I just purchased and tasted Hormel's Beef Tips and Mashed Potatoes, and although I appreciate the convenience and the quality of the product in terms of iingredients, presentation and packaging, I found the taste to be a bit below average - kind of like sub-par airplane food, which I was kind of expecting anyway. That said, it's why I'd like to ask any of our members here if there are any other variations of this product that might be worth tasting because I don't want to spend a lot of money tasting them all so I'd mostly just like to focus on ones that are at least recommended. Alternatively, if there are any other microwavable meal brands and products that you find noteworthy, please do discuss them in this thread as well. Thanks!
Stouffer's has the best microwavable meals to me. Their food is well-seasoned, colorful and easy to cook. My favorite is the salisbury patty with macaroni and cheese. It's the perfect comfort food on days when I feel lazy, but want a heavy meal. Other decent frozen meals are made by Hungry Man and Marie Calendar. Both offer a wide range of offerings at reasonable prices.
It's been a long time since I've had a microwave meal. I used to like some of the Banquet and Michelina ones, but they're never going to be "above average," I don't think. They're just subpar food that fills the convenience slot and not a lot else.
IT probably taste awful because of its preservatives, I once tried this nstant food but never liked it. now I don't buy such meals but I do have a microwavable containers which I can use for my leftovers. leftover pizzas and some burgers and hotdogs can be put inside the microwavable container and hoala! I got instant meal.
I like the Lean Cuisine entree's for the most part. They aren't loaded with salt and fat like the Stouffer's stuff is, and they usually pack a good amount of veggies into them as well. One of my favorites is their rigatoni with turkey meatballs in a tomato sauce with veggies (I think they add yellow and orange carrots). Very filling and it tastes great, plus I don't feel so guilty afterwards and run down like I'm in a food coma. The Lean Cuisine lunches I'm less thrilled about - I find the portions to be too small, so I wind up snacking too much between lunch and dinner. I do however like their microwavable grilled sandwiches though, they crisp up nicely in the microwave. One of those along with a bag of Sun Chips is usually perfect for me for lunch. The Jimmy Dean D'Lights breakfast sandwiches are pretty good too. I usually get the english muffin ones with eggs and turkey sausage and low fat cheese. My only gripe is how much they cost - nearly $7 for a pack of 4.
I have never had a microwave meal, more, I don't have a microwave. I did have a microwave maybe 10-12 years ago and I gave it away because I don't want a thing in my house that messes up all the molecules in the food destroying whatever nutritional value food still might have, so it's away from my lazy temptation to use it.
I think the last time I ate microwavable food was when I was a broke college brat and after I graduated I swore to become a rich man and never had to eat those horrible excuse for food anymore. But that's not say all microwavable foods are bad, I had this really crappy looking chili pack once and I thought it would taste awful but I was kind of shocked when it did taste good, I mean not as good as the real deal but bearable.
I have been slowly moving away from microwave meals in recent months. I will say I love the Green Giants steam vegetable meals. They are always delicious but I worry about the preservatives in the food. Banquet Chicken use to be a staple in my household but I stop eating them for health reasons. The chicken itself was wonderful but too high in sodium, calories and etc.
I lived on microwaveable meals when I was single. They are the perfect size for one and they are cheap. I've since found its even cheaper to get a weeks worth of groceries and portion them out for meals but hey, you live and you learn! I do like Stouffer's meals. Out of all the frozen dinner brands, I think they have the best quality. I'm also guilty of liking the cheapo Banquet meals for 50 cents. My favorite is Swedish Meatballs. I only buy these meals once in a blue moon now though because my husband prefers homemade meals. I guess I can't say I blame him!
Wait, really? So I should stop stocking up on these meals and just buy a decent weeks worth of shopping and cook for myself?
Novel idea, right? In my defense, before I got married I lived on less than paycheck to paycheck. When you have $20 to last you for another week AND no food in your cupboards, its a lot easier to justify 10 frozen meals for $5 than it is to justify using all of the $20 for various groceries. After all, the $15 that's left over can go to fuel! There are days, weeks, months when it comes down to this: you do what you gotta do to get by. I'm lucky to no longer be in that position but I haven't forgotten. I can see how for some people, its cheaper and less stressful to buy the frozen dinners, even if they aren't so healthy.
I like hot pockets! I would say that might be my favorite microwave food. When you put it in, just wait half way and then take it out of the sleeve. Flip it over to avoid the moisture from making of soggy. I have tried your brand, but it's probably only good when your really hungry. God bless, LIONZFIRE
I try to be careful when buying microwavable foods. I know for a fact that a lot of them has high level of preservatives which is not good for the health. I would usually just buy the ones that I've tried for a long time and of course, I always read the package and see the components. Also, instead of buying the boxed ones, I would prefer buying the frozen ones. Those are usually made of fresh ingredients and there will be less preservatives because you're keeping it in a fridge anyway.
