Price: $2.50 (sale)
Serving: 1 entreé, 9 oz.
Calories: 260
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 8%, 25mg
Sodium: 23%, 550mg
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 36g
Fiber: 10%, 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Weight Watchers Points

Eating Right says: Tender beef with mushrooms served with roasted potatoes and broccoli

Lindsy says: Now, I’m not your typical meat and potatoes girl. That’s my dad’s schtick and I had enough of it while I was growing up. However while I was perusing the freezer aisle of my local Safeway the word ‘portobello’ spoke to me when I scanned past this box and into my cart it leaped.

As I stood in the kitchen, I couldn’t say that these meal gave off any definable smells and I wondered if I had gone astray in my food choice. Once I removed the tray from the microwave, I was disappointed to see a paltry three broccoli florets inhabiting that section of my tray. Instead of devouring the broccoli immediately, I decided I would begin by tasting the beef. I was pleased when it turned out rather delicious and beef-like. It was not too chewy, not to hard, but instead had a nice medium-well (what more can you expect from the microwave?) flavor. Goldilocks would have enjoyed the beef. The gravy was also pretty delicious, a little on the salty side but good nonetheless. HOWEVER, there were no portobellos in sight! By the end of my meal I think I had discovered one tiny (read: the size of a pencil eraser) morsel of mushroomy goodness.

As for the potatoes, I don’t know if roasted is the appropriate definition for them. To me a roasted potato is deliciously crispy on the outside with limited inside soft potato texture. These potatoes were neither crispy nor roasted. They were more like mysteriously golden potato chunks. They had the grainy microwaved potato texture to them and were pretty mushy. In retrospect, I should have turned them into mashed potatoes using the left over gravy from my beef. Hindsight, alas.

Overall, this was a pretty decent meal, with lots of different flavors and a good amount of food. I got 30 percent of the recommended daily value of iron and 50 percent on the vitamin C. Not too shabby

Price: $2.50
Serving: 1 meal, 11.4 oz.
Calories: 330
Fat: 11%, 7g
Cholesterol: 20%, 60mg
Sodium: 23%, 550mg
Protein: 21g
Carbs: 14%, 42g
Fiber: 16%, 4g
WW Points: 6 Points

Healthy Choice says: Seasoned beef strips are tossed with creamy herb gravy and twisted egg noodles, and served with green beans, carrots, and a tart cherry crisp dessert to complete this satisfying meal.

Adina says: Guess where this meal is right now. That’s right, THE TRASH. I have never rated anything I have eaten a zero because ultimately, eating crappy food is better than not eating. But this made me realize that I was wrong. I was so wrong. Every bite of mushroom beef made me regret living. Because living meant I was still eating this meal.

The beef was tough. It was flavorless. It was ugly. It was your junior prom date that wore Birkenstocks to the dance and sat all night talking about shooting squirrels with a beebee gun and didn’t even notice that you stuffed extra socks into your bra just for him. The noodles were manageable, but every time I ate a noodle (one of seven provided), it reminded me that I would have to eat another piece of beef if I wanted to make it through the day. The sauce was absolutely the most boring thing that I put in my mouth, and I’ve put a lot of boring things in my mouth, if you know what I’m saying.

I didn’t even make it to the greens or cherry crisp, I was so set on throwing this meal away and finding other, less soul crushing food to eat. Seriously. I hated this meal with all my heart.

If you have two dollars to spend on lunch, do not spend it on this meal. Spend it on a candy bar. Or bottled water. Or just donate it to a homeless person and eat grass. Any three of these options will provide you will a more fulfilling lunch than this Healthy Choice Meal.

Price: $2.00 (on sale)
Serving: 1 package, 16 oz.
Calories: 610
Fat: 51%, 33g
Cholesterol: 13%, 40mg
Sodium: 55%, 1330mg
Protein: 22g
Carbohydrates: 18%, 55g
Fiber: 24%, 6g

Stouffer’s says: A large, breaded chopped beef patty surrounded by homestyle country gravy. Served with a green bean and carrot medley and a satisfying portion of Stouffer’s creamy mashed potatoes.

Nicole says: This box of Stouffer’s Country Fried Beef Steak had been sitting in my freezer for the past few weeks. Well, since the Stouffer’s sale at Giant. I was waiting to be “in the mood” to eat it. A comfort-food type mood. But what actually put me there is the fact that I’m dating a man enamored of the Food Network, especially of the hokey “Good Eats” with Alton Brown.

The other night, a Good Eats re-run (Cubing a Round) told me all I ever needed to know about some of my favorite meals. It was about cube steak. Apparently, “Salisbury Steak,” “Chicken Friend Steak,” and “Country Fried Steak” all fall under this category, as does something called “Swedish Steak.” They are “perforated” steaks. I learned so much more than I can impart here - you will have to keep an eye out for the program. After watching, I really wanted a Country or Chicken Fried Steak. I mean, I love a decent filet, but a steak that is tenderized, floured/breaded, fried, and served with gravy? Ahhhh….

Stouffer’s offering is paired with mashed potatoes, carrots, and green beans. The cooking is overly complicated, but I guess the variety in the meal is the culprit. Add water to veggies. Cook 4 minutes. Stir potatoes. Cook 4 minutes. No, not the most complicated thing ever, but more than is generally expected of convenience food.

The gravy portion looks a bit miserly, but the steak is of a decent size (about 3″ x 4″ and 3/4″ thick) and the potato portion is generous. There are also a ton of steamed carrots and green beans. The carrot slices are soft but not mushy, the green beans maintain just an iota of crispness. There really are a lot of vegetables in this meal, perhaps more than I eat in an average day. Too bad they’re of middling microwave quality.

The point of this whole meal, cube steak, should be so tender that a knife is not required. The “perforation” and slow cooking destroys all connective tissue. This doesn’t work the best ever, however, when you are using a plastic fork. I’m surprised I didn’t break any tines off in my microwaved steak. The breading was soggy, but it was going to get that way anyhow once I slathered on the creamy, peppery gravy. The steak is not as tender as I would like, but has a nice flavor. The flavor would be meaty. Too bad that I could tell that some connective tissue remained. Stouffer’s, listen to Mr. Brown and get this 48 blade meat tenderizer.

This is a nice, big, tasty lunch, but I’ve had better Country and Chicken Fried Steak from the microwave. Get Marie Callender’s offering if you’re unconcerned about price. Or get a 48-blade meat tenderizer and go to work at home. Invite me over for dinner. Stouffer’s is a poor man’s cube steak that I would recommend on sale only. Not that I wasn’t licking the gravy from the carton. But that’s just how I roll.

[We haven’t yet reviewed Marie’s Country Fried Steak, but if you’re interested in other breaded and fried and then microwaved items, check out Nicole’s review of Marie Callender’s Country Fried Chicken and Gravy. -Ed.]

Price: $2.50
Serving: 1 meal, 9 oz.
Calories: 220
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 28%, 660mg
Carbohydrates: 8%, 25g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Protein: 16g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Tender pieces of roasted beef in a rich portabello mushroom sauce, accompanied by whipped potatoes made with red skin potatoes, carmelized onions, roasted garlic and chives.

Rebecca says: There is something to be said for the appearance of a dish. The fact that a dish looks relatively unappetizing when it is removed from the microwave could be a sign of disaster. But sometimes, I can be talked out of my initial reaction. So I showed my food to Abi and to Jenn and they both supported my initial hypothesis that my beef portabello looked disgusting. When food looks disgusting (there is a bit of a crust on the potatoes and a thin film on top of the meat portion), that's usually internalized as an omen of bad taste.

The appearance of the food could have been overcome. Sometimes things look bad and taste delicious (and vice versa) but this dish also had a problem with texture. The whipped potatoes, the "cooked beef product,"? the mushrooms didn't really mesh well together and even mixing the potatoes into the sauce didn't work out.

Yes the mushrooms were tasty but my threshold for mushrooms is extremely low. Also, they were so drenched in sauce that I could only distinguish by texture and taste rather than by appearance.

I like the idea of mushrooms, roast beef and mashed potatoes but should have known that mushrooms, roasted beef and whipped potatoes was not the same thing. Don't be seduced by a sale or the desire to try something new. This doesn't taste like how mama used to make it or even how the cafeteria lady used to make it. If you see it in the store, make the wise choice and walk on by.