Frozen Meal Taste Test Results

As promised I have spent part of the last month taste testing frozen meals individual frozen meals.  I started out the month very excited that I would find frozen meals that would make tasty, quick and easy meals. As the month went on, my excitement dwindled and I became less motivated to try the new frozen meals that I had purchased. I think I should have tried this taste testing experiment while I was pregnant . When I was pregnant all food tasted marvelous.

As I taste tested these meals, each brand had its own unique set of directions. I thought to myself maybe I should stick to the same brand of frozen meals so I don’t have to read a new set of directions. I know it is pathetic, a first grader could do this, but I really don’t like directions. Enough about that, on to the results. Please note that I am a novice taste tester so my lingo may not be in line with the official experts.

	Smart Ones Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas.This one came with a neat little browning sleeve. It actually worked – my quesadilla was nice and crunchy. I also liked this one but I don’t think I’d buy it again. Next time I will try the meatless version. The more I taste tested the more I realized the frozen meal meat scared me off but many people really like the meat. Also, the after taste of this meal and some of the meals made me a little nauseous. Most meals had a lot of flavor, maybe a little too much.
	Healthy Choice Café Steamers Sweet Sesame Chicken.It contained chicken, rice, snap peas, carrots, and mushrooms.  It had a lot of snap peas which I liked, but I think it needed more rice.  The overall quality was good but the flavor was too strong.  I would have liked this one better if I would have added less of the sauce.  You add the sauce that comes in the package so this is easily an option.  There was a lot of packaging that came along with this one.  Co-workers commented that there was too much paper and plastic waste.
	Lean Cuisine Lemon Pepper Fish.No offense to fish but I must have been really hungry when I bought this one.  Being from the Midwest fish isn’t something I eat a lot of.  So I’m not sure why I selected a frozen version.  Anyway it actually tasted okay.  The vegetables definitely didn’t look as fresh as on the package picture and the fish breading was too soggy.  The quality of the fish itself was better than expected.
	Amy’s Cheese Enchilada.This was ranked as a top frozen meal by heateatreview.com.  As it cooked in the break room I received comments about how great it smelled.  Actually for all meals (except for the fish meal) co-worker commented how good the food smelled.  Overall, I really liked this one.  Although, I was only able to eat half, two enchiladas came in the package.  It was missing tortilla chips or crunchy vegetables to eat along with it.  When eaten alone it got to be too rich.  This is the only meal I taste tasted this month that I would be willing to buy again.
	Kashi Southwest Style Chicken.The quality of this dish was good and decent eye appeal.  The flavors were good but once again a bit too overpowering.  It may just be me but I think wrapping it up in a tortilla would help balance out the flavors.  Although, not  an individual frozen meal, but I’d like to give kudos to the Kashi Thin Crust Roasted Vegetable Pizza, yummy.

For me a frozen meal is okay once in a while but I wouldn’t do well living on them.  There are a lot of fun and nutritious choices out there.  So go ahead and explore, let me know what you think of the ones you try.