Price: Provided by Oscar Mayer
Serving: 1 sandwich, 4.9 oz.
Calories: 310 per serving
Fat: 17%, 11g
Cholesterol: 18%, 55mg
Sodium: 30%, 730mg
Protein: 22g
Carbohydrates: 10%, 30g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Oscar Mayer says: Everything you need to create a delicious, hot and melty sandwich in a microwave minute.

Andrew says: I tend to like spicy things, so the idea of a flatbread sandwich with plenty of chicken, cheese and Buffalo sauce is appealing to me.

Thankfully, I can report that Oscar Mayer did a good job with the concept, delivering plenty of chicken bits, a good cheese (Monterey Jack) and a decently hot sauce that also delivers some good Ranch flavor notes.

Devotees of good Buffalo sauce can attest that the spice is much better paired with a Bleu Cheese dressing, but Ranch seems like the safe bet for most corporations making Buffalo-style eats for the general public (see also: Frito Lay’s Doritos). And really it’s not bad at all, it’s just not the most ideal pairing. The sauce in this sandwich is sufficiently tangy/hot with a reassuring orange color. But it’s not hot enough to send grandma running for the faucet if she takes a bite. Good balancing act there.

And as with the rest of the Oscar Mayer Deli Creations sandwiches I’ve had, the ingredients are supplied in a fairly hearty measure. The pile of chicken chunks is formidable enough to fill the flatbread when folded, and the shredded cheese coats everything. And there’s more than enough sauce in the packet. And the chicken, again, shines through with its good flavor and moistness.

All in all, this is a great little sandwich for the lazy among us.

[This sandwich was free from the folks at Oscar Mayer’s PR company. Or maybe Oscar Mayer itself. Really, then just send me an email and then I try to figure out who would be a good candidate for getting a box of you-make-it sandwiches in the mail. -Ed.]

Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 package, 9.25oz.
Calories: 230
Fat: 11%, 7g
Cholesterol: 13%, 40mg
Sodium: 21%, 500mg
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrates: 9%, 26g
Fiber: 11%, 3g
Sugar: 5g
Weight Watchers Points: 5 Points

Eating Right says: White meat chicken in lemongrass sauce with vegetable blend and brown rice

Abi says: Eating Right’s Lemongrass Chicken should take my mouth on a vacation in Thailand. My tastebuds should have days full of jetskiing and massages and laying in the sun on a chaise lounge, sipping tropical cocktails.

But this meal was no vaxation, instead it was reminiscent of a movie that haunted and delighted me in 1990: Heathers. All I could think about was the scene where one of the Heathers dies via what I thought was Drano but what actually turns out to be Hull Cleaner (thank you website even more ridiculous than Heat Eat Review). But instead of hull cleaner, the lemongrass sauce tasted like Pine Sol.

I can only imagine that someone in the Eating Right test kitchen had recently discovered real Lemongrass Chucken and then got on such a ridiculous lemongrass kick that his or her colleagues finally said to themselves “We’d better just let Pat develop that lemongrass sauce I’d it’ll be ‘Lemongrass, lemongrass, lemongrass.’ for the next 10 years.’

Unfortunately, nobody ever taste-tested Pat’s creation and found out that it is frighteningly similar to Pine Sol. Add to that sauce four bite-size chunks of chicken, a dismally small portion (granted, it is approximately the size of the portion shown on the box, but Lean Cuisine’s stepped up the game with their ‘Twice the Veggies’ offerings) of vegetable, lay it on a bed of bland sort of brown rice and you’ve got my lunch.

I’d rather play croquet any day.

Price: $4.99
Serving: 4-6, 18.7 oz.
Calories: 230 per serving, prepared
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 9%, 25mg
Sodium: 25%, 510mg
Protein: 13g
Carbohydrates: 11%, 32g
Fiber: 17%, 4g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 4

Archer Farms says: The vibrant flavors of Morocco come to life in this delicious dish. Enjoy chicken and whole wheat couscous topped with an aromatic, spice-rich sauce, tangy dried apricots, and sweet Zante currants. Bring home a world of taste and convenience with meals by Archer Farms.

Chaviva says: I try not to go to the store hungry — it’s the ultimate no-no when it comes to eating sensibly. But, you see, I wasn’t at the store, I was at Target on a mission for toothpaste and razors and other girly necessities, but having this problem where I have to wander the aisles of the Target food section, I ended up staring at loads of Target’s Archer Farms products, stomach grumbling violently.

So, as is typical with the hungry person in any food aisle, I started grabbing various things — granola bars, chips, and then, I saw the prepackaged meals. Now, I have to mention that I grew up on Hamburger Helper and Tuna Helper and I’ve vowed to myself since those days that prepackaged meals where you “just add meat” are not the way to go; they tend to be loaded with crap and just aren’t good for you, not to mention they taste like overcooked, over-salted Goodyear tires. But this meal, it HAD the meat! The Apricot Currant Whole Wheat Couscous and Chicken entree struck me as something exotic and — being in a state of hunger I couldn’t repress — absolutely delicious sounding. So I grabbed the box, checked out the easy-to-prepare instructions, made sure everything was in the package, and went on my way. At home, I ripped open the box to find four things — a bag of couscous, a bag of dried fruit, a packet of sauce contents, and a can of chicken. All this lazy, unmotivated cook had to do was throw some water in a few pans and measure out some olive oil. AMEN, says the lazy, hungry girl.

It took about 5-10 minutes to prepare this whole dish, and I have to say that it took less time to make this seemingly homemade dish than it does sometimes to prepare a microwavable meal, so color me stoked. I decided that for the sake of feeling like I actually made this whole meal from scratch, I put it on an actual plate instead of the typical paper plate (killing nature one plate at a time, I’m sorry, but lazy when it comes to dishes). The chicken+sauce is served atop the couscous, and one bite in and I could taste the “vibrant flavors” and “spice-rich sauce” that Archer Farms described on the box. Oftentimes these things can end up tasting like a rubber chicken stew, but this dish really came out tasting like something you’d get at a five-star restaurant. The dried fruit with the sauce and the chicken have given a beautiful aroma to my apartment, and since this has plenty of servings, I’ve got leftovers, which makes any (non)cook happy.

My only gripe to Archer Farms is that their nutritional content is really confusing. Being a Weight Watchers person, it’s helpful for the listings to be pretty precise, but there are starred, double-starred, and triple-starred reference notes. They list the nutrition “as packaged” — why? is anyone going to eat everything raw? — as “1 cup prepared,” and “1.5 cups prepared.” I did my best and hopefully I managed to get everything right up there, and in truth, at 4 points a serving (that’s for the 1 cup prepared), this dish has all the goods and none of the crap. On the other hand, I recognize and can identify every item in the ingredients list, which is rare for a lot of items.

In my experience with Archer Farms products, I have yet to be disappointed. I’ve had the cereals, the granola bars, some of the desserts, soups, etc. I don’t know what it is about their stuff, but it usually ends up being some of the healthiest stuff, but without the Whole Foods prices. And my gripe for fresh produce at Targets with the full-gamut of grocery items was somewhat satisfied today — they had onions, apples, peppers, lettuce, and other items in coolers. Target is well on its way to serving up some of the best foodstuffs out there with meals like this that are quick, painless, and absolutely delicious.

With clothes, housewares, home goods, shoes, jewelry, and food, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a slut for Target. Should I get the “Hello. Good Buy” tattoo on my arm or my forehead?

Price: $4.19
Serving: 1 meal, 4.9 oz.
Calories: 330
Fat: 20%, 13g
Cholesterol: 18%, 55mg
Sodium: 30%, 720mg
Protein: 23g
Carbs: 10%, 31g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
WW Points: 7 Points

conditional*

Oscar Mayer says: Experience a sandwich that has all the warmth, flavor and fresh baked taste you look forward to, without having to go out. In no time at all, you can create a lunch for one, served with soft warm flatbread, premium cuts of meat, specialty sauces and natural cheeses, all individually wrapped for freshness. It is the hot and melty moment you deserve.

Ingredients listed on front of package: Flatbread; grilled chicken breast strips with ribbed meat – cured; shredded Italian-style three cheese blend of 2% milk reduced fat natural mozzarella cheese, 2% milk reduced fat provolone cheese, Parmesan Cheese; sun-dried tomato sauce.

Adina says: In a move towards full disclosure, I’d like to state that I received this meal free from Oscar Mayer. It is a good thing too, because there is a zero percent chance I would buy this on my own. The reason is three fold: (1) because it is essentially a sandwich in a box, which I do not consider a big whoop de doo; (2) because there are no noodles in said sandwich; and (3) because it is Oscar Mayer and unless this sandwich features a giant hot dog that sings that wiener song on command, I am just not that interested.

I have to say, this review is causing me a lot of grief. On one hand, I really enjoyed this sandwich. The chicken was very tender, which I think is directly related to the fact that this meal is refrigerated and not frozen. It tasted like I had lightly grilled a chicken breast and then cut it up and put it in a sandwich. This makes me chuckle because I would never lightly grill anything. Deep fry? yes. Bake in a pound of butter? Uh yes. But lightly grill? That is just not a phrase I have ever heard myself say out loud. Without shaking my head and laughing.

The flatbread was chewy and warm and better than most bread I have encountered on sandwiches. It might have been my favorite part of the meal. No way, I take that back. The cheese was my favorite part. Apart from the fact that it is cheese (and who doesn’t worship cheese in a slightly idolatrous way?), it just had this really natural, smooth feel to it. It was subtle, the kind of cheese that you notice from across the room – drinking a martini with olives, wearing a sleek black dress, looking effortlessly lovely and approachable, but in an unapproachable way. I want to date this cheese. I want to take this cheese home to my mother, marry this cheese, make this cheese the happiest cheese in the world.

The least desirable part of the actual meal was the dressing. It tasted like what I would imagine salad dressing to taste like if you decided to microwave salad dressing. Salad dressing tends to be over the top taste wise, as if Paul Newman knows that the only thing separating your salad from a field of grass is his magic sauce. And this sauce felt that way, as if it was acknowledging the fact that you were about to eat a fairly plain meal that can only be saved by being punched in the face with a fistful of sun-dried tomatoes. If you decide to eat this meal, you might to consider just putting a tad of the sauce on the sandwich and then toss the rest of the sauce with some lettuce. Or else use it to buff the exterior of your car.

Overall, this meal was definitely 4 stars taste-wise. One of the things keeping me from giving it 4 stars is what this meal weighs in at: 4.9 ounces and 330 calories. Most of the microwave meals I eat range from 8 ounces to 11 ounces. So, this makes this meal possibly the smallest lunch I have ever eaten for Heat Eat Review. And it packs quite a bit of caloric intake considering how small it is. I imagine I could have eaten a candy bar that had similar stats but was, you know, chocolate.

The other thing is that it is $4.19 on non-sale. That means you are almost paying a dollar an ounce. It seems reasonable to ask for that or even more when you are selling smack or baby food, but not when you’re selling some chicken and cheese and hot salad dressing.

*So I am giving this a conditional rating: 3 stars if you buy it full price and it is the only thing you eat for lunch, and 4 stars if you buy it on sale and pair it with a salad that you brought from home. And then you get 4 stars too for eating salad, more power to you.