Price: $5.00
Serving: 1 package, 9.5oz.
Calories per serving: 320
Fat: 28%, 18g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 23%, 550mg
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 36g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
Sugar: 6g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: An Authentic blend of spices in a base of organic crushed tomatoes and coconut milk, with soft, creamy cubes of paneer (Indian Cheese). Alongside the Paneer Tikka are Aloo Palak (delicately spiced organic chopped spinach and tender potatoes), and organic basmati rice flavored with cumin and carrots.

Abi says: Microwavable meals require too much attention: flipping, mid-cycle stirring, gravy-defrosting, and post-heating assembly are all negatives when it comes to frozen food. This entrée from Amy’s Kitchen required only a slightly opened cellophane wrapping and 5 no-worry minutes in the microwave, making a fantastic first impression.

“This is too easy.” I thought, expecting a disaster. Ah, there are caveats. Removing the meal from the plastic wrapper is fraught with danger, but what makes a meal more savored that preliminary steam burns? (Seriously though, if you’re thinking about keeping a few of these in the freezer for your kids or significant other, warn them about the invisible danger: steam) Another hazard: the environmentally-friendly, biodegradable paper tray wobbles under the gelatinous weight of the paneer-tikka-palak-rice combo. Sturdy dinnerware solves that problem, but for those offices (or homes) that stock few plates this could be an issue.

When it comes to the actual food, Amy’s Paneer Tikka isn’t take-out. Banish those thoughts of buttery, soupy palak and sweat-inducing masala. This meal is healthy, introductory Indian. Indian food for Iowans, if you will.

Anyone who’s ever made the mistake of buying a block of plastic-wrapped paneer (me, for example) will instantly realize that the cheese in this meal is fresh, fresh, fresh. I couldn’t believe that I’d pulled it out of the freezer just 10 minutes earlier. My five cubes of paneer (29% less cheese than shown on the box) were resiliently fluffy and provided a mild, buttery contrast to the rich, tomato-based masala.

The palak aloo (aka ‘cooked spinach and potatoes’, not ‘region of Iraq‘) isn’t completely macerated or strongly spiced, which means that the flavor of cooked spinach shines through. This is a positive or a negative depending on your relationship with cooked spinach. Guessing, I’d say that this meal contains 800% less butter than most Indian meals I consume.

And the rice. It is ricey. Each grain is fluffy and delicate and hey! there’s some stuff in the rice! (carrots and cumin seeds) You won’t notice either of those things while you’re eating the rice, but they make for a nice visual. My preferred eating method is to simply mix everything together and enjoy a subcontinental ghoulash. The rice holds in the masala (which is a danger to light-colored clothing) and the intensity of the cooked spinach is tempered by the cheese. I know, this meal seems really expensive right now, but after eating it you really will have another reason to feel good about yourself today.*

*Yeah, that’s the Smart Ones tagline and I totally stole it, but I unlike EVERY SINGLE EXPERIENCE, EVER that I’ve had with a Smart Ones meal, I really did feel good after I had this frozen meal.

Price: $4.19
Serving: 1 package, 10.3oz.
Servings per box: 1
Calories: 360
Fat: 25%, 16g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 33%, 780mg
Protein: 10g
Carbohydrates: 15%, 45g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
Sugar: 5g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 Points

Amy’s says: Corn masa tamale filled with Monterey jack cheese and Anaheim chilies. Topped with an authentic verde sauce of organic tomatillos. Spanish rice made with organic brown rice and tender black beans are served on the side. Gluten free.

Abi says: I’ve been eating a lot of small meals throughout the day. Oh, just kidding. I’ve been eating a lot of almonds throughout the day, so many almonds that I think I actually got sick from them yesterday. You see, I discovered some local lightly roasted (baked, not fried) almonds at my nearby natural foods store and I figured that I’d start bringing a million and one little snacks with me to the office and just snack throughout the day rather than eating a big lunch time meal. Because big lunch time meal = nap and I no longer work at home.

This tamal from Amy’s definitely fits into that filling-yet-not-stuffed category. For one, it is much flatter than the image on the box, something I don’t understand because Amy’s seems to have a really compressed supply chain where marketing folks shouldn’t dictate reality. Alas, this tamal is not super cheesy, featuring about half the filling shown in the photo.

On the plus side, the flavors in the tamal are mild and fresh, with a fluffy masa that’s significantly better than the stuff in Trader Joe’s tamales. There’s a tiny bit of heat (spice, not temperature), but nothing that’ll send a midwestern farm boy running for the water pump. The tomatillo salsa isn’t overpowering like a lot of red salsas, so it adds a great color element (definitely some Biggie influence showing through here) while providing balance to bites of earthy masa and rich cheese.

The rice was definitely heavier and had a ‘tomatoes from the can’ taste to it, something that is common in Spanish-style rices and causes me to avoid them whenever possible. I’d like to trade half of the rice for some Wahoo’s spicy white beans (so freaking good!) and add a brownie. With those changes (okay, just the beans, no brownie) then this meal would be a five star choice any day.

Serving Size: 1 pizza, 7.18oz.
Calories: 440
Total Fat: 28%, 18g
Saturated Fat: 30%, 6g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 33%, 780mg
Total Carbs: 18%, 54g
Dietary Fiber: 12%, 3g
Sugars: 5g
Protein: 19g
Weight Watchers Points: 10 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: Even if you don’t ordinarily eat spinach, you’ll like this pizza. The light, tender crust made from organic wheat flour and extra virgin olive oil is first topped with our savory italian sauce made from organic tomatoes. Then we add organic spinach blended with feta and sprinkle mozzarella on top. Delicious and satisfying.

Nicole says: It’s rare that I review two meals in a day. Rarer still that I eat organic, vegetarian fare. But see, I’m hungry, and just about all the meals in the fridge are too-be-reviewed. And I like spinach. I’m just not in the mood for Pineapple Black Bean Chicken. And not just because it comes with raisins.

Amy’s pizza has “No GMOs”, or biologically engineered ingredients.

The preparation of Amy’s pizza is onerous and does not allow for the use of a microwave, so you’d better have a conventional or toaster oven. Preheat your toaster oven - okay!… remove the pizza from it’s outer wrapping - this doesn’t look too bad… and let it thaw on the counter for 15-20 minutes. Are you kidding me? I suppose if you love this thing, you’d know about the thaw time, and would plan ahead for your hunger. But being an Amy’s pizza newbie, I was disappointed, and my tummy was growling. I waited, and waited… 15 minutes. Toaster oven bake time is seven to nine minutes - my cheese browned just a bit after 7.5 minutes in - but the meal was cold again fifteen minutes later.

I should probably mention that this pizza was a tad bit freezer burnt out of the work freezer - it’s been in there at least five months [It has been there for at least 10 months - Ed]. This may have affected the quality. But that happens to all of us - you keep pushing back the toaster oven meals in favor of microwave meals so you don’t need to get your security key and enter the other side of your office and wait in a strange, small kitchen for seven to nine minutes rather than returning to your desk to work.

Amy’s pizza crust looks quite lovely, but you can see an awful lot of it - the cheese on this pizza is a hair skimpy. It did crisp up well on the edges, but was a bit soggy towards the middle of the pizza. Back to the cheese, there are two kinds - feta mixed into the spinach and mozzarella to cover. I love feta, but I couldn’t taste it at all. The spinach is about the only flavor you really get out of this pizza. When I hit a tomato, it was juicy and had great texture but it tasted of spinach. This pie is lacking a complexity of flavors that we’ve come to expect from . . . pizza with more than one topping. The spinach, feta, and tomato were concentrated in certain areas, and I liked those bites, but other bites were flat-out bland.

I’m still hungry. It’s just a hungry day. But my stomach stopped growling at me, so I suppose I’m full. I would recommend a side or snack if you wish to make a meal out of this 7.2 ounce pizza. Although it’s like the healthy, vegetarian equivalent of a Celeste pizza. Still, I wouldn’t push this one on anybody unless they had a strong spinach craving.

Price: $5.19
Serving: 1 bowl, 9.5oz.
Calories: 390
Fat: 28%, 18g
Cholesterol: 8%, 25mg
Sodium: 33%, 780mg
Protein: 18g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 28%, 7g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: This casserole is based on a popular Mexican dish called “Chilaquiles.” When Amy’s parents first tasted it in Oaxaca they came back and asked Amy’s chefs to find the recipe. One of the chefs (whose family had owned a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco) was already familiar with the dish and adapted it to suit Amy’s Standards . . . organic ingredients, fewer “hot” spices, and less fat. The result is delicious and might remind you of a bowl of “nachos” made with organic baked corn chips and melted cheddar and jack cheeses. Plus . . . an assortment of organic vegetables and our own homemade fresh tofu. On the side are delicately seasoned slow-cooked black beans, making this gluten free meal in a bowl thoroughly satisfying.

Abi says: My apologies for the longest frozen food origin explanation in the world. It seems that the people at Amy’s Kitchen (and hey, if y’all are reading this, can I come visit you and tour the factory? Please?) ate a version of my most favorite hangover food EVER, came back to the United States, de-Mexicanized it, added tofu, and are now selling it as tortilla casserole.

When I saw this at the grocery store I was unnaturally excited about a frozen product. I was so eager to try this that I broke my cardinal rule of frozen food and paid a full $5.19 for this bowl.

As a person of Latin American heritage and a general enjoyer of food, I understand now that I made a mistake. Now I know how Italians feel when they think of Chef Boyardee. Where are the layers of flavor usually evident in Amy’s Kitchen meals? Where is the cheese? Why does the tofu have to be so obviously tofu-looking?

This bowl is full of mushy corn tortillas, bland tomato sauce (it would seem a shame to call it salsa or mole), and a healthy side of black beans. I know that it is possible to make a completely awesome meal out of those ingredients. However, this meal is not awesome. The bowl is filling, but it is also boring. It is so boring that at one point while eating it (during an I-want-to-be-President debate) I said out loud “Wow, this is boring.” and George asked “Hillary?” and I said “Well, her too, but I was talking about this meal.” And then he looked at it in a way that said ‘Yeah, it is not as good as my microwaved mini pizza.’

When something from Amy’s Kitchen is beat by a 79¢ pizza, you know there’s a problem. This meal makes me sad because I worry that an entire generation of healthful frozen food eating Americans are going to think of tortilla casserole or chilaquiles and they’ll think of this bowl.

This isn’t how it is folks and this isn’t how it has to be. If you’re looking for something Mexicanish and in the Amy’s Kitchen line, stick with the Santa Fe Enchilada Bowl, the Cheese Enchilada Meal or the Mexican Tamale Pie (just 2 points). Any of those is a terrific alternative to this dud.