Price: $2.50 (on sale)
Serving: 1 box: 5.7oz. of food + 6.75 fl. oz.
Calories: 440
Fat: 15%, 10g
Cholesterol: 8%, 25mg
Sodium: 40%, 960mg
Protein: 20g
Carbohydrates: 24%, 71g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 9 Points

Lunchables says: Lunchables Mini Tacos includes three soft flour tortillas and seasoned ground beef in taco sauce, Capri Sun 100% Fruit Juice and Wonka Nerds artificially flavored cherry candies.

Abi says: $2.50 is a lot to pay for a Capri Sun, some Nerds and lost dignity. I didn’t know that ground beef could be so finely pureed, which is good to know if I ever have the combination of a feeding tube and a hamburger craving.

Price: Free from Hormel
Serving: 1 Container, 10 oz.
Calories: 210
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol:17%, 50mg
Sodium: 24%, 580mg
Protein: 20g
Carbs: 7%, 22g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 points

Hormel says: Beef Steak & Peppers with Savory Sauce & Noodles. Created for a healthy lifestyle. Ready in 90 seconds!

Matt says: The title of the meal is “beef steak & peppers,” which is not to be confused with “pepper steak” of Chinese fare. Beef is definitely the star here. For a meal that sits in the cupboard at room temperature the beef is surprisingly tender, and for the package size there is plenty of it. As promised the meal is very hot in 90 seconds.

My main complaint is that everything tastes like the beef gravy, meaning only the meat stands out. The gravy has a mild peppery flavor, but not enough oomph to make it spicy. Considering that this dish contains 580mg of sodium (24% of my daily intake) I’m surprised it doesn’t taste salty.

The noodles are present en masse. However, they are so soft they merely create a mushy bed to hold the meat. There are carrots, onions, mushrooms, and green and red bell peppers present in the dish but they are lost in the mushy-meat mess. The carrots and peppers are cut into strips that are similar in shape to the noodles. In one’s mouth the noodles and vegetables are indistinguishable in flavor and texture.

Because of the packaging for the shelf, the texture difficulties are somewhat unavoidable. Regardless, I would have liked a little more spice to the sauce to liven things up. How about bigger cuts of the vegetables? While the meal in edible, it is nothing that will force a midnight run to Safeway.

Price: $2.99
Serving: 1 tamal, 5oz.
Calories: 240
Fat: 20%, 13g
Cholesterol: 5%, 15mg
Sodium: 29%, 670mg
Protein: 12g
Carbohydrates: 9%, 26g
Fiber: 16%, 4g
Sugar: 0g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Points

Trader Joe’s says: Handcrafted beef tamales wrapped in corn husks

Abi says: To be honest, I don’t care if the tamales I eat are hand-crafted. It seems sort of special until you think about what a pain it is to make tamales and that there’s probably already some sort of extrusion machine that would do a great job of making sure that every tamale was just as well-formed as the last one. Also, I am completely willing to eat tortillas made by a machine. Have you ever had El Machino tortillas? Delicious!

I am in love with gadgets and most Mexican food. I am only in a high degree of ‘like’ with these tamales.

For one, the fastest cooking method (the microwave) is also the method most prone to making the tamale rubbery on each end. This means that even though there’s no meat in those sections (similar to the well-known burrito conundrum), they are now inedible for a completely different reason.

In other areas of the tamale the masa is tender and fragrant, still moist thanks to the corn husk wrapper. The meat within each tamale is a bit skimpy, which is the scourge of tamale eaters everywhere. Fortunately, the beef is nice and spicy, plus it is shredded rather than decimated, offering a pleasant counterpoint to the mushy (but in a good way) masa.

If you don’t have access to fresh tamales these ones from Trader Joe’s will do. If you do have access to fresh tamales and you live within the San Francisco Bay Area, please tell me where you are buying them.

Price: $3.00
Serving: 9 oz.
Calories: 190
Fat: 12%, 8g
Cholesterol: 17%, 50mg
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 4%, 11g
Fiber: 13%, 3g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 Points

Smart Ones says: It’s a sophisticated dish with tender cuts of roast beef and portobello mushrooms, smothered in a tangy vermouth sauce, and a mix of crisp broccoli and cauliflower on the side. So delicious, so satisfying… and another little way you can be good today.

Sarah says: This meal sat in my freezer for quite a while. For some reason, there was always something else that seemed more palatable. But in my recent quest to get a hot body for the summer, I’ve been more careful with my caloric intake. Since I’m going out for dinner tonight, at only 190 calories this meal was the clear winner for lunch.

When I removed it from the microwave, I wasn’t overjoyed at the smell. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad smell per se, but it wasn’t amazing, either. I have to tell you though, I was pleasantly surprised at the taste! Ok, so the veggies needed a tiny bit of salt and pepper, but after that, this meal was none too shady.

The things I enjoyed, in list form:

1. The meat. The box didn’t lie, the roast beef was tender indeed. And delicious! And plentiful, and filling, and the list goes on and on. I have nothing but good things to say about the roast beef, which is good, since that is the name of this meal. Seriously Smart Ones, “Roast Beef?” Not, “Roast Beef and Vegetables?” Or even “Delicious Roast Beef?” You should talk to the people in your creative department. Or maybe hire me.
2. The vegetables tasted like real vegetables. I don’t really like the green stuff in general, so I’m extra picky when it comes to the frozen ones. But while I wouldn’t agree with the official description of “crisp,” I did think they were pretty good.

…And I guess that’s it. I liked the meat, I liked the veggies, and that’s pretty much all there was to this meal. The sauce wasn’t so bad either, though I wouldn’t call it “tangy.” All in all, for 190 calories, I feel full and decently satisfied. That’s what I look for in a microwavable lunch.

Oh, one final note - I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but they definitely show little red things (Peppers? Tomatoes?) in the veggies. It was clear to me when I opened it up that that was a dirty lie. Sort of. I did find ONE of those little buggers (Conclusion: definitely a pepper) buried under a piece of broccoli. Frankly, this didn’t affect my judgment of the meal because I freaking hate peppers. AND tomatoes. But as a good reviewer, I thought I should alert you to this little fact. You’ve been warned, pepper-loving freaks.