Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 meal, 9.12 oz.
Calories: 270
Fat: 8%, 5g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 30%, 730mg
Protein: 20g
Carbs: 12%, 35g
Fiber: 10%, 3g
WW Points: 5 Points

Smart Ones says: It’s comfort at its very best; flavorful meatballs tossed with waves of pasta and drenched in a rich sour cream sauce. So delicious, so satisfying, and another little way you can be good today.

Adina says: No matter how many times I eat this meal, I can never get it to cook all the way through on the first try. I always end up sticking it back in the microwave for at least another minute. And then the plastic starts to melt a little bit into the food, which is fine with me as long as it adds some kick to the otherwise bland sauce.

Which brings me to the sauce. I love how they describe it as a ‘rich sour cream sauce’. I don’t know what kind of sour cream sauce their grandma used to feed them, but the ones I have encountered usually make my arteries clog on sight. I mean that in a positive way. Smart Ones’ sauce is a watery excuse for gravy. Don’t get me wrong, I still make sure I get every drop of it into my belly, it’s just not that good.

I think the reason why I dislike most Smart Ones meals that feature meat is because I don’t like to chew on rubber. No matter how many microwave meals I eat, I will never get used to putting a meatball in my mouth and wondering, “Did I just accidentally eat a bouncy ball?” That is not natural or a comfortable office experience.

I think the saving grace of this meal is the noodles. They are not typical wide noodles but truly little waves of happiness and joy. They are thick and make the sauce almost taste like sauce. Maybe the starch thickens it or maybe they are magic noodles, I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t mind eating this meal so long as those thick ribbons of pasta are entering my body.

Overall, I like the Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs over the Smart Ones’. The Lean Cuisine noodles aren’t as thick, but you get six meatballs instead of five and I don’t think they can double as bouncy balls.

Price: $2.00
Serving: 1 meal, 9 oz.
Calories: 270
Fat: 6%, 4g
Cholesterol: 4%, 15mg
Sodium: 22%, 540mg
Protein: 14g
Carbs: 43%, 14g
Fiber: 13%, 3g
WW Points: 5 Points

Smart Ones says: Enjoy a delicious twist on traditional lasagna with tender, bite-sized lasagna noodles in a rich, meaty sauce that’s made even tastier by adding mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Adina says: This meal was not meaty. Okay, I admit that there are Cheerios-sized meat pieces in the sauce. But if you don’t really focus all your attention on the act of chewing, you risk not even getting to taste the meat, which is quite flavorful. The nearly invisible meat sort of looked like mini meatballs, which made me think of Wayne Szalinski from Honey I Shrunk the Kids and I fantasized about how he would accidentally shrink me with his shrinking machine and then the mini meatballs would be giant meatballs and I would be very happy.

As I am finding with most Smart One meals, the noodles are pretty good. I think the best thing about them is that they are thick, giving off the allusion that you are eating a lot food when in fact you are just chewing a lot.

The sauce was not that good - it was watery and tasteless. Also, don’t advertise cheese in your meal if nobody can find or taste the cheese. Throw me a bone and sprinkle some flash frozen parm on top! I don’t care if it melts away after 30 seconds in the microwave, so long as I know it is there, in my heart.

A note about Smart Ones: they love the 2.5 minute, stir, 1 minute heating instructions. They love it so much that I think they write it on all their meals regardless of how long the meal really should be cooked. I ended up cooking it for 2.5 minutes and then stirring huge chunks of icy tomato sauce, and then cooked it for another 2 minutes. I would suggest cooking it initially for 3 minutes, stirring, and then cooking it for another minute and a half. Unless you love icy tomato sauce, then ignore this paragraph. Also, you might want to apply for a job as Cooking Instructions Writer for Smart Ones.

Serving: 1 box, 2.25 oz
Calories: 260
Fat: 11%, 7g
Sodium: 29%, 700mg
Protein: 10g

Michelina says: This authentic dish will delight the cheese lover in you with every bite. Tender rigatoni stuffed with cheese is tossed in a zippy Pomodoro sauce seasoned with crushed red pepper. Then Michelina melts a little extra cheese on top, just to make you smile. Say Pomodoro!

Josh says: This is review is short and to the point. The meal comes in a cardboard box/tray combo which can easily burn your fingers. As for the food inside, there were just seven noodles (box makes it look like there’ll be like 20 or so, but apparently that is a serving suggestion), one little slice of zuchinni, and some watery sauce. Michelina’s Stuffed Cheese Rigatoni tastes cheap, but then again, it is cheap (just $1 at Safeway). I give it 2 stars, because it’s only a dollar and doesn’t actually taste awful…but you’re also risking a hand injury.

Price: $2.69 (on sale)
Serving: 1/2 tray, 3.7 oz.
Calories: 160
Fat: 5%, 3g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 23%, 550mg
Protein: 4g
Carbs: 9%, 28g
Fiber: 6%, 2g

Annie Chun says: This quick meal features my version of the traditional spicy sauce that migrated from India and spread throughout Asia. My Singapore Curry is a classic fusion of ginger, garlic, onion, turmeric and chilis.

Abi says: Before we get into the taste, appearance, and odor of this meal, let me take a stand on the pro-Annie Chun side by stating that biodegradable bowls and/or trays are AWESOME. Why isn’t everyone using biodegradable bowls and/or trays? This is a challenge to
you, Amy’s Kitchen, stop using plastic trays and get on the biodegradable bandwagon!

Ok, now for the actual review.

During lunch I often need to concentrate on finding the flavors and textures hidden in shelf-stable meals. Ok I focus on, flavors, textures, and the outfits on Go Fug Yourself. Today, while trying to enjoy the outrageousness of Tyra Banks’ latest tan and brainstorming ways to get Sabra to send me some Sauteed Eggplant with Crackers To Go, I kept being interrupted by people pondering (quite loudly) why the heck the cube area smelled like a noodle joint.

First, was Kate, with the observation that I was making everything smell like ramen.

“But it isn’t ramen,” I replied “these noodles are steamed and then blanched. Much healthier.” Yes, I read that off of the box.

Kate responded with a look that meant “I really don’t care if it is healthier, your ramen is smelling up the office.”

The next observation came from Randa, sitting beyond the cube walls (still in a cube, but approximately 15 feet from me).

“Is somebody eating Oodles of Noodles?”

While I wish that I was eating Oodles of Noodles (now known as Nooshi, which is a much more respectable name, but still pretty silly), I can’t say that this meal is horrible. Sure, it will make your entire workplace smell like a noodle bar, but the biggest problem is that it is far too expensive ($2.89!) to be just a tray of noodles and sauce. Ok, noodles and sauce and dehydrated vegetables.

Yes, this meal contains ginger, garlic, onion, turmeric, and chilis, but I am wrong in calling it a meal. Really, this is just a side dish. I have decided this for two reasons. The first reason is that it is too texturally boring to be the only thing I’d eat for lunch. The second is that this box supposedly contains two servings. Unfortunately, I had not procured a second lunch item and I just ate the whole box. That was a bad decision that I do not wish you to repeat.

(Another ‘Why did I eat both servings?’ bad decision was been made by Jess, with the Amy’s Kitchen Cheese Enchiladas.)