Price: $2.49 at Trader Joe’s
Serving: 2.7 oz. (2 servings per bowl)
Calories: 110 per serving
Fat: 2%, 1g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 19%, 450mg
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 23g
Fiber: 4%, 1g
Sugar: 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving, 4 per bowl

Annie Chun says: Dear Friends,

As a busy mom, I sometimes have to eat my meals on the run. That’s why I created my two-minute Miso Soup Bowl – a warm lunch or dinner that you can enjoy anywhere. In Japan, miso is valued for it energizing qualities, health benefits, and rich taste. I pair my delicious miso broth with tofu, spinach, scallions and soft, fresh cooked udon noodles, which are tastier and more flavorful than dried noodles. Keep a few packages in your desk or cupboard, then just heat and serve for a tasty nutritious meal. Happy eating!

Annie

Jackie says: Dear Annie,

Thank you for providing this delicious soup, and for educating me on the beneficial qualities of miso. Thank you also for using eco-friendly cornstarch bowls and freeze-dried veggies that kind of make me feel like I’m eating space food.

Your broth is, indeed, rich and tasty. I did add a little bit of soy sauce, but that has more to do with my sodium addiction than your seasoning prowess. The noodles are soft and delightful, and the freeze-dried veggie block rehydrates quite nicely.

Soup-wise, my only problem is with the tofu. It loses that slurpy, silky quality of the tofu in restaurant miso soup. But I do appreciate that the item is shelf-stable, which makes me feel like less of a fridge hog, and if the tofu weren’t freeze-dried or however you make your space-packet, it probably would have to be refrigerated. So I am willing to accept the slightly spongy tofu.

However. It is apparently becoming quite hip in soup packaging to label something as two servings that is clearly not meant to be shared. I’m not going to eat half the soup and save it for later, nor am I going to slurp the noodles with a friend. I entreat you, and the entire soup community, to stop pretending we’re not going to eat all the soup in one serving. Because we are.

I appreciate the suggestion to keep a couple of packages in my desk or cupboard. I think I will.

Happy eating!
(This is how I’m going to sign off all my letters from now on)

Jackie

Price: $2.50 on sale
Serving: 1 package, 10oz
Calories: 460 per serving
 Calories from Fat: 140
Fat: 23%, 15g
 Saturated Fat: 35%, 7g
 Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 13%, 40mg
Sodium: 39%, 930mg
Protein: 19g
Carbohydrates: 21%, 62g
Fiber: 28%, 7g
Sugar: 7g
Weight Watchers Points: 10 Points

Marie Callender says: Inspired by the filled pastas of Parma, Italy, Tortellini Romano tempts with rich cheeses, a creamy marinara sauce, basil, and tomatoes.

Abi says: In the 22 comments that have thus far appeared on my review of Marie Callender’s Cavatappi Genovese Pasta Al Dente, I’ve learned that a lot of people who read Heat Eat Review don’t know the difference between overly spiced and spicy. I know that you, the person who is reading this right now knows the difference. I’m talking about all of those other people. To clarify:

Overly spiced is what happens when you’re making lasagna and as you shake a bit of lemon pepper into the ricotta the lid comes off of the lemon pepper canister and you end up with an entire container of lemon pepper in your cheese. You don’t want to eat that.

Spicy is the heat in salsa and vindaloo.

With that settled, I’m happy to report that Marie Callender’s Tortellini Romano is bathed in an almost creamy, pleasantly spiced sauce, with just minor problems. First, the steaming technology is not yet perfect. Every tortellini in the package came out with one side nicely al dente (way to come through on promises, Marie!) and the other side hard and unattractively sharp (as in pokey). In the middle portion of the product photo you can see those sorry albino tortellini (is tortellini the plural or is it tortellinis? Is this like the panini/panino thing where people who’ve been to Italy yell at me and everyone else says ‘Panino just sounds dumb’?).

Not only were the albino tortellini unpleasant to eat, they reminded me of that albino monk in The Da Vinci Code. What was up with his self-torture device? And wouldn’t it be tougher to beat him up if he went around torturing himself all day? Sorry, I just saw the movie the other day and I have a lot of unaswered questions. The filling of the tortellini involved luscious ricotta cheese, not torture. So aside from the extreme chewiness, which has no solution except to destroy the steam tray lid and stir or attempt to shake the steam item into submission (not recommended, ow).

The other ingredient included in the top portion of the steam tray is the saddest set of salmon-colored tomato dices ever invented. Did Marie Callender think people were going to freak out when they realized that they were not really getting many vegetables in this meal? Let’s face it, this is not health food, it is full of sodium, and it uses two pieces of plastic for the tray. This meal isn’t doing anyone any favors.

But if you do like a lot of salt (and I mean a lot, this meal has 39% of your daily sodium in just 10 ounces of food - and this isn’t that hidden sodium that you can’t tastes. This is that straight up sodium that makes you drink a gallon of water after lunch.) then you will probably like this meal. Plus, if you’re willing to eat cheese, this rare vegetarian meal from Marie Callender is a great thing to keep in the freezer for those emergencies where you need pasta but don’t want to boil water.

Ingredients: Cheese Tortellini (Flour [Durum Semolina, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Water, Ricotta Cheese [Pasteurized Whey, Milk Fat, Milk], Eggs, Wheat Flour [Enriched Wheat Flour (Contains Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Sugar, Soybean Oil, Yeast], Parmesan Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Asiago Cheese [Pasteurized Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes], Salt, Black Pepper, Nutmeg), Diced Tomatoes in Juice, Water, Tomato Paste, Cream, Parmesan Cheese (Part-Skim Milk, Cheese Culture, Salt, Enzymes), Contains Less than 2% of Onion, Spices, Butter, Brown Sugar, Wine, Garlic, Olive Oil, Modified Food Starch, Salt, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Mono-Diglycerides and Datem.

Price: $2.50
Serving: 3 pierogies, 120g
Calories: 190 per serving
Fat: 4%, 2.5g
Cholesterol: 3%, 10mg
Sodium: 22%, 540mg
Protein: 17g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 35g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Sugar: 1g
Weight Watchers Points: 4 POINTS

Mrs. T’s says: Delicious whipped potatoes and cheddar cheese gently folded in a pasta shell.

Tara says: My boyfriend is part Polish, so he tries to introduce me to some new foods every once in a while. While he insisted that these boxed pierogies would taste nothing like the ones his grandma used to make, this is our current best bet since we no longer have access to pierogi-making grandmas. While out grocery shopping this weekend, we purchased a box of Mrs. T’s pierogies, of the cheddar and potato variety.

I was actually immediately convinced that eating pierogies was a good idea, because what could possibly be wrong with delicious mashed potatoes and cheese inside something that resembles a ravioli? I love pasta and I adore mashed potatoes, so why not put one inside the other? Brilliant, I say. I might even try the reverse, some pasta in my mashed potatoes. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

I do all of the cooking in our household, unless the cooking medium is located outdoors (grill). Upon pulling the box out of the freezer for a quick dinner the other night, my boyfriend suggested that since he is the Polish one, that he should do the cooking. As if our nationalities have anything to do with heating up some frozen potato-filled pasta. He seemed really excited about it though, so instead of picking a fight I took advantage of not having to cook for once, and agreed.

On the back of the box, Mrs. T suggests several options for preparation - pan fry, deep fry, boil, bake or grill. The “pierogi expert” insisted that we pan-fry the pierogies in a butter/olive oil combination, along with some sauteed onions.

The pierogies took about 10 minutes to prepare in this fashion, which was not too long to wait for these glorious little packets of deliciousness. Mrs. T suggested that to add some “color” (and also some healthfulness) we add some bell pepper strips. Since we didn’t have any peppers, we opted to serve the pierogies with a side salad.

The pierogies cooked up very nicely pan-fried: each exterior got a bit brown and crisp, while the inside was warm and creamy. The pasta shell was an excellent vessel for holding the cheesy mashed potatoes, with a thickness that ensured none of the insides would seep out during cooking. The potato-cheddar filling was both smooth and fluffy and tasted just like real cheddar mashed potatoes, except without the lumps.

The butter/onion combination definitely complemmented the pierogies nicely, although I don’t know what could possibly go wrong with a deep fried pierogi. Maybe next time we will try that preparation option. These pierogies would also be good served with a tomato or alfredo sauce, because they are very similar to italian-style pasta…being made with pasta themselves.

The one complaint I have is that 3 pierogies is not enough for one serving. I believe that I had five and my boyfriend had six, and along with the side salad that was a nice meal. Three might be an ok lunch portion with some veggies or another side. The pierogies are really delicious though, and I’ll definitely be trying out some of their other flavors.

I leave you with this tantalizing question: Are Mrs. T & Mr. T somehow related?

Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 box, 9oz
Calories: 330 per serving
   Calories from Fat: 190
Fat: 32%, 21g
   Saturated Fat: 39%, 8g
   Trans Fat: 0%, 0g
Cholesterol: 14%, 40mg
Sodium: 35%, 850mg
Protein: 9g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 25g
Fiber: 6%, 1g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 POINTS

Trader Joe says: Paneer Tikka Masala with Spinach Basmati Rice - Authentic Indian Recipe

Abi says: I love Indian food. I like the rich flavors, the enthusiastic use of seasoning, the way you can eat with your hands using rice and/or naan. I like that there are dishes with cheese and dishes with meat and dishes with neither cheese nor meat.

What I don’t like is that paneer tikka masala doesn’t travel well. Sure, I can throw some leftovers in a plastic container, but the constant fear of a purse full of sauce is a huge deterrent. I’m talking serious fear here. I love my purse. I love paneer tikka masala. I don’t want my purse to get any paneer tikka masala lovin’. What can I say? I am a jealous lady.

You know who else is jealous? Everyone who saw this meal, from my commute buddy to coworkers, people either saw the box and said ‘Wow, that looks really good. I need to start bringing frozen food to work.’ or they endured the amazing aromas of my lunch and said ‘I am going to go get some Indian food now. Also, I hate you Abi for making me spend money instead of eating my sandwich in peace.’*

This meal weighs in at just 9 ounces, but provides such a hearty portion of tikka masala’d paneer that I was worried I wouldn’t have enough rice. The tikka masala is fragrant with spices that must come straight from heaven. The individual cheese cubes are not quite in the same abundance as shown on the box. In fact, the picture on the box is only really a “Serving Suggestion” if the suggestion is “Buy two boxes of the meal and put them on the same plate.”

Alas, I can’t tell you much about the spinach rice. In my enthusiasm to consume this meal I completely forgot to taste it solo. I just mixed everything together into one rather unattractive mass of super-delicious food. So, as a sauce-conveying mechanism, the green rice is awesome. As a stand-alone meal component I’m at a loss.

What I can tell you is that Trader Joe’s knows what they’re doing with this meal. There is exactly enough rice for the paneer and sauce, the flavor of the tikka masala is divine without being overly spicy (I adore spicy, this was medium intensity), and there’s no chance that the meal will end up all over the inside of your purse. Could this meal get any better? Yes, it could include a chocolate lava cake, then it would be perfect.

Bravo, Trader Joe’s!

*Not an actual quote. More like the gist of a quote. Yes, that person did go buy Indian food.