Frozen Fare

Alas, the sedentary workday of an administrative assistant affords few opportunities for exercise. Nor does the lowly salary afford much room in the budget to purchase bigger pants. Therfore, I've begun exploring the low-calorie realm of prepackaged frozen lunches. Fortunately, the frozen foods industry has made great strides since the days of salisbury steak and potatoes with mystery gravy. A quick trip down your local grocer's frozen entree aisle will reveal a wide variety of palatable, reasonably-priced options, many containing only 200-350 calories. Throw in a diet coke and you've got yourself a bona fide low-cal lunch in less than five minutes! (Which means more time to check your email, read your favorite online news magazine, or find out what Paris and TomKat have been up to today.)

_The_Analyst's Frozen Food Tips and Tricks:
My current favorite frozen entree brand is SmartOnes by Weight Watchers, which seems to feature a wider variety of flavors and ingredients than other brands. I particularly enjoyed the Chicken Enchiladas Suiza (or something like that), which were quite tasty and came in a suprisingly rich sauce, although they were a bit soggy.
Proceed with caution when purchasing pasta dishes. While the box-top photo will depict mountains of heavenly al dente noodles covered in a rich creamy sauce, we all know better than that. Don't be fooled. The box will contain approximately ten noodles and a small puddle of sauce. If you can handle that, go for it.
Steer clear of the mashed potatoes. The texture comes out all wrong and they tend to dry out around the edges. Mashed potatoes should be savored, not chewed. Try the rice dishes, instead. They tend to be the most filling, and the texture is quite normal.

This Week's Menu:
South Beach Diet Supreme Pizza, 340 calories--To my knowledge, the frozen foods industry still has not mastered the art of microwaveable pizza. I think it may be time to let go of the silver "crisping-tray" technology (you know, the silver piece of paper glued to the inside of the box that's supposed to keep your pizza from getting soggy?) and attack the problem from a different angle. The verdict: Although I've never met a pizza or french fry I didn't like, I was a bit underwhelmed. The flavor was so-so and the crust a bit chewy.

SmartOnes Lasagna Bolognese, 270 calories--According to the box: "Curly, bite-sized lasagna ribbons in a rich Bolognese-meat sauce with mozzarella." In reality, 10 noodles and a small puddle of sauce. The flavor was not bad at all, but I needed more sauce to cover all my noodles.

SmartOnes Spicy Szechuan Style Vegetables & Chicken, 240 calories--My Chinese co-worker smelled the tangy szechuan sauce from all the way in the kitchen and immediately recognized it--how's that for authentic? The lo mein noodles survived the freezing and thawing process nicely and the sauce adequately covered the noodles and chicken. Pretty good.

SmartOnes Lemon Herb Chicken Piccata, 230 calories--According to the box: "Grilled white meat chicken in a tangy lemon sauce with rice & spring vegetables." If "spring vegetables" is code for "green bean slivers," then the description on the box is pretty accurate. A bit bland, but filling.

SmartOnes Teriyaki Chicken & Vegetable Bowl, 270 calories--According to the box: "Grilled White Meat chicken and Asian-style vegetables in a sweet & spicy teriyaki sauce over white rice." My favorite of the week. A filling portion of rice and veggies, good texture, and decent flavor. Not bad at all.


Share your reviews of workday fare here.