Thursday, March 5, 2009

Awkward food reviews: Weight Watchers Smart Ones

Subtitle: Weight Watchers Wednesday on Thursday, Part One.




Now, most of y'all know that I've been doing Weight Watchers since the beginning of January. Since that time, I have primarily been eating SmartOnes frozen meals for lunch every day at work. I've never been one for frozen meals, but some of these...I find downright tasty. And, more importantly, they help me stick to my daily points without thinking too much about it. While I haven't by any means tried all of the meal options, I have tried quite a few, and have some set favorites in place. Whether you're doing WW yourself or just want a good, healthy lunch/dinner option...here are some of my faves!

Broccoli and Cheddar Roasted Potatoes

So, this was the meal that sat in my freezer for forever, as I picked it up in the morning, looked at the contents (just broccoli? and potatoes??), and carefully placed it back in the freezer in lieu of something more tasty. I also continously wondered why I had even bought this one in the first place (oh yeah, it was on sale for $2 at Target!). Lisa kept saying..."you should try it, I bet it's good. I love potatoes!" Finally, on Monday, I gave it a shot. People, this is TASTY! The broccoli is actually relatively crisp and not all...you know, frozen-broccoli-like. The potatoes are good, and there is a really light non-nacho-cheesey cheddar sauce (I know that most of the world's population loves nacho cheese, but I find it totally disgusting).

Fiesta Quesadilla
This is a really great "anytime" meal - sometimes, if I've had a light-in-points day, I'll eat one of these quesadillas when I get home from work. It is vegetarian - only black beans, cheese, and a bit of pico. I like to heat it up in the microwave (in it's special little crisping sleeve) and then top it off with some Newman's Own chunky salsa (0 points!). It is surprisingly tasty! I highly recommend.
Cranberry Turkey Medallions
I originally picked this meal up because it sounded like Thanksgiving dinner. And who doesn't love Thanksgiving dinner? Granted, I knew that it would likely taste a little less home-made, but...I decided to give it a shot. The result: tasty! The cranberry sauce lacks that rich consistency that homemade sauce has, and it tastes a little watered-down. However, the turkey itself tastes great, and the veggies and stuffing are pretty darn good. I like to mush it all around after I take it out of the microwave, so the cranberry sauce covers the veggies, too. Otherwise, they are a little bland.
Thai Style Chicken and Rice Noodles
Not sure why this photo came out all giant. But I guess it gives you a better look at the goods...? This was another meal that sat at the bottom of my freezer for awhile...not sure why. I usually LOVE Asian-inspired meals, but it took awhile for me to feel this one. When I finally did...wow! I was really surprised at how tasty it was. There was a definite Pad Thai vibe going on, and I was really surprised at how tasty the chicken was. Yummy! I definitely picked up some more of this the other day.
Sante Fe Style Rice and Beans
Clearly, I saved the best for last. I still CANNOT GET OVER how tasty this meal is! The only reason I ever bought it in the first place is because the photo on the front was very reminiscent of one of my very favorite meals from our Costa Rican honeymoon. Obviously, it doesn't taste that good (and lacks the caramelized plantains) BUT...wow. This is THE BEST frozen meal I have ever had, people! And yeah, it's just rice and beans and some corn and other various undetermined veggies. But - the sauce, ladies. It's a sour cream sauce with cheddar cheese, and it is DELISH. There is a sweetness to it as well, and it is just too tasty. Lately I've been thinking of heating up two boxes and using them as a sidedish to a mexican meal...
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Sundae
This is a great WW dessert - definitely my favorite. I also got the brownie one, and it left quite a bit to be desired. From now on...I'm a cookie dough sundae type of girl! There are two servings in each box - double the fun! Not surprisingly, it doesn't look anything like the photo above. But: there is vanilla ice cream on top of a chocolate chip cookie (very soft, not at all hard and crunchy) covered in little bites of chocolate chip cookie dough! This is really tasty, ladies. If you want to indulge and/or have a chocolate craving, go for it.

Well, there you have it. Blogger was being kind of crazy, so I apologize for some of the layout issues. If you have any more Smart Ones questions, send them my way!


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agreed to all of your reviews! And the chocolate chip cookie sundae is my favorite in the whole entire world!

I just need to find a low point salty snack that works well! LOL WW has most of the other bases covered for me! :)

Meagan said...

You must have been looking in my freezer....because most of your favorites are in there! I have yet to try the fruit inspiration dinners, but I'll have to do that soon.

I'll let you in on a few of my
WW secrets. My favorite meal is the Turkey and Gravy with Mashed potatoes Smart Ones. My secret topping for all of the meals is Spray butter!! If you use it in moderation and don't dump the whole bottle on your meal, it doesn't count as any points!

Finally, I buy the Wal-Mart brand of Honey Combs. They are a cheap, crunchy, sweet treat that is only 1 point a serving. The reason I like these and not the real Honey Combs is because they have a larger serving size and less bad stuff! So you get a great snack with not a lot of points!

katie said...

mmmm, these do sound yummy!

bianca said...

I swear by "Smart Ones". The baked ziti one is my favorite. I've always wanted to try the desserts, but I was afraid that they wouldn't taste good and that I would have wasted calories. But now I'm totally going to try them!!!

jenn said...

i'm usually a lean cuisine girl myself. i might have to try some of these!!

Lucky in Love said...

I eat only Lean Cuisines...but I do love the Smart Ones desserts :)

Casey (@ Chaos and Cardboard) said...

Oh man I freaking love the rice and beans! Plus, you can add salsa for no points! My second favorite is the cheese ziti marinara. Also tasty.

Anonymous said...

Yum yum yum! The first two really appeal to me. I have never tried one of these frozen meals before! I hear you on the frozen broccoli. Meh. We have been buying fresh for a few months and just cutting it ourselves because all the frozen stuff was so icky!

Jane said...

the cookie dough sundays are my favorite too! there is always at least one in my freezer.