Price: 3 for $9.00 (sale)
Serving: 1 package, 12 oz.
Calories: 330
Fat: 7%, 4.5g
Sodium: 24%, 580mg
Protein: 20g
WW Points: 6 Winning Points
Diet Exchanges: 1 1/2 Lean Meat, 2 1/2 Starch, 1 Vegetable, 1/2 Fruit

Lean Cuisine says: Grilled herbed chicken tenderloins,penne pasta,hand-picked broccoli and carrots in a garlic herb sauce accented with tomatoes and parmesan cheese,served with apples in a caramel sauce.

Carolyn says: This meal is larger than the standard Lean Cuisine fare (supposed to be for dinner), but that means a nice and filling lunch. The broccoli and carrots were good - not too soggy, and very flavored with the sauce. The chicken was cooked well, as far as microwave chicken goes. And the sauce and cheese hit the spot. Can’t find much to complain about the entree. The apples in a caramel sauce were good, but there were not enough of them. They only partially filled the space that was designated for the apples. Overall, this was a good selection, and I heartily recommend the Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken and Penne Pasta.

Price: $3.29 ($2.79 on sale)
Serving: 1 tray, 10 oz.
Calories: 490
Fat: 29%, 19g
Sodium: 31%, 740mg
Protein: 10g

Green Guru says: Tangy and Spicy, stir fried rice noodles mixed with select vegetables and tofu, prepared with spices, tamarind and ground peanuts.

Abi says: There is a mushroom in the picture. There was also a mushroom (a whole one!) in the meal. I took it out before cooking because I don’t like mushrooms. Thus, this image is not accurate. Inaccuracies aside, this is the best frozen meal I’ve had in weeks. In honor of April being National Poetry Month (thanks Slate.com) here is a haiku:

Price: $3.50
Serving: 1/2 box, 11 oz.
Calories: 300
Fat: 16%, 24g
Sodium: 29%, 700mg
Protein: 16g
WW Points: 6 Winning Points

Safeway says: Peppered to Perfection! Spicy chicken breast strips served with rice, water chestnuts, onions, celery, yellow carrots, and mushrooms.

Carolyn says: This was the most disappointing frozen meal I have had in a long, long time. The large size of the portion had me excited for a big, hearty lunch. The box clearly said “TWO SERVINGS”, but if it was good I knew I could finish the meal. As soon as I took the tray out of the microwave I realized this meal was not going to be as the picture suggested. The vegetables were soggy and brown. I’m not sure why they decided that bean sprouts were appropriate for a frozen meal, but it was a very bad decision. The onions were brown and soggy clumps, the celery was slimy, and the only thing that displayed any crispness were the water chestnuts. The peppered sauce coagulated while heating, and despite my stirring, there were areas of caked teriyaki sauce along the sides of the container and in two corners. The chicken was the only decent part of the meal, so once I finished the pieces of chicken, I threw the rest away.

Price: $1.19 (on sale, of course)
Serving: 1 package, 9 oz.
Calories: 420
Fat: 28%, 18g
Sodium: 43%, 1030mg
Carbohydrates: 15%, 45g
Protein: 20g

Stouffer’s says: Breaded Alaskan pollock fillet and macaroni and cheese

Abi says: Every year I subscribe to a fresh batch of magazines. Last year was the year of music. This year I am into science. I get Discover, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, and National Geographic. I am enjoying the science year much more than I enjoyed the music year.

While flipping through the February issue (yes, I read old issues) of Discover, I came across an blurb out biodiversity. Apparently, Glenn Jones, a paleoceanographer at Texas A&M Galveston has been studying 200,000 menus from the past 150 years. He found that wild fish are vanishing from menus due to overfishing. According to Discover’s Elise Kleeman “Halibut gave way to codfish, then haddock, and now scrod, which includes young haddock or codfish.”

Opening my freezer this morning, I was greeted by frozen food abundance. Would I go with an old favorite, like Cheese Enchiladas from Amy’s Kitchen or Healthy Choice Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, or would I try something new?

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