
Sugar: 6g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Grilled white meat chicken, sun dried tomatoes, red peppers, cheese and creamy pesto sauce in a soft flatbread

Andrea says: Wow guys, wow . . . I think this sandwich actually broke one of our microwaves with it’s awesomeness. Seriously, a minute into it’s 2:45 journey into my stomach the microwave just gave up and bowed down to the frozen meal gods.

My first reaction after taking this out of the box was “Woah, that’s actually a good bit of stuff here.” As I was watching it turn in it’s second microwave trip (after it killed the first microwave), the cheese started to melt and the pesto-y goodness started to ooze from beneath the massive amount of chicken, peppers, and tomatoes. The break room filled with the aroma of herbs and bell pepper, and my mouth was starting to salivate. The first bite produced an explosion of flavor and texture from the chicken that actually tasted like chicken, to the cheese that actually strung from the sandwich a la a pizza commercial or that Beefy Cheesy Taco Bell commercial that sends chills down my spine. The roasted red peppers were abundant in flavor and quantity, the sun-dried tomatoes were chewy yet provided a slight sweetness and the flat bread was soft, thick, filling and tasty! Unlike most nuked breads that are usually soggy and super dry at the same time, Lean Cuisine’s flat bread maintained it’s chewy structure that we all know and love in our flat breads. I guess if I had to write one negative thing about this meal, it was the amount of red peppers.. but I think that’s just me, if you’re a pepper person you’ll probably love the abundance of peppery love on this sandwich, complete with grill marks might I add.

I will definitely pick another Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken flatbread, for the price it wasn’t bad and (hey!) I’m not hungry anymore! If you need more than a Lean Cuisine, I found it paired well with Doritos and grape Kool-aid.

MSRP: $4.19
Serving: 1 package, 6.5oz.
Calories: 330
Fat: 14%, 9g
Cholesterol: 8%, 20mg
Sodium: 26%, 640mg
Protein: 21g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 17%, 4g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Lean Cuisine says: White meat chicken, tomato, bacon, cheddar and mozzarella cheese with a ranch sauce in a soft flatbread.

Josh says: In my quest for free meals and after my positive experience with the Lean Cuisine Chicken Philly Flatbread Melt, I decided to try the chicken ranch club. Much like the chicken Philly, the ranch club’s chicken didn’t have much taste. With the exception of one or two bites that had an unusual concentration of tomatoes or “bacon bits,” the meal amounted to little more than spreading a layer of ranch dressing on soft warm (somewhat rubbery) bread. For some reason the meal reminded me of that famous Anne Richards line about George Bush, Sr: “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” I bet it tasted better than the Lean Cuisine Chicken Ranch Club Flatbread Melt.

[This meal was free from the folks at Lean Cuisine. Nicole also reviewed the Lean Cuisine Chicken Ranch Club Flatbread Melt. Her review has a lovely photo and no references to Texas. -Ed.]

Price: Free from Lean Cuisine
Servings Per Container: 1
Calories: 330
Total Fat: 14%, 8g
Saturated Fat: 16%, 3g
Cholesterol: 8%, 20g
Sodium: 26%, 640g
Protein: 21g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Dietary Fiber: 17%, 4g
Sugars: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Lean Cuisine says: White meat chicken, tomato, bacon & a ranch sauce in a soft flatbread.

Nicole says: I love bacon. I love it so much that I’ll even use those imitation bacon bits at the salad bar. They still taste “of” bacon, right? The essence of bacon. This flatbread melt has that same essence. And much more.

This must be the most colorful frozen meal I’ve had in weeks. Bright reds, yellows, greens, a light yellow “ranch sauce”. And as with my previous flatbread experience, this thing is herbed. As in, it contains some herbs and spices, and some flavor survived the freezing process. The flavor is the thing here- you can actually tell the ingredients apart by taste - the chicken tastes like chicken, the tomato tastes like tomato.

And the cheese? Well, there are two kinds, (reduced fat) mozzarella and (light pasteurized process) cheddar. The diet cheese is by no means a highlight of this meal, but you can taste it from time to time. I just hate the way it cooks up - light cheese is a very bad, highly uneven melter. Boo.

The flatbread aspect of the meal does three things. It holds the ingredients - you know, it’d be tough to eat a mess of chicken, tomatoes, yellow peppers, spring onions, and cheese without a conduit. It also makes the meal remotely filling, so you cold actually get away with eating this on its own for lunch (I, however, will supplement). Unfortunately, the chewiness of the bread and the juxtaposition of its flavorlessness next to the nicely seasoned filling takes away from the meal. I think they need to herb the flatbread, too.