South Beach Livng: Savory Pork

One of Kraft's South Beach living microwave meals. Chunks of pork, onions, and celery in a savory sauce with pecans. The pork was nice and firm, the chunks neither too large or too small. The pork depended on the sauce for flavor, not having much of its own. Suprisingly, the celery retained some of it's own flavor, usually you don't see that. The sauce was thin and lightly flavored, but this wasn't a bad thing, it went well with the other flavors in the dish. The pecans were more of a garnish, but added a nice bit of crunch now and then. They were a welcome addition. The Vegetables are green beans with yellow bell peppers. The green beans were decent, the yellow peppers were, as is often the case, mushy. Some of the sauce from the meat side spilled over and livened up the vegetables quite a bit.

The dish is split into two sections, the smaller one was filled to the brim with the meat, the larger one was less than half full with the vegetables. I have to wonder if this was deliberate or if the just mixed something up. I think this tv dinner ended up being ok, certainly not a standout, but not bad either. (230 calories, 9g fat; 13g carbs; 22g protein; 28% sodium)

South Beach Living: Kung Pao Chicken

One of Kraft's South Beach Living brand of microwave meals. Diced meat chicken, red peppers and peanuts in kung pao sauce with a side of broccoli, water chestnuts and Yellow peppers. The vegetable side is mostly broccoli with a a decent number of slices of water chestnuts and small squares of yellow bell pepper. The broccoli was firm, not too overcooked, but not crunchy either. For some reason, many of the flowers were removed from the stems, it didn't affect the taste, but was unexpected. The water chestnuts added some nice crunch, there was no sauce on the vegetables.

The chicken was diced, not cut in strips like the box said, but that is probably for the better, as I didn't need a knife it had a decent texture but not much flavor. Once piece of chicken I got had a piece of bone in it. The box says it is mildly spiced and they aren't kidding, there isn't a whole lot of flavor to the sauce except some bites would be a tiny bit hot. The peanuts add crunch, but again, not much to the flavor, and the red bell pepper bits add color only.

Overall, I'd say they have quality control issues (for both the broccoli and the chicken). The tv dinner was bland, certainly not the rich flavor I would expect in Kung Pao Chicken. (250 calories; 9g fat; 14g carbs; 25g protein; 26% sodium)

Lean Cuisine: Deep Dish margharita pizza

Part of Stouffer's Lean Cusine casual eating classics menu. A single serving pizza with chunky tomatoes, garlic, basil, and tomato sauce with extra virgin olive oil. Pizza usually has lots of cheese, thus, lots of fat. Doing pizza the low-fat way is tough. If you look at the picture on the box, the pizza shows lots of cheese. That is deceptive, there isn't very much cheese on the pizza, and what cheese there was, wasn't evenly spread out. There is lots of crust (it is deep dish afterall) a reasonable amount of tomato sauce and diced tomatos, aand a little bit of cheese. The box said to put it in for 2:30 to 3:30, but for an extra crispy crust, put it in for an extra 30 seconds. I like crispy, so I cooked it for 3:30, which ended up drying the crust out (but it was crispy) I probably should have cooked it a little less. (lesson learned). The pizza itself was decent, you wouldn't confuse it for pizza parlor pizza, or even pizza delivery, it still has lots of calories for what you get, with a 25% coming from fat. If you really crave pizza, this could fit the bill, but I wouldn't make it part of my regular menu. (320 calories; 9g fat; 48g carbs; 14g protein; 23% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Grilled chicken caesar

One of Stouffer's Lean Cuisine cafe classics bowl. Grilled white meat chicken with broccoli and garlic flavored radiatore pasta in a parmesan-ceasar sauce. Different than most because it comes in a bowl, not a tray, but it cooks like any other tv dinner. The chicken is good, tender and very chickeny. The sauce complements but doesn't overpower it. The pasta was right to the edge of overcooked, but wasn't. Again, the light sauce goes well with it. Broccoli came out crisp, not overdone or soggy. All the part came together well. Overall, a nice microwave meal. (240 calories; 7g fat; 25g carbs; 18g protein 29% sodium)

Eating Right: Chicken with creamy mushroom sauce

Eating Right is Safeway's house brand of healthier food. This microwave meal has white meat chicken and pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce and bits of red bell pepper mixed in. There wasn't enough chicken in the dish, and although it had a good flavor, I found it every so slightly tough. The noodles game out good, not overcooked or stuck together. The sauce was a bit thin and didn't have much flavor and the mushrooms tasted like standard canned mushrooms. Mix all this together and you get a bland and forgettable entree, though not one with any glaring problems. Not a tv dinner I would get again. (290 calories; 7g fat; 36g carbs; 21g protein; 18% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Smart Ones: Angel Hair marinara

One of Weight Watcher's Smart Ones "classic favorites" microwave meals. Lots of thin angel hair pasta with tomato sauce (or as they call it delicious marinara sauce, emphasis theirs) with spinach and yellow and green zucchini. Cooking went smoothly, you have to stir it part way through. The chunks of squash are good-sized and athough more would be nice, there was a minimally sufficient number of them. As is often the case with tv dinners, the squash was overcooked. Not totally mushy, but nowhere near crisp. There is lots of pasta, it is nice and thin, and didn't come out overcooked or hopelessly stuck together. The tomato sauce was good, it had good tomato flavor and wasn't acidic tasting like you sometimes find. Overall the separate elements went well together and the dish was better than just the sum of its parts. It only has 4 weight watchers points which is suprising given the amount of pasta it has in it. (230 calories; 4g fat; 40g carbs; 9g protein; 27% sodium; 4 weight watchers points)

Smart Ones: Tuna Noodle Gratin

One of Weight Watchers' Smart Ones classic favorites microwave meals. Chunks of albacore tuna and linguini in a creamy sauce topped with toasted breadcrumbs. The thick layer of breadcrumbs may have been toasted to start with, but by the time the microwave is done with them, they are soggy. The sauce is creamy and pleasant. It would be better if it were just the slightest bit thicker. The chunks of tuna are small, hardly chunks, but firm and tuna-like. There are peas and celery slices mixed in. You can taste the pepper, which keeps the dish from being too mild. The salt content is a bit high at 33% of the recommended daily value. This TV dinner met met my expectations. It isn't outstanding, but it is pretty good, and a nice change of pace from the standard chicken and beef microwave entrees. (250 calories; 4.5g fat; 37g carbs; 14g protein; 33% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Smart Ones: Broccoli and Cheddar Roasted Potatoes

One of Weight Watchers Smart Ones Classic Favorites microwave meals. Roasted russet potatoes topped with broccoli and cheddar cheese sauce. There was a lot of cheese sauce, which is good. Cheese sauce will cover up minor problems. The sauce was good, cheesy and not to thick or too thin. It sticks to the potatoes and brocolli just enough. The potatoes were a bit dry, but the cheese sauce takes care of that. The brocoli was good, a little bit crispy, not soggy at all. I was disappointed though that the picture show the brocoli being mostly tops, but mine was almost entirely stems. The entree comes pretty well mixed together and it is pretty good overall. One thing to note, it isn't vegetarian. Even though there are no chunks meat, it is made with chicken and beef stock. (220 calories; 6g fat; 34g carbs; 9g protein; 20% sodium, 4 weight watchers points)

Eating Right: Five-grain Beef and Vegetables

Eating Right is Safeway's house brand of healthier food.
This microwave meal has chunks of seasoned beef in a n asian inspired brown sauce, a whole grain rice side dish and a serving of mixed vegetables. The rice was a little gummy as whole-grain rice usually is. It is a mix of 5 different types of rice, giving it a more interesting flavor and texture. The beef was suprisingly tender, the sauce had a hint of sweetness. It was clearly a sauce, not a gravy. The vegetables were a little disapointing. There were plenty of them, and a nice mix of green beans, red and yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions, but they were limp and watery. Overall this tv dinner was good. I liked that they tried something a bit different with the rice and the beef was good too. Bonus points for keeping the sodium below what most frozen meals have. (290 calories; 5g fat; 45g carbs; 15g protein; 16% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Eating Right: Lemongrass chicken

Eating Right is Safeway's house brand of healthier food. This microwave meal has white meat chicken in lemongrass sauce with brown rice and mixed vegetables. The chicken was good, moist and tender and well soaked with the lemongrass sauce. The brown rice was a little bit gummy, but when mixed with the lemongrass sauce was quite good. You could still taste the rice, as well as a hint of the sauce and the stickiness was gone. The vegetables were more of an accent than a serving of vegetables, there was a piece of brocolli, corn, red peppers and shreds of carrots. The flavor of the dish was very mild, I would really have liked a stronger sauce. Overall this tv dinner was decent, but didn't stand out. (230 calories; 7g fat; 26g carbs; 16g protein; 21% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Eating Right: Mediterranean Style Chicken

Eating Right is Safeway's house brand of healthier food. This microwave meal is tender white meat chicken, tomatoes, yellow bell peppers and zucchini with whole-wheat linguini in a flavorful sauce. The chicken is, as advertised, tender. The pasta came out good, not over cooked or anything. The bell peppers and zucchini were slightly overcooked, but not bad. There were also green and black olives in the dish. the sauce, while it did have a distinct flavor, it wasn't enough to add much to the dish. The sauce was also watery. Overally, it wasn't bad, but nothing distinctive either. They would have to improve the flavor before I would recommend this tv dinner. (230 calories; 6g fat; 30g carbs; 17g protein; 21% sodium; 4 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Cheese Lasagna with breaded chicken

One of Stouffers Comfort classics microwave meals. A serving of cheese lasagna with tomato sauce and a seperate compartment with thin slices of lightly breaded chicken scaloppini, also with tomato sauce. The lasagna came out pretty good, you could taste each of the ingredients, the tomato sauce was a little acidic, but not bad. I would have liked a little more ricotta cheese but there was an acceptable amount. The breading on the chicken actually had a little flavor, though it was soggy. The thinness of the chicken prevented the flavor from really showing through, but it was tender and fairly good. Another tv dinner with annoying directions (cook at 50% power for 9 to 12 minutes). Overally if you can live with the cook time, this is a pretty good meal. (280 calories; 8g fat; 34g carbs; 19g protein; 24% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Chicken Parmesan

One of Stouffers Comfort Classics microwave meals. Roasted chicken breast with spaghetti and tomato basil sauce. Even though I followed the annoying directions (cook at 50% power for 8 to 9 minutes) and cooked to the low end of time, it still came out overcooked. The tomato sauce was very good, catching the fresh tomato flavor without tasting like tomato paste or being too runny. The spagetti, stuck together, but still tasted pretty good with the sauce. The picture on the box shows chunks of squash on the spagetti, but that was a disappointment, there were only 3 segments of squash, which when combined added up to less than one slice. The chicken had both sauce and melted cheese on it, which was good, but I think due to the overcooking was too hard on the edges, so I don't think it is fair to rate it. Overall, this dish has some promise, but who wants to cook a microwave entree for 8 minutes only to have it still not come out right. They need to go back and come up with full power instructions that take less time and are less error prone. (260 calories; 5g fat; 31g carbs; 23g protein; 24% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Meat Loaf with gravy and whipped potatoes

One of Stouffer's comfort Classics microwave meals. Tender, meatloaf in brown gravy with whipped potatoes. The meat is well textured and has a nice, light flavor. The gravy tastes like you would expect store bought gravy to taste, nothing outstanding, but fairly reasonable. The whipped potatoes taste a little creamy and very much like potatoes. I have a couple of complaints though. First, I cooked it at the bottom range of the cooking time (a fairly long 6 minutes) and it still came out a little overcooked and dry. Second, Potatoes always go better with gravy and there wasn't enough gravy for both the meatloaf and the potoatoes. Overall, it was ok, but I liked the Healthy Choice meat loaf better. (250 calories; 7g fat; 26g carbs; 21g protein; 24% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Lemongrass chicken

One of Stouffer's spa cuisine classics. Roasted chicken tenderloins in lemongrass-coconut sauce, brown rice, and mixed vegetables. The chicken is moist and tender, the chunks of broccoli and baby corn, shreds of carrot and bell pepper are good, and there is enough of them, the whole grain rice is a little bit chewy. The real standout part of the meal is the lemongrass-coconut sauce, it is very good, and really enhances the meal, but doesn't totally overwhelm the other flavors. This microwave meal really stands out from the other lean cuisines and I recommend you try it. (240 calories; 6g fat; 30g carbs; 17g protein; 25% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Healthy Choice: Meat Loaf

Meat loaf with Brown gravy, Mashed potatoes, Green beans and an Apple Cranberry Crisp for desert. One of Healthy Choice's Complete selections. This microwave meal has a bit of everything, a nice slice of meatloaf smothered in gravy with mashed potatoes on the side. The meat loaf has reasonable amount of texture, and an ok flavor, the gravy really is needed to make it complete. The potatoes were smooth and had a nice flavor, but they did dry out a little in the microwave, mixing them with the gravy made them better. The green beans came out pretty good, they still had a little crunch and flavor, but as with many healthy choice vegetables they were flat and could use some seasoning. Overall, theis is a pretty good tv dinner and I will ad it to my eat regularly list. (300 calories; 8g fat; 40g carbs; 15g protein; 25% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Cheez-It Twisterz: Hot Wings & Cheesy Blue

Each little snack stick is made up of two pieces twisted together. Each piece is a different flavor. The stick itself is a crunchy cheese cracker, like cheez-its then there is a flavor coating on the outside. It is a little bit spicy and a little bit smooth and creamy, with lots of cheese flavor. These things are addictive, I sometimes avoid getting them because I can go through half a box without thinking. They are very good and are among my favorite snacks. Fat wise, they are better for you than potato chips, but are firmly in the snack food category, you can't even pretend they are healthy, so eat them in moderation. (140 calories; 6g fat; 19g carbs; 2g protein; 12% sodium per 17 crackers which is slightly over an ounce)

Lean Cuisine: Fiesta grilled chicken

One of Stouffer's Lean Cuisine Cafe classics. Seasoned and grilled chicken tenderloins with santa fe style rice and beans. There wasn't much chicken, but it was flavorful, with lots of spices on it. The chicken was slightly hard, but not unplesantly so. There are red and yellow bell pepers with the chicken and they came out a bit soggy.

The rice and beans were pretty basic, not many beans, lots of rice, with a little redness due to tomato, but not much flavor from that. There was a reasonable amount of cheese melted across the rice, which was a plus and some flavor, but I couldn't quite identify what it was.

The cooking instructions were disapointing, 50% power for 7.5 to 10 minutes. that is too large a range to consistently get right and the 50% power makes it take to long.

I was mildly disappointed in this, I was really hoping for it to be better and the presentation was good, but the taste, though not bad, just didn't hold up. I will probably get this again at some point, but it won't be high on my list. (250 calories; 7g fat; 27g carbs; 19g protein; 25% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Fetteccini Alfredo

One of Stouffer's Lean Cuisine "One Dish Favorites". Thick Fettuccini noodles covered with lots of creamy cheese sauce, with little green flecks of parsley. The noodles came out good, thick and a little bit chewy without being hard or gummy. The sauce, as you might expect, is not like home-made, full of fat sauce, but it isn't bad, and it does have a decent flavor and is reasonably thick. There is lots of sauce, which is good since it contains most of the flavor of the dish. There is also a suprising amount of protein, and of course, lots of carbs from the noodles. Overall, this was tv dinner was better than I was expecting, a worthwhile lunch dish. (280 calories; 7g fat; 40g carbs; 14g protein; 28% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Chicken Fried Rice

One of Stouffer's Lean Cuisine "Cafe classics bowl". rice and white chicken meat mixed with crispy vegetables and eggs in a sesame sauce. Sometimes it is amazing how poorly the description on the box matches what you get. "fried rice?" nope, white rice. "crispy vegetables?" Well, the carrots had a little crunch, but the peas weren't crisp at all, and I still don't know what the other little green bits were, scallionsperhaps?

You get a bowl with white rice, chicken, carrots and peas. part way through cooking, you stir it, and mix sesame sauce in, giving the rice a light brown color. The rice came out gummy, most of the chicken was a bit hard, in fact, crispier than the vegetables, which it isn't supposed to be. The flavor was light. Overall, not a very good example of fried rice. (280 calories; 6g fat; 29g carbs; 17g protein; 29% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)