Price: $2.99
Serving: 3 links, 2oz.
Servings per package: ~3.5 (10 links)
Calories: 240 per serving
Fat: 34%, 22g
Cholesterol: 15%, 45mg
Sodium: 18%, 420mg
Protein: 7g
Carbohydrates: 1%, 2g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Jones Dairy Farm says: Jones Dairy Farm products offer you the old-fashioned quality and flavor you’d expect from a family farm. Made with natural ingredients and six generations of Jones family pride, our products are prepared fro you with the wholesome simplicity of recipes passed down through the generations.

No MSG Added - No Artificial Ingredients - No Preservatives - No Gluten Added

Abi says: Oh dear Lord in heaven, now I know why I never read the nutrition label on any sort of sausage. Well, except artisan chicken and/or turkey sausage which I already know is low in fat and high in virtuousness/animal parts.

The asterisk in the on Jones (no relation) Maple Sausage box means ‘No artificial ingredients and only minimally processed.’ The ingredients list is impressively simple:

• Pork
• Water
• Maple Sugar
• Sea Salt
• Spices
• Raw Sugar
• Maple Flavor (carmelized sugar syrup, flavorings, maple syrup, brown sugar)

I like knowing what’s in my sausage, though I’m definitely confused when one of the ingredients of a ‘Flavor’ is ‘flavorings’. How do they get away with that? And how happy are you to see that the term ‘mechanically-separated‘ isn’t included in that list?

Taste-wise, these little guys (each is the size of Pretty darn good for some pre-cooked brown-and-serve sausages and considerably juicier than Morningstar Farms Sausage Patties. There’s no casing, so they exhibit about as much snap as a meat-free corn dog. Fortunately, the my preferred cooking method involves microwaving them for 30 seconds first, then browning for a crisp exterior.

In restaurants, I like dipping regular sausages in syrup. At home, I ran out of affordable maple syrup (a fellow food writer from Montreal says that the only acceptable maple syrup comes in a can), so I opted for these sausages between visits to Trader Joe’s. Those of you who prefer savory sausages might be a little put off by the combo, but I suggest trying it before you knock it.

Price: $2.79
Servings Per Package: 2
Serving Size: 8.0 oz., 1 quesadilla
Calories: 220 per serving
Fat: 11%, 7g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Sodium: 26%, 620mg
Protein: 12g
Carbohydrates: 9%, 26g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
Sugar: <1g
Weight Watchers Points: 4

Smart Ones says: Chicken & cheese quesadilla with grilled white meat chicken, a three-cheese blend, peppers and onions folded into a crispy flour tortilla.

Kelly B. says: I consider cheese a food group. And though I don’t know the correct translation of “quesadilla” I know it has something to do with cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.* Typically, eating these at restaurants makes me feel sick/guilty/bloated but tadaa! Smart Ones has blessed us all with a low calorie, low fat quesadilla. It may even give the microwaveable 7-11 ‘Mexican’ fare a run for its money!

I am familiar with “crisping sleeve” technology as a frequent Lean Pocket user, so it seemed easy enough to place the quesadilla into the sleeve and then into the microwave. After no time (2 minutes) my quesadilla was ready! While it is not exactly easy to eat at the office (due to a lot of gooey chicken/cheese combo), it is delicious by fork & knife with a little bit of low fat sour cream. It may have been my microwave but parts of the tortilla were a little hard and too crispy for my liking, that’s what brought it down from 5 to 4 stars. The cheese melted nicely & the peppers and onions added a slight kick. The chicken wasn’t too bad too bad either! I definitely give Smart Ones quesadillas two thumbs up though as far as diet, microwaveable Mexican food goes!

*It translates roughly to “little cheesy thing”. - Ed.

Need further confirmation? Tanya over at Iateapie.net liked these, too. Read her review.

Free from CPK
SRP: $2.99
Serving: 1 pizza, 5.5 oz
Calories: 450
Fat: 34%, 22g
Saturated Fat: 40%, 8g
Cholesterol: 12%, 35mg
Sodium: 34%, 820mg
Protein: 21g
Carbohydrates: 14%, 42g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 10 Points

California Pizza Kitchen says: Crispy thin crust pizza topped with zesty marinara sauce, Italian sausage, reduced fat mozzarella cheese, fontina cheese, spicy ham, salami, parmesan cheese, and basil.

Becky says: I’ve been pretty spoiled this week – being stuck in all day meetings means ordering lunch with the company’s money. So, to celebrate the return to my desk, and the simple fact that it’s Friday, I’m treating myself to this completely non-healthy pizza (I’m leaving it up to Abi to figure out the WW points for this puppy…).

This pizza has potential, it really does. If only they had actually remembered to put sauce on it, then we’d be in business. The directions were straightforward and easy to understand; they went so far to suggest that I set the pizza to the side of the microwave while cooking it to ensure even cooking. Of course, I tried this, and by golly, it works - the pizza was evenly dry all around! After Abi’s disastrous experience with the cooking tray on her DiGiorno For One Garlic Bread Crust Supreme Pizza, I made sure to put a plate under my tray. Fortunately, the only thing that oozed off was a little cheese. Hmm, I guess that’s what happens when you forget to put the sauce on a pizza.

As far as toppings go, I was glad to see that they were evenly distributed, and cooking did not cause them to dry out at all. And cheese! With 22g of fat (and 8g saturated!) in this thing, there sure as heck better be cheese. It was present and fulfilled all cheese requirements. I’m so used to eating Lean Cuisine pizza that the notion of cheese on a pizza was a concept nearly lost to me. Thank you, California Pizza Kitchen, for bringing the memory back. I’ll just ignore the fact that I’ll be eating salad for dinner-dry salad-to make up for this dieting catastrophe of a lunch.

For future pizzas, repeat after me: “Sauce is good. Sauce is good…”

Price: $5.00
Serving: 1 package, 9.5oz.
Calories per serving: 320
Fat: 28%, 18g
Cholesterol: 7%, 20mg
Sodium: 23%, 550mg
Protein: 8g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 36g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
Sugar: 6g
Weight Watchers Points: 7 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: An Authentic blend of spices in a base of organic crushed tomatoes and coconut milk, with soft, creamy cubes of paneer (Indian Cheese). Alongside the Paneer Tikka are Aloo Palak (delicately spiced organic chopped spinach and tender potatoes), and organic basmati rice flavored with cumin and carrots.

Abi says: Microwavable meals require too much attention: flipping, mid-cycle stirring, gravy-defrosting, and post-heating assembly are all negatives when it comes to frozen food. This entrée from Amy’s Kitchen required only a slightly opened cellophane wrapping and 5 no-worry minutes in the microwave, making a fantastic first impression.

“This is too easy.” I thought, expecting a disaster. Ah, there are caveats. Removing the meal from the plastic wrapper is fraught with danger, but what makes a meal more savored that preliminary steam burns? (Seriously though, if you’re thinking about keeping a few of these in the freezer for your kids or significant other, warn them about the invisible danger: steam) Another hazard: the environmentally-friendly, biodegradable paper tray wobbles under the gelatinous weight of the paneer-tikka-palak-rice combo. Sturdy dinnerware solves that problem, but for those offices (or homes) that stock few plates this could be an issue.

When it comes to the actual food, Amy’s Paneer Tikka isn’t take-out. Banish those thoughts of buttery, soupy palak and sweat-inducing masala. This meal is healthy, introductory Indian. Indian food for Iowans, if you will.

Anyone who’s ever made the mistake of buying a block of plastic-wrapped paneer (me, for example) will instantly realize that the cheese in this meal is fresh, fresh, fresh. I couldn’t believe that I’d pulled it out of the freezer just 10 minutes earlier. My five cubes of paneer (29% less cheese than shown on the box) were resiliently fluffy and provided a mild, buttery contrast to the rich, tomato-based masala.

The palak aloo (aka ‘cooked spinach and potatoes’, not ‘region of Iraq‘) isn’t completely macerated or strongly spiced, which means that the flavor of cooked spinach shines through. This is a positive or a negative depending on your relationship with cooked spinach. Guessing, I’d say that this meal contains 800% less butter than most Indian meals I consume.

And the rice. It is ricey. Each grain is fluffy and delicate and hey! there’s some stuff in the rice! (carrots and cumin seeds) You won’t notice either of those things while you’re eating the rice, but they make for a nice visual. My preferred eating method is to simply mix everything together and enjoy a subcontinental ghoulash. The rice holds in the masala (which is a danger to light-colored clothing) and the intensity of the cooked spinach is tempered by the cheese. I know, this meal seems really expensive right now, but after eating it you really will have another reason to feel good about yourself today.*

*Yeah, that’s the Smart Ones tagline and I totally stole it, but I unlike EVERY SINGLE EXPERIENCE, EVER that I’ve had with a Smart Ones meal, I really did feel good after I had this frozen meal.