Things I Bought That I Love 001
Posted: November 17th, 2009 | Filed under: Health, TIBTIL | 10 Comments »I hope Mindy Kaling doesn’t sue me.
After spending a productive weekend writing two essays, I thought I’d write about something a little more carefree than Eurocentrism or a child burdened with an inferiority complex. There’s actually been a bit of a Battle of the Sexes, in regards to my blog: The girls want more shopping, the guys want more of the serious business. Well, fortunately or unfortunately, I am not so clever as to pick a specific angle to write my blog from–a logical strategy for success. Instead, my blog will be a variety of pithy little nothings with the occasional depressing (thought provoking?) entry like my last one.
I’ll start with something gender neutral, as the posts that will follow today are going to be a little more related to the gals.
I was actually going to do a post about Fast Dinners a little while back. A lot of us are under stress right now, but we’ve still got to feed ourselves. So, I was going to post these lovely, express meals. I was gonna grab a few recipes from my beloved Nigella Lawson, and take my friend SM’s delicious home made Asian noodle soup idea. I was gonna say how quick and easy it was to make a gourmet scallop & spaghetti squash dinner. I was going to preach and say how we can cook something a little more sophisticated that’s quick–other than KD or pasta and sauce from a jar. But alas, I too have fallen.
This brings me to ITEM 1: Lean Cuisine Frozen Dinners
This all started when I ate a whole Dr. Oetker pizza by myself for dinner one day. And then the next. And then the next. Not wanting to continue on with this atrocious behavior (because I easily could for at least a month), I bought a box of Lean Cuisine Cheese Cannelloni on a whim. Instead of consuming 1,000 calories for dinner, it was a petite 240 with 5g of fat.
Now I know what you’re thinking. First of all, frozen dinners are gross.
As my friend LBK commented on my Facebook:
omg ingrid you just turned 35 sitting on your couch with you cat watching re-runs of gossip girl thinking about how nice it would be to get married. Stop eating frozen dinners now!
They’re small and pasty and often quite questionable looking. Looking? I meant tasting, as well. Second of all, I don’t know about you guys, but I have a bit of a complex when it comes to buying things that say “Diet” or “Lean”. I feel like one of those obsessive people when I do. But this is different:
Doesn’t that look awesome? OKAY OKAY IT LOOKS A LITTLE VISCERAL. Stay with me!!!
This was honestly so delicious that I went home with 6 boxes tonight (there’s a $2.99 special at Metro). I’m no cheese cannelloni expert, so maybe it’s just something that’s hard to mess up. But this was filling, rich, flavorful, and the noodles weren’t dry/stiff/thin. Plus there’s no preservatives. Now nothing’s going to beat a homecooked meal, but this is a really nice (relatively) healthy alternative.
Better? No? What about this:
…I CAN’T MAKE A FROZEN DINNER LOOK DELICIOUS, OKAY? I promise though, this is unlike any frozen dinner I’ve ever had. In fact, I’d probably be just like you right now, wondering why on earth I’m writing a blog entry about a frozen dinner– if it wasn’t for the fact that I now know how amazing this is. And their lasagna is kickass too. I’ve had quite a few frozen lasagnas before, and they’ve never been good. It’s always Regret City after one of those. But what we’ve got here is legendary lasagna. Once again, Lean Cuisine is pulling out their quality noodles– not thin, dry, etc etc. No powdery bits of ground beef, no decrepit remains of frozen vegetables.
It is honestly a hearty, tasty, no-effort healthyish meal.
Another thing– I get full. Those of you who know me well know that this never happens. I am always eating. But I honestly CANNOT eat after one of these. Like, for example, I just finished my dinner. I really want to eat a Rolo popsicle. But I CAN’T. It’s absurd. They must put an appetite suppressant in these or something. Is that how they keep their customers lean?
I’m totally gonna force myself to eat that Rolo popsicle anyways, though.
—
November 18, 2009: Chicken Alfredo is lame.
Sooo, how much is lean cuisine paying their new spokeswoman?
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I LOOOVE Lean Cuisine… I’ve eaten my fair share of frozen food through undergrad, 5 years in retail, and 2 office jobs. Lean Cuisine is a solid choice for frozen food! You can make a quick salad to eat with it too : )
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-Ingrid in the frozen aisle at Metro with a push cart filled with Lean Cuisine-
Ingrid: this is gonna be legen– wait for it! -DARY!
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Hey is SM supposed to be mee!! I love that you are actually listening to me
. I still think my asian noodle soup is much easier than this and wayyy tastier. Yalnee.. stay away from the frozen food.
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yummy.. i could three of those because they looks sorta small. you gotta try Hungry Man’s beer battered chicken strips..those things are awesome
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Oh and re: carefree, superficial posts. they’re OK. I mean what would elementary school be like without comic books or high school without the ability to judge pple on aesthetics?
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hmmm i always find frozen foods gross.. your fresh, tiny lunches are billion times better than this!
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I’m there with ya! I have to say these things got BETTER compared to 5 years ago. I’ve started getting the 150~200 cal ones for work lunches
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They’re not too terrible, but sometimes the price used to bother me.
re: quick dinners
When I was single I used to have a very satisfying quick meal. I would boil a portion of whatever pasta or noodles I had around.
Drain the water, throw in some salsa and some grated cheese.
The residual heat from the pasta would heat the salsa and melt the cheese (or you could put it back on the heat).
It was quick, easy, relatively cheap & relatively healthy w/ a very nacho-esque flavor and feel.
If I wanted to be truly lazy, I would…
* drain w/ the pot lid rather than a colander (save washing)
* eat it out of the pot, using the same fork I stirred it with (save washing)
So I would only have to wash 1 pot & lid, 1 fork & the cheese grater.
Not gracious living – but satisfying on occassion
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[...] year of 2010, I’ve been trying to stay on a bit of a health kick. Gone are my days of frozen dinners (although those cheese cannellonis seriously aren’t bad). I’ve been drinking water, [...]