Price: $2.00 (on sale)
Serving: 1/2 package, 1 cup prepared
Calories: 190
Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 50%, 1190mg
Protein: 8g
Carbs: 13%, 40g
Fiber: 18%, 5g
Sugar: <1g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 points

Zatarain’s says: Red Beans & Rice is a traditional Monday dinner in New Orleans and has wide appeal today. This mix has precooked beans so total preparation time is under 30 minutes. Great with sausage or pork chops as a side dish or entree, or straight as packaged for a meatless meal.

Abi says: There’s no denying my love of Zatarain’s Bean and Rice mixes. They remind me of camping in New Hampshire, dinner simmering on a camp stove, a roaring fire just waiting for marshmallows and the promise of needing to escape the tent when it floods after four straight nights of rain.

Zatarain’s isn’t every day food. It is superbly salty (50% of your daily limit in just one cup of food!), lacking significant texture, and a sludgy grey that might put off all but the colorblind. It is also really freaking delicious. Perhaps my enjoyment of this meal is irrational, but I was too was a skeptic before I had my first ravenous bite of Zatarain’s Black Beans and Rice. It is packed with such a savory, meatiness that you wouldn’t believe it is vegetarian (note: the box says ‘natural flavors’ which could mean meat), or at least, not outrightly meaty.

This food has all of the hallmarks of comfort necessary on a cold night: hearty, filling beans and rice, plenty of flavor, and quality of perfection when eaten alone or paired with sliced and sauteed hot links (or half smokes for you DC folks). On the downside, this stuff takes forever to cook. Sure, the beans are actually pre-cooked and dehydrated, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to have a meal in less than 30 minutes. No, you’ll need to give yourself something more like 45 minutes to allow time for your water to boil, for the dish to cook, and for the sauce to thicken (very important). You’ll have just enough food to feed two super-hungry people or three moderately hungry people who also enjoy side dishes.

I look forward to trying Zatarain’s frozen meals when I finally find them in stores. Until then, I’ll have to go with my once or twice a month hearty, stomach-filling, sodium-intensive dinner.