Favorite Frozen Meals: Gardenburger

It’s not just a veggie patty anymore.

The Gardenburger brand has expanded its line significantly beyond the original burger substitute. Not only can you now get a wide variety of patty choices in the freezer case, but now you can also find pretend riblets, wraps, and “chicken” products.

Naturally, some of these make a tasty, convenient lunch.

Gardenburger

Black Bean Chipotle Wrap

The picture of the box here is not the best, admittedly. Neither is the picture of the food on the box. I almost didn’t buy this product, which would have been a shame, as it is delicious. It’s Gardenburger’s yummy black bean patty coated in a spicy and savory sauce, sprinkled with rich cheese, and stuffed into a plenty good whole-wheat tortilla. You get two individually wrapped 240-calorie wraps per box, and they’re tastier and more filling (six grams of fiber!) than Lean Pockets.

Favorite Frozen Meals: Michelina’s Lean Gourmet

Visit Pennies & Pounds for a revised and updated version of this Michelina’s Lean Gourmet article, along with more posts on weight loss and healthy eating on a budget!

Michelina’s may be at the low end of the frozen-food market, but you have to give them credit. That cardboard packaging may sometimes impart a little papery flavor to the food it holds, but it’s a highly efficient design, more likely to biodegrade than all those plastic trays and cellophane wrappers we toss out after our lunch breaks.

My mom used to stock the freezer with several of these (among others) for us kids to heat up on days we didn’t feel like a sandwich for lunch or had to fend for ourselves for dinner. Actually, these really were more likely lunch fare — for dinner, it was usually the stocks of Marie Callendar’s chicken pot pie and frozen entrées that would get tapped.

Marie Callendar’s frozen food takes way too much prep time for lunch (or, frankly, dinner) most of the time, in my opinion. Plus, some have nutritional stats that make you wonder why you’re not just picking up a to-go meal from Olive Garden.

Anyway, onward to the review.

Michelina’s Lean Gourmet

Macaroni & Cheese

I realize the convenience factor is small here, as it’s not so difficult to whip up a box of mac and cheese and stuff it in Tupperware. However, when I was a kid and less familiar with the stove, this was definitely a freezer favorite. I don’t find any of the more expensive frozen mac and cheese dinners to be at all superior to my taste buds, so if I felt a desire to pack myself a plate for lunch, I bought this. The serving is definitely way small, but it’s only 270 calories.

I don’t remember most of the other meals listed on the Lean Gourmet home page — Albertson’s fails me again. Some look promising, such as this Vegetable Rice Pilaf that looks chock-full of colorful veggies, if the picture is to be believed.

Favorite Frozen Meals: Smart Ones

Visit Pennies & Pounds for a revised and updated version of this Smart Ones article, along with more posts on weight loss and healthy eating on a budget!

Weight Watchers endorses a lot of foods in the grocery store, both from its own branded lines and other producers. You can now find Weight Watchers cheeses and snack cakes along with the older Smart Ones frozen products, and Progresso recently introduced a line of Weight Watchers-endorsed light soups.

However, buying the food does not buy you the weight-loss support. I wonder how much they promote all these branded foods at those meetings?

I haven’t tried a lot of the Smart Ones frozen meals. My Albertson’s didn’t carry all that many in the freezer case, so I’m afraid I might have missed out on the tastier selections. Here is what I did try and enjoy.

Weight Watchers Smart Ones

Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans

This rice and beans plate is kind of like enchiladas deconstructed. A pile of mostly rice is doused in a light but creamy sauce and sprinkled with cheese. The sauce is kind of odd — I couldn’t quite figure out what it was made of — but it tasted satisfyingly rich. A good choice, though as always small. It’ll cost you 310 calories, also known as six Weight Watchers points, if you’re counting. There’s a good four grams of fiber, too, as a bonus!

Like I said, though, I never sampled most of this line. I remember a few others, but they were merely satisfactory (or bad). I do hope the new line of Weight Watchers cheeses catches on, though. It can be hard to find reduced-fat shredded cheeses, especially in the Mexican blend (my preference for sprinkling).