Price: $4.00
Serving: 1/2 package, 5oz.
Calories: 210
Fat: 22%, 14g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 19%, 470mg
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 6%, 19g
Fiber: 11%, 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 per Serving

Deep Foods says: Mixed Vegetables sauteed and seasoned in authentic Indian style. Vegetarian Delight.

Jess says: When it comes to microwave food, I’ve been around the block a few times. I know the staples, the Stouffers and Lean Cuisines of this world. And I know about the niche markets of vegan delights and celebrity named frozen food brands. I have explored the freezer cases of many a supermarket, organic market and convenience store. So it is with great pleasure that I embark on new territory. Oh to be the Leif Erickson of this flash frozen new world! It is an honor, ney, a privilege. To find this Undhiu Indian food brand was a special treat because, damn, I love Indian food. The things Indian chefs can do with mere peas! Peas! Bring it on, I say.

It was only when I opened this box that I realized there was no rice in this meal. What a let down. No matter how tastily compiled your Indian fare maybe, you need that starchy rice goodness to sop up all the liquid and expand in your hungry stomach. Otherwise you have less of a meal and more of a spicy soupy appetizer. So I left the meal to thaw and picked up some basmati rice, naan and stuffed grape leaves at this foodery of unknown ethnic allegiance down the street. They mix Indian, Mediterranean and American all over their menu, but they are cheap and delicious so I don’t ask too many questions.

Back at the office, and now super hungry, I fell into a trance staring at the microwave and took in the sweet, spicy smells of this meal coming to life. True to smell, the taste was nothing short of kick ass. It’s on the sweeter nutmegish side with a good helping of veggies. And what is that tender burst of goodness my mouth encountered? A sweet potato! Well, hello beautiful. With the rice and naan, the portion was mighty and managed to be enough for a second lunch the next day. Each day I found myself to be the happiest of the desk-enslaved.

So now, Internet, I’m torn. How does one rate a truly delicious meal that is not a self contained entity, but merely a key ingredient to the final product? I think I still have to give it 3 stars. With the rice and naan, I spent over $8 on this meal which is A LOT for microwave food. It did last 2 days, though, which puts it at $4 a meal which isn’t too bad. But then there is the cost of doing so much extra work to get the final product together. Once I got to the eatery I just could have bought their food, which I like to pretend is fresh, and would have been done with the whole fiasco of lunching. Let us remember that the idea of microwave food is the convenience. Still, I would recommend that you try this brand if you stumble on it. Just remember to have some rice on hand.

Ingredients: Potatoes, Eggplant, Green Beans, Pigeon Peas, Corn Oil, Bell Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, Lima Beans, Tomatoes, Plantain, Spinach, Chickpeas, Sugar, Coconut, Coriander, Salt, Spices, Peppers, Sesame Seeds, Wheat Flour, Rye, Turmeric and Citric Acid.

[If you’re into Trader Joe’s products, we recommend the microwavable rice (it comes in boxes) and the frozen naan. Amy adores Trader Joe’s Garlic Naan. -Ed.]

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.

SRP: $3.99
Serving: 1 tray, 9.5oz.
Calories: 360
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 37%, 890mg
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 15%, 46g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Kahiki says: Grilled white-meat chicken with no added antibiotics. Served with vegetables and brown rice in our signature zesty sauce.

Abi says: I was torn when Tim Tsao, the VP of Sales and Marketing (and son of the company founder) at Kahiki contacted me after reading Jess’s review of Kahiki Sweet and Sour Chicken and offered to send a case of their reformulated entrees. Being a person intrigued with reformulated recipes and nearly incapable of declining free frozen meals, I accepted the offer. I’d just read about their makeover in an issue of Refrigerated and Frozen Foods Magazine (yes, I subscribe) and I was curious about the new Naturals line.

“But,” I told myself when the package arrived at my office (a.k.a. home) “You are going to be strict about these meals. You are not going to let their freeness affect what you say in your review. You will be firm.” Yeah, I gave myself a talking-to. And then the meals sat in my freezer for a month. What if I didn’t like them? What if I broke Tim’s heart?

Finally, I decided to start with the General Tso’s Chicken. Never a fan of the chicken in my youth due to its unidentifiable pieces of fried dark meat (hey, I couldn’t tell what was in there), I looked forward to trying a healthy non-fried version.

Can I just say ‘Wow’. Wow. Not a Carolyn Hax ‘Wow’ of disbelief about what your mother-in-law just said about your grandma’s apple pie recipe. No, this is a wow of yum. The General Tso’s sauce is spicy, wonderfully spicy. It has enough tingle to almost make your nose run with the spice, but not enough heat to make you get up and get a glass of water right at that moment. The chunks of chicken breast are moist, lean, and feature weird grill marks that look really fake but I forgive them that because they are delightfully smoky. Sure, that grilled flavor comes from vegetable oil, but by the time I learned that I’d already consumed the entire meal and used my finger to lick the remaining sauce out of its section of the tray.

Under the chicken you see in the photo is a little village of broccoli, drenched in that fantastic sauce. There were also two insignificant carrots. And maybe a water chestnut. I’m not sure what it was, but I ate it because it was in the zesty sauce. Mmmm, sauce.

The rice is brown rice. It is boring. There is an amount appropriate to the other items in the tray. It is actually very pale and non-nutty for brown rice. It seems more like white rice. Or maybe beige rice. Perhaps it is a new strain of non-healthy-seeming brown rice. I do not know because I am not a rice scientist. Lacking a rice-science background, I’m going to assume that the rice was ultra-nutritious.

This meal is not your typical restaurant Genera Tso’s. It is a healthier adaptation that features a cringe-free ingredients list (how often does that happen?) and no mystery breading. Thinking about other General Tsos’ meals I’ve tried for HeatEatReview.com (Healthy Choice General Tso’s Chicken and Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers General Tso’s Chicken) I have to say that Kahiki’s variety leaves them in the dust. Sure, it lacks that deep fried hallmark coating of restaurant General Tso’s, but when I caught myself eyeing another box of it at Whole Foods, I knew that I’d found a gem.