I am health conscious but I do not count calories and I most certainly do not weigh my meal portions! I'll trim large bits of excess fat off my pork chops and chicken wings but I'll never avoid eating them. I prefer full flavoured chips over the fat free alternatives and I've never said no to my stomach when it grumbled at an odd hour.
Lean Cuisine have just released a new range of frozen meals which claim to target specific areas of nutritional concern including protein, fibre, wholegrain and calcium. It is great knowing that so much research and thought has gone into producing these convenient meal kits, but does the taste stack up?
Creamy Chicken Pasta Bake
The creamy chicken pasta bake was my favourite of them all. Promoted to be a good source of calcium, I licked the cream sauce off my spoon ever so freely. There were tender strips of marinated roast chicken, peas, carrots and mushroom tossed in with penne pasta and topped with a breadcrumb and cheese mix. This hearty bake would be well liked by even those who aren't health-conscious.
Creamy chicken pasta bake
Beef Ravioli
I love a good napolitana sauce but found this basil and tomato sauce to be too tangy, too light and well, not quite enough. The pillows of beef ravioli were soft and wholesome but as much as it was meant to be helping me maintain muscle and a lean body mass, I would have preferred something richer.
Beef ravioli
Chicken and Spinach Risotto
Have you ever made a tasty risotto in 5 minutes? With this Lean Cuisine meal, you can. The marinated chicken breast was flavoursome but a little rubbery, and as you can see in the photo below, it was a scrumptious and satisfying meal -an added bonus that it was also an excellent source of wholegrains!
Chicken and spinach risotto
Meatball and Bean Casserole
This meatball and bean casserole tasted better than it looked -trust me. The meatballs were evidently flame-grilled and mixed with red kidney beans and green peas in a creamy tomato sauce. The mashed potato and herb dollops provided enough carbs for me to call it a meal. Overall, a rather delicious source of fibre.
Meatball and bean casserole
Lean Cuisine Everyday Wellbeing range
Available in supermarkets nationwide, RRP $6.29
For more information, visit www.nestle.com.au/leancuisine
Why don't you be the judge? :)
I always worry about the amount of sodium in the meals. How did you find the saltyness?
But, I do love to buy them when on special, tend not to pay more than $4.50, them and the other brands tend to alternate specials at my Woolies!
Hi Jen,
Nice writeup, I tried the Lean Cuisine lasagna the other day and thought it was a little flat similar to what you'd get at a dodgy takeaway shop, which is fine with me as I was expecting something truly awful. I microwaved it, would have been nicer to put it in the oven. Anwyays, I'll try out your recommendations and see they're any better.
p.s. congrats on the book!
~smily
Just as a matter of interest, how much did Nestle pay you to eat their food?
Hi Fiona, I didn't mind the saltiness of these... I'm a bargain hunter too! It's great buying them on sale and stocking them in the freezer for emergencies!
Hi Smily, I had the lasagna a while back, when I did the Lean Cuisine Challenge and agree that it's a little flat. I think it has to do with the portion control, haha. Definitely follow the recommended cooking instructions though. For example, the pasta bake needed to be in the oven for the cheese crumbs to toast. How convenient are these though! Let me know how the others go for you ;)
Hi Geoff, this was not a paid post. Mark Communications and Nestle offered to send me the new range to trial, and these are just my thoughts. I will always disclose if it is a sponsored post.
thanks for the great info i dont have time to read it all now but i will bookmark to return later
Thanks for sharing your taste test and the great pics. I'm wanting to stock up on some of these calorie controlled frozen meals to help with weight loss so this info is really useful. Thanks:D