Ok, so it's been a while since I reviewed my favs (and least favorite) packaged dinners. This time I am reviewing Lean Cuisines and letting you know what I think of them all.
Now I have come to the conclusion that Lean Cuisine is slowly starting to win out over Smart Ones in my book of tasty "tv dinners." Since they started the Delicious Rewards program (you get points if you enter codes from inside the boxes to get free stuff) I've been buying them slightly more than Smart Ones and even snagged 2 free lunch boxes and a magazine subscription from it!
So Lean Cuisine has 4 major variations or collection: Culinary, Spa, Market, and Simple Favorites. I've tried a lot, but mostly from the Culinary or Simple Favorites collections.
I've been having a bunch lately, as they were on sale. I love trying new low weight watchers points plus dinners! Makes dinner at working night shift a little better. :D
Anyways, here we go.
Favorites:
Thai-style noodles with Chicken: I actually just tried this today and it was quite good. Smart Ones has a similar one, however recently their recipe seemed to change so I thought I'd give the Lean Cuisine version a try. Quite yummy I must say. Not too spicy, but a good flavor and good amount of vegetables to noodle/chicken ratio.
Beef Pot Roast: Now I adore the beef pot roast from Smart Ones because it is only 4 points plus. This one is just as good (and better because it has less onions- which I hate, and more sauce) however it is 5 points plus.
Chicken Makhani: I tried this for the first time a few days ago, and I enjoyed it a lot! (Thanks to my hubs for picking it up and forcing me to try something new). I'm not always a big India cuisine fan, but this was quite yummy! I loved the sauce flavor. (And I knocked off 30 sec. from the heat time, just in case, and I'm glad I did...any more would of baked the chicken too long).
Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce: ok, so this is my all-time FAVORITE Lean Cuisine ever. Not sure why, but it might have to do with the fact that it is a cream sauce and has tortellini (my fav). I love the flavor on this one, and it has an unusual but good mix of rare vegetables.
Chile Lime Chicken: another fav. It has a kick to it that most packaged dinners don't have, which I like.
Glazed Chicken: This one I get a lot. I like it AND it almost always is available at my local Bottom Dollar store- which makes a difference, so I don't have to go to the Giant all the time. I tend to mix it all up for a better overall sauce flavor, and I tend to knock off 1/2 minute to 1 minute (depending on home or work microwave) from the cook time, as the glaze tends to harden and then doesn't work or taste well.
Tortilla Crusted Fish: Another spicy one. And fish too! I'm not normally into fish, but one time I gave this a chance, and I'm glad I had (co-worker recommended this one). Once again, I tend to knock off 1/2 minute from cook time on this, so the fish's crust doesn't get rock hard.
Asian-Style Pot Stickers: I really like this one- just the right kick- though I do tend to mix up the dipping sauce over my rice to make a great overall flavor. Love the pot stickers! The dipping sauce is a little sweet by itself, but mixed up, it's great!
Least Favorites:
Ranchero Braised Beef: Horrible. The beef was icky and the sweet potatoes...if you can call them that...ick!
Salsbury Steak with Mac & Cheese: eh. Not that good, in general.
Cheese Ravioli: Bland, boring, too small. You name it, this has it wrong with it.
Chicken Fettuccini: Bland, and boring. I had to put so much pepper on it to have any flavor and it still didn't fix this. The plain old fettuccini is the same situation!
Lasagna with Meat sauce: too small for the points. Crunchy on the edges- so very little not actually ruined, I was so hungry afterwards! ugh. Normal lasagna, same deal.
In Between:
Baked Chicken (with stuffing and mashed potatoes): It was alright. I'm not a huge stuffing fan though. Nothing to write home about.
Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes: It is a comfort food, but it isn't anything fabulous. But it is a good alternative if you really want mashed potatoes.
Cheese Pizza: So I do like these personal pizzas- the 4 cheese is my fav, followed by pepperoni...however, so not as filling as I hope for the points. ;(
Garlic Chicken Spring Rolls: These are great. Only downfall- you'll want to eat the entire box, not half (which is a serving- 3 rolls). ;( They have a great flavor to them, though I'm sure they'd taste best with some sort of dipping sauce.
Chicken Enchilada: It's not horrible, but not awesome either. Having to stop halfways through to 'spread' the sauce is a pain, and the timing on it is a little off- your enchilada gets crunchy if you don't COVER it in the sauce. However the sauce has a good kick, just a pain to deal with.
Mac & Cheese: It's a comfort food, however a kinda bland one. I pack on the pepper for this (or mix in some A1 sauce- long story short: I love mac & cheese with A1 sauce mixed in- started when I was a kid). Either mixed in makes it bearable. Sometimes you just want mac & cheese.
Swedish Meatballs: It's ok. That's really all I can say about it. I'll eat it, but nothing special.
Santa Fe-style rice and beans: Not bad. Similar to that of Smart One's version. I mix it all up, unlike some people, but I will eat it when I want a spicy rice and bean meal.
I'm sure there are a few I'm missing that I've tried, but that's them for the most part. I really adore their culinary collection of foods. Their spa collection isn't bad, I just haven't been able to find it at my local supermarkets a lot.
I hope that helps some of my weight-loss buddies out there. And if you don't use the Delicious rewards, send me your codes! NEVER throw out a Lean Cuisine box without putting the code into your rewards or mine! I've been known to go trash bin diving at work for co-workers who throw their boxes away without using the codes. lol
Anyways, Happy losses and *fingers crossed* for continued losses.
-M
