Friday Lunch . . .

Ok, so after yesterday's fiasco I am back on the straight and narrow with the LCs.  It's Friday before the week of the 4th and honestly, I think I am the only person in my department here right now.  I didn't even have to wait on anyone to use the microwave.

Today we have Lemon Pepper Fish.  First admission:  I never ever buy any of the frozen fish entrees.  Other than frozen fish sticks or like a Hungry Man Fish and Chips meal, there is something about frozen fish that freaks me out.  Can't really tell you what it is but any fish that is trying to be legitimate fish in a frozen entree just seems impossible and doomed for failure.  Therefore, I avoid it.  What I'm saying is I am really branching out here people.

As you see there in my bad photo, the fish fillet is breaded and comes with some rice with broccoli.  Predictably the breading on the fish came out soggy.  We don't seem to have any crisping technology at work here with this entree.  The rice is kind of creamy giving it a risotto quality.  I can't say it was cheesy b/c it didn't taste like it.  not sure what contributed to the creaminess of the rice.  It was not bad.  Whole meal needed some salt.  I eat these as is when I review them (with the exception of the cheese I added to the sick day burrito)--and generally.  Mostly b/c I don't have condiments at work in my desk drawer and even if I did I would forget about it and not use them anyway.  So, you know, I ate it.  It was ok.  Nothing to write home about.  It wasn't offensive.  Just really bland for the most part.  I am tasting a little dill in the rice which sort of makes me feel like the rice got a splash of pickle juice when it was getting made. Fish is/was peppery.  Had a lemon flavor that was reminiscent of that lemon extract you cook with.  Faintly Pledge-y as well.  It was light though so not super noticeable overall.  Again, some salt would have been nice.  On the other hand the meal only has 290 calories and a nice helping of rice which is usually pretty filling.  The package says 8g of fat though and I'm not sure where that is coming from.  That seems high to me for fish and rice, no?

As for the actual fish, it was a nice texture and consistency and had good flavor.  Not super fishy, but also not completely tasteless either.

On the ratings, I have to say I am on the fence.  I ate the whole meal, it was fine.  Not bad, not good.  Just kind of something to eat to have lunch and not die of starvation at my desk.  Because it wasn't offensively bad I am tempted to give it a two- b/c I would eat it again if I had to.  But then I would also like to give it a 1 out of 5 microwaves b/c it was so totally bland.  I may have just answered my own question there.  I'll give the Lemon Pepper Fish a 2 out of 5 microwaves.  I would eat it again if the store was out of all other alternatives.  How's that?  Or if I did have it again I will for sure use salt.

I'm going with NOT recommended.  I'm thinking you have to have at least a 3 to be recommended or what would be the point?

more pics:

 Incidentally, as soon as I figured out how to get the photos the right orientation I started using that Google + app nonsense to upload photos, and it doesn't rotate your pictures for you.  Have to go back to square 1 to figure that out again.

Next week will likely be hit or miss on the LC reviews.  The 4th is in the middle of the week.  I won't be eating one that day.  Chances are I'll do Mon. Tues. and possibly Thursday.  If I have a dog it will be a Hebrew National low fat all beef.  Super tasty and they only have 60 calories per dog.  Who can argue with that?  No one.  That's who.

Happy weekend.  Hasta luego . ..

Update

So yesterday was a repeat of Southwest Chicken Spring rolls.  Today I'm not even going to talk about what I had for lunch.  It was really bad (from a nutrition standpoint. from a just food standpoint it was just ok.  nothing special), and if I don't talk about it then it never happened.

I will leave you with this, and then we won't discuss it again.  Ever.

o.m.g  so so bad.

Will reboot and start over tomorrow.

Something extra

Thought I would write a little on the ratings. Scale is out of 5 microwaves. A 4 means I could prob eat it everyday. 5 means I definitely would eat it everyday. 1 I would never eat it again; 2 I would eat it again if I had to but would prefer something else. A 3 means its in the rotation.

Last night for dinner I had Lean Cuisine Thai Chicken Spring Rolls. One serving = 200 calories. I ate them before I remembered to take a photo but they look just like the Southwest chicken rolls.

I have to admit I love these. Good flavor that's actually pretty authentic based on spring rolls I have had at various Thai places. That is assuming spring rolls are even "authentic" Thai cuisine.

This is a 5 out of 5 for me. It's a newer item I only recently discovered but I was instantly hooked on them the first time it tried them. Really love these. Again, it's a snack so the portion might be too small for a meal for some. Add a nice little side salad and it's a good meal. Muy delicioso.

Recommended

Sick Day

Home sick with a wicked cold today so no Lean Cuisine. I have some in the freezer but didn't feel like one. I'm breaking out again today with Amy's Organic.

Lunch today is an Amy's bean and rice burrito with cheddar cheese. Calories = 310. Amy's makes a light version too that aren't as easy to find at the store.

Bean flavor is good as is the texture. The only issue I've ever had with these is microwaving them. I keep them in the wrapper and vent the end to keep them moist otherwise once the burrito hits air it's like cutting concrete. Mostly this just happens on the ends where the tortilla is folded up. Today my burrito was perfect. No concrete. I did top it with extra cheddar. Even though I usually get the one that comes with cheddar I can't really taste it. The cheese adds about another 100 calories. Generally I skip it and use salsa instead. But since I'm sick today I thought cheese was in order.

Rating: 4 out of 5 microwaves. Recommended.

Got my Gatorade. Going back to bed now.

6/29 Ed note: I neglected to mention that these are refried bean burritos, not black beans, which in my opinion are not real burritos at all.

A Big Fat Hot Dog

The whole point of my eating the Lean Cuisine's is to have a healthy lunch and not some big calorie explosion everyday.  Today's lunch was unfortunately that calorie explosion.  We took a trip to Happy Fatz in The Heights for some of the biggest hot dogs I have ever seen.  

My lunch mates each had The Clucker; a dog topped with onion, hash browns and a runny fried egg.

One had chips as his side and the other chose coleslaw.  Anyway, how crazy does that dog look?  Dogs are quarter pound Hebrew National beef franks (which are awesome tastewise always so hat tip to that), buns were buttery and toasted crisp on each side.  You can't really tell how big the dog is in the photo, but its impossible to pick it up to eat.  You have to use a fork and knife.  The complaint from the dudes on this dog was that it was good, but the egg isn't cooked with a runny enough middle.  Ideally you would be able to prick the yolk and have it run all over the hashbrowns and soak into the bun a little bit, but it was too well done for that.  The top of the yolk was runny but then underneath it was cooked through so they lost the benefit of all the runny yolk.  For one of my co-workers who is a fried egg affcianado, he complains generally that he has not yet found a place in Houston that can do a good soft poached egg or sunny side up runny.  However, both said it was better than the last time they were there and really good.

I had the Baron Von Rachit -- hot dog with sauerkraut, spicy mustard and a pretzel bun topped with little pretzel nuggets.  Awww, how cute!

I loves me some kraut dogs so when trying a new hot dog place this is usually my go to if offered.  If not, then I do a dog with bright yellow French's mustard only.  And I am embarrassed to say I ate almost this whole thing.  Maybe 2/3.  I was starving after the Fit Muffin fiasco from this morning (see earlier post).  Overall dog was good, but it could have been much better.  Spicy mustard was standard out of the bottle.  Homemade would have been awesome.  Maybe some spicy honey?  The pretzel bun was nice but a little heavy in this combo.  That is one dense and heavy bun my friends.  I would like to take a  moment to rave about the sauerkraut.  Happy Fatz puts it in some kind of reduction and the end result is a nicely chopped and very tender and flavorful traditional kraut.  The reason I say this dog could have been better is b/c it needed more of a homemade touch.  The kraut was a good start but maybe do an apple cider vinegar reduction or like I said, make some kooky spicy mustard to go with.  On the bun, while I like the idea of the pretzel bun, I think what I would have preferred to eat would have been something lighter that was buttery and toasted.  A crispy bun that melts in your mouth would have been so nice with the sauerkraut.  Despite the standardness of the final product I was happy with it and it was mighty tasty.  One reason I get kraut dogs is b/c they are hard to screw up even if the kraut is bad.  A beer actually would have been great with this hot dog too.  Alas, Happy Fatz doesn't sell beer.  boooo. 

Coleslaw was a nice helping with a sweet vinegar based sauce.  I'm also a big coleslaw fan.  I appreciate a good slaw with some flavor vs just cabbage in mayo that you get at so many places.

For dessert I got a slice of red velvet cake to go.  On the one hand I don't really consider myself a fan of red velvet, but then when I see it I feel compelled to try it.  Happy Fatz red velvet was moist and very good as cake, but not so much as red velvet.  My understanding has always been that red velvet is a version of chocolate cake, and this one was not chocolatey at all.  It was a nice flavor though.  Just kind of sweet. I'm not even sure I would call it vanilla, but it's yummy.  Now the frosting I really liked.  Very light with good vanilla flavor.  NOT cream cheese frosting so yay for that.  I think cream cheese frosting is over used so I was perfectly happy to have a nice vanilla frosting.

I think this was prob an 800 calorie lunch which means I have to run tonight or go swim some laps and eat air and water for dinner.

Ratings:
Baron Von Rachit hot dog:  3 1/2 out of 5 microwaves.  I think the bun held it back from a 4.
Red Velvet cake: 3 out of 5 microwaves.
Calories = a billion.

BOTH RECOMMENDED

Now, I don't eat LCs on the weekends so look for me again Monday.  I have to go food shopping this weekend.  I'll try to get a variety of my favorite Lean Cuisine's plus some new ones I have not tried yet.

Have a great weekend!

Ed. note:  I did a rough calorie calculation and my dog was about 530 calories and the cake was about 350.  yikes!! 

Friday Breakfast Edition

So on Fridays I typically treat myself to a better breakfast than I have the rest of the week.  Usually it's a breakfast taco from the deli downstairs.  Today it is a Perfect Fit brand Perfect Fit Muffin.  It's a breakfast sandwich on an English muffin, not a pastry muffin.

The sandwich is pretty plain.  Egg white on a whole grain English muffin with turkey sausage.  The end.  You get a little thing of salsa on the side but no cheese. I'm a fan of the Egg McMuffin so I would prefer if there was cheese involved.  The sandwich is 200 calories which is about 150 less than an Egg McMuffin.  I have had about 4 bites and I am not loving it.  The egg and muffin are good but once I hit the turkey sausage it started going downhill.  The turkey sausage patty is pretty dry and doesn't taste like meat.  It's just hot and spicy, and I don't like spice just for the sake of spice when there is zero flavor.  You have to give me something.  

My mouth is actually on fire right now from that last bite.  I added some of the salsa (I guess it's really picante if you want to be technical), and it doesn't do much.  Adds a vague tomato flavor that is not unpleasant but it doesn't do anything to fix the turkey sausage issue.  In fact, I think I'm bailing on the sausage and taking it off.  I don't know, I think low fat cheese and low fat Canadian bacon would have been a better deal. or even a piece of turkey in lieu of bacon.  Whatever alterations you could make anything would be better than this turkey sausage.  This is a serious sausage FAIL.  

Am I still eating the rest of this though?  Yes, I am.  I have an uncanny ability to eat food I don't like.  It's like some crazy survival instinct.  This obviously goes back to growing up with a mother who was only a so-so cook most of the time.  No offense mom (in her defense, I don't think her mom cooked much.  Mom's chili is still my favorite and she always made bitchin' pancakes Sat. mornings).  Very few instances in my history where I have just stopped eating something b/c I didn't like it.  In fact I can only think of two as I sit here.  But I digress. . . To the ratings:

Overall I give the Perfect Fit Muffin 1 microwave (I decided I am going with that over stars) as sold.  Without the sausage it rises to a 2 1/2.  With the addition of fat free cheese I think it has real potential, but then that is also just an entirely different sandwich.  Basically what I am saying is that anything is better than this muffin with the turkey sausage on it.  Calories are low enough that if I go eat something else now I won't blow the rest of my day and have to eat crackers for lunch.  Some version of eggs with bread is always filling so at least there is that.  NOT RECOMMENDED.

I forgot to bring lunch today so I'm either going out or eating the second serving of fajita eggrolls from the other day.  Oooh the suspense!

back in a while crocodiles . . .

What's cookin for Thursday . . .

So here I am having another thrilling meal at my desk.  I tend to eat later than everyone else so right now my coworkers are off having post lunch popcorn at an employee appreciation thing.  Since I'm eating late I'm eating and writing this simultaneously.  At least I can't get food on it though, which I can't say for all the papers on my desk.

Today's entree is LC Ginger Garlic Stir Fry and Chicken, 290 calories.  This is one of my favorites (yes I do have favorites, really).  The meal is brown rice with carrots, red pepper, and snap peas with bite size chunks of white meat chicken in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce.  technically LC says the meal is "whole grain" rice but I think that is just trying to trick people who don't want to eat brown rice.  I like the texture and taste of this rice better than some of the meals with white rice.  It has a little nuttier flavor just barely distinguishable under the ginger sauce.  The red peppers are good for color but personally I am not a fan of red bell peppers so I could do without these.  Carrots and snap peas have a little crunch to them and the chicken seems to be actually taken from a larger whole piece of chicken vs being created out of chicken scraps molded together.  Good chicken flavor that does not taste fake too.  One reason I like this meal is b/c it tastes fresh to me.  It has a fair amount of snap peas and carrots.  Yikes, I forgot the broccoli, how did that happen?  Likely b/c there is so little its almost not even worth mentioning.  And I literally mean "a little" as in 2 pieces.  For 2 pieces why even bother?   You really don't do much better with the chicken if we're being honest.  I had maybe 5 bites of chicken.  This meal could stand to have more chicken, but overall its not too bad.  It's filling and for the calories you can't really complain.  Plus I guess it is a frozen meal I paid $2.50 for so all things considered 5 pieces of white meat chicken that are real and not created from bone shavings and glue is prob. not too shabby.

I'm going to go with 4 out of 5 stars (i need to come up with a better rating thing-- forks maybe or microwaves?) for taste, appearance and texture and give it a Recommended.  You can legitimately taste the ginger in the sauce though so if you don't like ginger I'd stay away from this one. Also if you are super hungry then get something to go with it or eat one of the dinner portions meals.

And lest we forget, here are the photos:

Let's have a round of applause for Ginger Stir Fry today!  And remember, if you use a communal microwave to clean up after yourself for goodness sake!  No one wants to see your lunch baked onto the turntable.  Have some manners people.

Ciao!

Already off the wagon . . .

Yeah, so Day Two of this venture and I went out to lunch.  Doesn't happen often but it does happen people.  I left the LC in the work fridge for another day and ventured into the Houston tunnel network for Doozo dumplings.

What I got: 5 pork dumplings with mild sauce.  When ordering you have to shout out if you want 5 or 10 dumplings, the meat--pork, chicken or veggie (which I guess is a filling and not a meat) and the spice level of your sauce.  2 seconds later it is in your hands and you are handing over cash and out the door.

Dumplings are good, the dough was not too thick which is a big dumpling pet peeve of mine.  Right amount of filling, good flavor and good consistency.  Meat was minced up real nicely and had spinach added in for color.  What makes dumplings, aside from the dough being just right, is the sauce.  One of my frequent lunch companions seconded this opinion so I'm not alone here.  Sauce was vinegar-y but sweet.  could have used a tad more ginger but overall it was a nice compliment to the pork filling I chose.  A serving of 5 was filling enough that I was able to pass up the temptation of grabbing a cookie from Great American Cookie Co on the way back.   The dumplings only come steamed, no fried option.  That was ok for me but if you prefer fried then you are SOL.

I'm going to guess my meal was around 200-250 calories based on a google search of "dumpling calories" so I could have actually had a cookie too.  My counterparts both got 10 dumplings which would put them at 400-450 also not bad b/c that is a huge portion.

Definitely will go again and recommend it!

I did actually get 5 dumplings.  I ate one before I remembered to take the photo.

Later!

what's it all about?

What is this blog?  It's about me and what I eat for lunch.  Namely, frozen Lean Cuisine meals at my desk.   So technically, I guess you could say this is a food blog.  But, because I don't go out to lunch often the food I plan to post about will just be somewhat health conscious frozen or prepared meals.  Who wouldn't want to read about that!?

A little about me.  I am a full time professional who sits in an office in downtown Houston from about 8-5.  At home I have a great husband and three kids (also great).  I do a little jogging and I do some Pilates.  I run up and down stairs chasing after my two oldest.  It's all pretty typical.  The youngest of my kids is 10 weeks old so my other motive for all the Lean Cuisine is to help get the rest of the baby weight off.  

Do I really eat Lean Cuisine?  Yes.  I've been eating these for lunch since 2002-- no lie.  Up to this point I have refused to even try another brand, but I suppose if I'm going to do this it's only fair I work in another brand from time to time.  As an added bonus I'll also include random thoughts from time to time just b/c I can!  One other thing to note.  I only do the most perfunctory proofing so expect typos and poor grammar.  What I'm thinking is what I'm typing. Lucky you!  With that, I'll move on to what I'm eating for lunch today.

Lean Cuisine Fajita Style Spring Rolls.
Serving size = 3 rolls; 200 calories.

Think of these as similar to Chili's southwest eggrolls.  Only I like these better.  Not as spicy and not as heavy, but still just enough grease to make you happy.   You microwave the rolls in a little cardboard contraption that LC has come up with to crisp stuff up.  Works pretty well.  They use it with their pizzas and paninis too.  The rolls come out with, shall we say an essence of crispness but it's not like getting a spring roll right out of the deep fry.  That said, they are not soggy either so it works.

  What the rolls look like on the box

 

and what they look like in person (yes, my dishes are mostly paper towels although I do have a real set of silverware permanently borrowed from a local hotel.)

Maybe they look a little scary but the flavor is good, texture is good, and I personally like the calorie count.  I eat these as lunch even though it's intended as a snack.   Overall I recommend them and give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.  I've included the nutritional info at the end of this post.  If you know how to get my photos rotated so they aren't sideways leave me a comment!  My photo file is right side up so not sure what happened here.  

c'est tout, a bientot!

Lean Cuisine Fajita Style Spring Rolls

Recommended

 

7/23/12 Ed note: I should also mention I am in no way affiliated with Lean Cuisine or it's owners. I honestly just eat them a lot. You know what they say, "write about what you know."