#NotEatingAllTheThings - Week 6. Frozen Crap I've been Eating for Lunch (review)

Previous recaps here, here, here, and here.

I have FINALLY undone the Weekend of Gluttony damage, plus some. So... essentially, I'm back to the lowest weight I can recall before I got super lazy, from back in December.

Loss this week: 2.9lbs. As it turns out, apparently the key to this is watching what you take in, and exercising.

Who knew.

E from Running with Bling commented last week......

It's true, they are NOT great for me, nor are they particularly delicious (most of the time).

Believe me, I'm under no illusions that I am making a healthy choice by picking these things up. However...

1. I have to prioritize where I spend my time, and often, the time that I'm at home, making lunch doesn't necessarily make the cut. These are fast and easy.
2. It's certainly less expensive than eating out daily.
3. I do not think that they will kill me dead if I eat them for one meal a day, a few times a week. The majority of my diet otherwise is fresh, whole foods that we cook at home.

With all that in mind, sometimes - for me - it's a compromise I'm willing to make.

And just in case you ever wondered, "Man, that picture looks pretty good, I wonder if it's as delicious as it photographs!", I present my review of The Frozen Crap I've Been Eating For Lunch, ranked from least delicious, to most.

The Frozen Crap I've Been Eating For Lunch

1. Healthy Choice Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

In fairness, I don't like cooked carrots, nor do I like peas. Obviously, this was a poor purchase on my part, as both are clearly pictured on the packaging (WHY, me?!). The dumplings (well, "dumplings") were rubbery and weird. The chicken was fine. The corn was... corn. The sauce stuff was okay. But since I don't like half of the other stuff, this gets a 2/10 from me. {unfairly rated}

2. Campbell's Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla

I know, not frozen, but still something pre-packaged. Eh. Not delicious, but not AWFUL. Kind of flavorless and watery? Despite have a billion mg's of sodium, really tasted like it could have used some salt. Also, I have a serious salt-tooth, so maybe it's just me. 3/10.

3. Healthy Choice Golden Roasted Turkey Breast with stuffing, green beans, and cherry/blueberry "dessert".

I actually picked this strictly because it was fairly low cal, and it was birthday cake day in the office, so I was eating lean. It was OKAY. It honestly tastes about as great as it looks, but I love stuffing in all forms, so this earns a little bit of an extra point. 4/10.

4. Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Chicken Breast with Pablano Sauce, with barley and corn risotto

I don't remember too much about this, so I am assuming it was not offensive? The sauce was DELICIOUS, but the "risotto" was not so much with the risotto, and more with "some stuff sort of creamed together". 5/10

5. Lean Cuisine Ranchero Braised Beef with chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, this is an AWESOME picture.

 

This was surprisingly good. The beef was... you know. Frozen/Microwaved beef, but the sauce was pretty good. And the sweet potatoes were great. I'd totally buy this again. 7/10

6. Trader Joe's Shepherds Pie

I've had this a few times, and I like it. The potatoes are a little watery, and it's never as filled as the picture pretends it is, but everything in it is pretty tasty. It's packaged as 2 servings at 180 cals each, which I find DUMB, because... hello, it's one tiny bowl. Not shabby for 360 cals, and it actually kept me full for awhile (unlike everything else so far...). 7.5/10

7. Amy's Mexican Casserole Bowl

This was pretty good! I added a ton of hot sauce, and that made it even more delicious. It was not terribly filling, though, so only 7.5/10. Womp.

8. Evol Chipotle Chicken Mac & Cheese

Delicious. Tiny, tiny portion for a LOT of calories (400+, if I'm remembering correctly?). I likely wouldn't buy this again, because I was starving the rest of the day, but it was GOOD. 6/10, only because of the portion size/calorie ratio.