Progresso 50% Less Sodium Minestrone-- I've told y'all that I grew up eating authentic Italian food. My family's from Italy, and we'd eat all sorts of things like minestrone all the time (don't even get me started with the Olive Garden version of Pasta e Fagioli or Minestrone... that's just wrong). Again, don't want to slave away for hours putting my own minestrone together, so I bought this one. And I was pleasantly surprised. The tomato-based broth was not water as I expected it to be, and there was plenty of extras-- kidney beans, pasta, carrots, string beans, and potatoes. Progresso never skimped on this one. I'd try it if I was you! I believe one serving (half the can) was about 190 calories.
Smart Ones Chicken Enchilada Suiza-- Even though the picture is blurry, you can imagine my surprise when I saw the appetizing picture of two chicken enchiladas and rice for only 5 WW points (about 310 calories). Imagine my further surprise when I opened the box at my office to find two enchiladas about the size of my two fingers put together. That's what I was going to eat? It wasn't all that bad after I warmed it up. The enchiladas (and the cheesy sauce that goes along with it) were pretty spicy and you could actually see the chilis in it. If you can get past that initial surprise of REALLY? THAT SMALL??, it's actually not bad. I'll be buying this again.
Smart Ones Orange Sesame Chicken-- If you know me, you know how much I looove Chinese food, especially sesame chicken. While I was browsing the Smart Ones selection at my local Kroger last Sunday, I saw this and almost cheered. Talk about false hope. For 320 calories, I was really disappointed in the taste. It was overbearingly orange-y. I thought there would be a hint of orange. Plus the sauce was so thick, I found it kind of revolting. I probably won't be buying this one again.
Smart Ones Morning Express Canadian Style Bacon English Muffin Sandwich-- Mmmm.... I love me some McDonald's Egg McMuffins. I also love me some breakfast for dinner (c'mon, you know you do too!). When I saw this, I thought I was getting an awesome two for one deal. Eh. Again, not all that impressed. It was teeny tiny, and for another 90 calories, I could have the real thing (as a treat of course, not every day!). Another thing that I probably won't be purchasing again.
Smart Ones Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas-- These things rock!!! Sure, they're not as greasy as the ones you enjoy at Chili's (mmm... and I do love those) and they have that weird kind of cheese in there, but they deliver what they promise... yummy, low calorie quesadillas. You need to remember that there are TWO servings in each package (so each quesadilla is one serving), but you can pair this up with a salad or some carrots for a good lunch.Um... wow. I've been eating a lot of frozen/prepared meals over the past month! Scary. I guess that's what happens when you get burned out on PB&J sandwiches. Amy's of course has been my standby-- love her burritos and her Garden Veggie Lasagna. What are your frozen/canned standbys?
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We *discovered* The Olive Garden in Redding the day we left .... had our last lunch there. Didn't realise it was a chain until reading Blogs. I think it is my favourite chain restaurant of all those we went to ... Also Panerra but too many naughty temptations there for me. TWJ's fave has to be Applebees. I make no comment!
Oh, don't tell me how horrible OG's minestrone is because I love, love, LOVE it. *sigh* (Of course, I never claimed it was "authentic Italian" either!)
Anyway, my favorite frozen meal is LC's Margherita Pizza or Deluxe French Bread Pizza. The meat lasagna by LC is also pretty good. The deluxe potatoes w/ brocoli and cheese is also quite tasty.
A confession: when I was in college and lived about 4 hours away from home, my mom used to make my favorite dishes and freeze them into individual serving-sized frozen packages. I know, spoiled. However, it did teach me that a good way to eat home cooking when I didn't feel like cooking at home was to make a big pot of soup (or chicken and rice, or whatever) and then freeze it in ziplocs. That way you also know how much you are getting, and you get to indulge your cooking urge for a big pot of whatever when the mood strikes.
It's funny to even write this, as I no longer cook, with that man I moved in with doing all of it now.
I totally love breakfast for dinner! LOL. I know what you mean ahout burnout. I used to eat Michelina's Lean almost every day and got really sick of them. So now I usually take leftovers or make a sandwich or soup for lunch.
I like to have lots of fruits, vegetables and some type of protein snacky item (like string cheese or yogurt) with my lunch so that I am getting lots of variety without lots of calories. That way if my main item is small, I can still feel full.
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