Stouffers Fit Kitchen
Frozen meals are convenient and easy to grab but sometimes they are not so nutritious. There are many out there that say they are "healthy" or "lean" or "smart" but what does that really mean?
One day while walking through the frozen foods section, my husband noticed Stouffers now had a line called Fit Kitchen. In looking at the choices and seeing what claims they were making we decided we needed to try them and then review them. Now most people don't know this but my husband loves to be a food critic. This could be my fault, I do watch Food Network A LOT and he seems to have decided he is one of the critics from there. (Side note: this has also happened with houses. If I am not watching Food TV I am probably watching HGTV so he can call out an open floor plan like nobody's business.)
Here are a few statements from Stouffers website about this new line of frozen dinners:
Stouffers Fit Kitchen has 25+grams protein and high in vitamins and minerals
5 flavors out so far with a promise for more coming soon
We tried Monterey Chicken and Bourbon Steak this time around. Here is the breakdown for each of the meals we tried.
Bourbon Steak- Bourbon steak with chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, seasoned broccoli, and red peppers.
Nutrition Breakdown:
410 calories
13 g fat
890 mg Na
48 g carb
4 g fiber
29 g sugar
27 g protein
Monterey Chicken- White meat chicken with diced red skin & sweet potatoes, green beans and a BBQ-style sauce. topped with Monterey cheese.
Nutrition Breakdown:
400 calories
12 g fat
960 mg Na
46 g carb
5 g fiber
18 g sugar
26 g protein
After a long day at work and a workout we decided it was time to throw dinner in the microwave and begin our careers as food critics. Each meal took about 7-9 minutes to cook with little to no babysitting needed. In opening them they did not live up to the pictures on the box but they also weren't as mush looking as some frozen meals. The pieces of meat actually looked like meat and were not small chunks but nice slices of each. Each meal came with potatoes and a vegetable. Now I am a sweet potato lover but my husband, not so much, so the potatoes being sweet potatoes mainly was not his favorite.
Here are our before cooking photos:
Let's start with the steak meal. I was very surprised that the slices of steak were good size and had the texture of normal meat. The sweet potatoes were mashed which I enjoyed. They were creamy and had a nice heat to them. The vegetable for this one was broccoli and red bell peppers which were crisp and very tasty. This meal had close to 900 mg sodium which is high. In comparison to other frozen meals it is along the same lines. I am big about moderation and love to tell clients that having frozen meals or foods that might be higher in sodium as a back up for busy days or emergency purposes is not a bad thing.
The chicken meal did not disappoint either. The vegetables for this one were green beans which were very crisp but had no seasoning. The chicken in this meal was just as good as the steak. I don't know if you feel this way but I always think that frozen meal chicken tastes rubbery and fake. This chicken was real pieces and had great texture. The potatoes in this one were both sweet and white. They were diced and actually kept their shape and did not get excessively soft. The BBQ sauce was very tasty and had just the right amount of spice. Again this did have a high sodium content.
Overall we really enjoyed these meals and loved that they were closer to a homemade meal than most frozen meals. And the biggest thing for my husband was satiety. We ate around 6:30 and around 8:00 he stated he still felt satisfied. All in all I would say these meals are a good choice if you like to keep quick meals on hand in case of emergency.
Well on to the next criticism or nutrition topic!