Price: $3.29
Serving: 1 tray, 10 oz.
Calories: 280
Fat: 11%, 8g
Sodium: 26%, 680mg
Protein: 22g
WW Points: 6 Winning Points
Diet Exchanges: 1 1/2 Very Lean Meat, 1 1/2 Starch, 1/2 skim milk, 1/2 Fat

Lean Cuisine says: Roasted chicken tenderloins in a flavorful peanut sauce with garlic served with crisp water chestnuts,shoestring carrots,and snap peas over whole-wheat pasta

Jess says: Last Saturday, one of our co-workers had a great BBQ on his very sunny and inviting patio. I had me a few Amstel Lites, you know, the beer drinker’s light beer. I am proud to be a beer drinker and I needed a light beer to accompany the heavy amounts of food that I was happily consuming. One of the gastronomic highlights was a peanut sauce noodle dish that Abi brought/made (despite being a connoisseur of all things cooked with non-visable wave energy, she is also great at cooking with ovens and fire just like primitive man used to do!). I was already full and still went back for seconds. The next day, while I was in Safeway, I think I was mentally tasting Abi’s noodles when I bought this Lean Cuisine offering.

Was it as good as Abi’s? No. It was certainly missing that “made with love” component. Was it tasty? Hell yeah it was. The wheat pasta combined very nicely with the peanut flavors. It was like running through a peanuty, wheat field on a sunny Spring day. And the sharp crunch (maintained somehow through the freezing process) of the snap peas was a good textural and flavorful addition. There was only one water chestnut, but it too was crunchy, as is its purpose in life. Apparently this meal was so healthy that it was a Spa Sensation (or some terminology like that). This is ridiculous. I did not feel well-rested and revived after eating this meal nor did I have a massage and a pedicure. Let’s rethink that marketing campaign, LC. I give you permission to use my peanut/wheat field imagery if that helps.

Price: $2.69
Serving: 1 cup, 8 fl. oz.
Calories: 120 per serving
Fat: 5%, 3g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 19%, 450mg
Protein: 4g
Carbohydrates: 7%, 20g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Sugar: 9g
Weight Watchers Points: 2

Imagine says: If you like the sweet, fresh flavor of just picked corn, you’ll love Imagine Creamy Sweet Corn Soup.

Veda says: The Imagine Organic Corn soup is a creamy blend of corn and mild spices. Much like the other Imagine soups, the flavor is pleasing and the consistency just right. However, I will say that this soup is best suited to be a side dish. Although it is somewhat filling, the mild taste leaves you wanting for something more substantial. I generally pair this soup with the Green Guru Samosas for a tastier and more filling meal. Whether eaten alone or paired with something else, Imagine’s Corn soup is tasty and fresh, but I prefer their Creamy Tomato Basil, any day.

Price: $2.50 (sale)
Serving: 1/2 tray, 6 oz.
Calories: 350
Fat: 17%, 26g
Sodium: 38%, 920mg
Protein: 15g
Calcium: 30%

Stouffer’s says: Al dente macaroni in a creamy, sharp cheddar cheese sauce.

Colleen says: As far as macaroni and cheese goes, this is perhaps as good as it gets for frozen or packaged versions. Unlike Kraft macaroni and cheese, which is relatively flavorless and made from powdered cheese, Stouffers’ version is pretty darn close to home made. Of course with better taste comes more fat and calories, but I would be willing to make that sacrifice again.

The noodles could stand to be a bit firmer, but they stay intact even after re-heating and do not mush in your mouth. The most important part of the dish –the cheese part of course– is a nice creamy sauce and there’s certainly plenty of it! Although the cheese sauce could stand a dash of salt to spice it up, it is a quite tasty cheddar-flavored, just-creamy-enough sauce.

Word to the wise: make sure to keep the macaroni and cheese hot while you eat it because for some reason or another, the taste changes as it cools down. I can’t begin to explain the mystery of why microwave macaroni and cheese requires a specific temperature in order to maintain its homestyle flavor, so just trust me and re-heat if necessary.

Price: $3.19
Serving: 1 tray, 10 oz.
Calories: 300
Fat: 4%, 3g
Sodium: 28%, 680mg
Protein: 17g
WW Points: 6 Winning Points
Diet Exchanges: 1 1/2 Lean Meat, 2 Starch, 1/2 Fruit, 1/2 other carbohydrate

Lean Cuisine says: Tender, roasted chicken tenderloins tossed in a traditional sweet and sour sauce made from soy sauce, pineapple juice and tomato. Hand-picked red and green peppers, julienne carrots and golden pineapple tidbits finish the dish which is over a bed of long grain white rice

Jess says: My mom has this ridiculous obsession with Americanized Chinese food. Literally this woman could eat Chinese -style food for every meal, every day of the week, and be completely content with her life. I find this odd for a woman whose family lines are straight White Russian. Culturally speaking she should be craving borscht and blintzes. Instead she’s looking for egg rolls and baby corn. As a teenager, my lame rebellious move was to boycott all Chinese establishments just to piss off my mom. If she wanted to break bread with me, it wasn’t going be in Fortune Cookie form (yeah, I can’t think of any other Chinese food bread-like product, which is probably a part of the problem). So she had to choose between her favorite meals or quality bonding time with her only daughter. In the end I think she just made us each get our own take-out orders from the place of our choice. The woman is clever.

Now that I’m living away from home, I’ve recently started getting back in business with Americanized Chinese food. And with this meal, Lean Cuisine made me glad that I did. The sauce is more sweet than sour. The pieces of pineapple add a nice little sugar kick. (Abi later informed me that I was getting a 1/2 serving of fruit - right on, LC. I need those nutrients!) Plenty of chicken and its not breaded which can be kind of annoying in the restaurant version of this meal. That’s right LC, let’s keep it healthy. There is a good sauce to rice ratio (this is key to a good microwavable eating experience). There are also many colors of peppers, so that the meal is not only tasty but pleasing to the eye. I damn near licked the sauce left over in the bowl afterwards and then thought about calling my mom to tell her that I loved her. But Sunday is Mother’s Day, so I’ll probably just hold out until then.