Healthy Choice Top Chef Cafe Steamers Inspired Meals @Healthy_Choice

If you've watched Top Chef on Bravo and thought, "wow, I want to try that but I don't have Smell-O-Vision and licking my TV isn't working at all" then you're in luck!

Healthy Choice has teamed up for a landmark partnership with Top Chef to create a line of Café Steamers entrees, available this year in grocery stores around the country.

I  got to try two of these 8 delicious varieties. Café Steamers utilize proprietary steaming technology that produces a fresh-tasting meal in minutes.
I was sent the Chicken Linguini with Red Peppers and Chicken Margherita with Balsamic.

Chicken Linguini with Red Pepper Alfredo – Chicken tenderloins with linguini & broccoli in a roasted red pepper Alfredo sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 260 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 510 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.)

Chicken Margherita with Balsamic – Chicken tenderloins with angel hair pasta, roasted garlic & tomatoes in a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. (Nutrition Facts: 320 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 600 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, and 22 grams of protein.)

The box instantly jumped out at me and pulled me in. I love good graphics and I really do love this box design better then the original green Healthy Choice boxes.
The seven other meal choices are all well known popular dishes like Chicken Fresca, Grilled Chicken Marinara with Parmesan, Grilled Chicken Pesto with Vegetables, Grilled Vegetables Mediterranean with Rice, Roasted Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms, Barbeque Steak with Red Potatoes.

The Healthy Choice Top Chef inspired Café Steamers combine bold and innovative flavors that make the perfect lunch or quick dinner.

I first tried the Chicken Margherita with Balsamic and it was so yummy! The Café Steamers bowl should be cooked for about 4 minutes and it self-vents so there is no need to cut or puncture the film.

Once the cooking is done you simply pour the meal into the bottom bowl that contains the sauce, stir to combine and enjoy your perfect meal! If you count Weight Watchers Points then rejoice because each box has a PointsPlus number on the back. The Chicken Margherita with Balsamic has a PointsPlus Value of 8.
Healthy Choice has made a previous version of the Chicken Margherita with Balsamic but now they have enhanced the roasted garlic and added basil to the balsamic sauce to make this classic recipe even better.

The generous portions are perfect for me especially on days that I want something different then my usual meal. It keeps me right on track with my fat and calories intake.
One thing I would change is the amount of chicken. In my bowl I only had the 4 pieces you see below, which is more like 2 pieces total if you combine those 3 tiny pieces. Maybe I just had a weird bowl and others have more? Who knows but if that is the normal amount then hey definitely should add more chicken.

I am more of an alfredo sauce person so the Chicken Linguini with Red Peppers was my favorite of the two. The Chicken Linguini with Red Peppers had a very creamy alfredo sauce with full size broccoli florets.  This dish delivers on taste and nutrition packing 5 grams of fiber, 22 grams of protein and only 260 calories.

I am in love with the two Healthy Choice Top Chef Inspired Café Steamers meals I was sent to taste and of course enjoy!
If you're looking for a new option for lunch at work or a quick dinner that's both healthy and tasty then these new meals are the way to go, especially since they cost just about $2.75-$3.50 each!

If you'd like to follow Healthy Choice to learn more about their upcoming news and meals then check out their Twitter account @Healthy_Choice and the Healthy Choice Facebook Fan Page.

Disclaimer: Thanks to The Motherhood and Healthy Choice. I was compensated and was sent two meals to taste test and tell you about them.  All thoughts and opinions written here about the Cafe Steamers meals are my own. Compensation did not influence a positive review.

you have got to try the dave's hot 'n juicy cheeseburger #hotnjuicy @wendys

So in my family things rarely ever go as planned and yesterday was a prime example of that. Yesterday was going to be great for many reason 1 of which was that I was going to meet the real Wendy Thomas from Wendy's Restaurant. The location that the Wendy's Tour of America was stopping at was more then 40 minutes away from my home but we were determined to stop in and say hi to Wendy, chat up with some of my friends and local bloggers and of course try the new cheeseburger.

Needless to say things didn't go as planned and because of traffic there was no way I could make it to Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs and back to our home to go trick or treating. :(

That didn't stop our hunger so we found the closest Wendy's restaurant and ordered the Dave's Hot 'N Juicy
Cheeseburgers.

So what's so new and great about Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers you may be asking?

For starters the beef is a HUGE fresh, never frozen, patty with the signature square shape that we all know and love but now it is 40% thicker. Wendy's has now added a buttered and toasted bun and premium toppings that include red onion, lettuce, pickle, tomatoes (I get it without pickles) and of course cheese.

As soon as I took the first bite I tasted the delicious buttery bun. I've never had a cheeseburger taste that good from a fast food joint. In all honesty I never order burgers from fast food places because I was not fond of the taste. THIS burger was unlike any I've ever had. It truly is out of this world.

The yummy opted for the triple cheeseburger and of course we had to get the Natural Cut with Sea Salt french fries!

Yesterday didn't go as planned but we were happier and less stressed once we tried the delicious new cheeseburgers!

I also must admit that while running errands today we stopped in and grabbed these cheeseburgers again. Yes, they are that good!

Disclaimer: Thanks to The Motherhood and Wendy’s. I was compensated for my time to visit Wendy’s “Tour of America” (even though I didn't make it to the actual event). We purchased and paid for our own food at the alternative location we chose to eat at. No other compensation was received. All thoughts and opinions written here are my own.

whats for dinner? marie callender's frozen lasagna review

Cooking for my family is in this crazy in between stage. Now M, the hubby and I we're ok, sure M is kinda picky but for the most part I think I have a pretty good eater. Now only if she would not take 5 hours to eat one meal that'd be great.

No the problem is K. She eats almost anything we do but she can be pretty picky. Loves veggies and fruit but of course we can't only give her those.

Her Italian roots are strong because Italian food is one thing she lives for (I'm assuming so she she makes the loudest "yumm" sounds while eating). To make true Italian food it takes a long time and I just don't have that kind of time. Letting "gravy" (or meat sauce to normal people, lol.) simmer for 8 hours? Uh yeah no thanks.

I tried the frozen meal thing a while back but M and I hated it and John wouldn't even try it.
The other day I was having a bad day and I just did not want to cook so I gave in and bought a frozen meal. This time I went with Marie Callender's new frozen 3 Italian meat and four cheese Lasagna since on the box it said that it's the preferred lasagna over the "other guys". Plus with their Love Ir or Get Your Money Back Guarantee I knew (well hoping) I couldn't go wrong.

This new lasagna is not like any other frozen meal we've ever tried! Marie Callender's has paired three Italian-style meats (sausage, ground beef and pepperoni) with four different cheeses (Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano), in a hearty marinara sauce that cooks in the microwave and is ready to serve in just 19 minutes, faster than the competition. I chose the oven setting which takes a whole lot longer (almost a hour and half) so it was crisper but I'm sure the out come would have been the same if I cooked it in the microwave as they suggest.

Right out of the oven I loved what I saw.. and smelled! Even John commented how amazing the house smelled and that's saying something from an Italian man.
First off, no burnt edges! I think everyone who has made lasagna has had the burnt edges problem at least once. Marie Callender's has made a unique baking tray that minimizes burnt edges and cold spots so all you see is gorgeous cheese and bubbly sauce.

What happened next went beyond my wildest dreams - my family ate the whole thing, K included! Everyone loved the lasagna and John is asking that we have it again!

By the way, I did see a pig fly while we were eating.

Now I must say mine didn't come out all pretty and perfect like it shows on the box but it tasted wonderful. Perhaps I didn't let it sit long enough after taking it from the oven but we were all starving so no one would wait longer.

I saw other Marie Callender's options in the frozen section so now that we found one that we love I am going to slowly test the waters and try other options for my family. If I can fill their bellies without slaving over a hot stove for hours then I am satisfied.

This is a sponsored post. Marie Callender's and TheMotherhood provided me with coupons and I was compensated for my time. Thoughts are my own and my family's.

sargento vs. processed cheese. taste test. who will win?

Grilled cheese and cheeseburgers are big in my family but I don't really ever think twice about the cheese I buy. We've always bought the normal American classic sliced cheese. I mean, why not, the commercials say "made 100% from milk" don't they? So how bad can it be.

Recently I tried Sargento Sharp cheddar Natural cheese slices and wow what a difference.

I'd like to go over some not so awesome things about processed cheese. I was shocked and pretty disgusted with the ingredients and how the cheese is made.

Processed cheese slices are made with emulsifiers such as Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, and Sodium Phosphate. It usually has some type of preservative such as Sorbic Acid also - that way you don't have to refrigerate it! Did you know that - you don't have to put processed cheese in the fridge?! Well it's true, some cheeses sit on a store shelf for months without any refrigeration before it's ever sold!

Typically processed cheeses are heated to 180 degrees (which of course makes it into a liquid) and then pumped into plastic bags where they are then run over by a series of rollers to get that pretty little slice. The cooking process they use to the temperature and the fact it's cooked with direct steam strips the cheese of delicate flavors you may have been able to get had they not not all that.
Oh and processed cheese has so much sodium (hence the smell of salt) at 250 milligrams (yes!) per each 19 gram slice.
Key words to remember. Processed cheese is: MADE FROM cheese (and other ingredients). Uh... yeah I'll pass :)

Now when we look at natural cheese like Sargento Natural Cheese slices it is never made with processed ingredients. It only contains natural ingredients such as milk, cheese cultures, enzymes and salt. Because of the ingredients it has to be put in the refrigerator.

When you purchase natural cheese you can rest assured it has been aged to perfection and has been tested by get this- professional cheese graders to ensure the highest quality cheese. It taste like it came from a block of cheese because it did come from a block of cheese. Cut and immediately packaged so you can get the freshest, yummiest cheese! Slices are commonly used melted on burgers, sandwiches, lasagna, pizza and so so much more but it is never melted during the actual cooking process of being made at the Sargento factories.
Sargento natural cheeses are 21 gram slices at only 130 milligrams of sodium so it's definitely a healthier choice to go with a natural food.
Again, key words to remember about natural cheese: it IS real cheese!!

Look:
Have you ever really looked at processed sliced cheese? It is pretty shiny and I'm not talking with the plastic wrap on them. Natural cheese has a deeper color to it and is non-glossy in appearance all together.

Feel:
Definitely there is a huge difference when you touch the Sargento Natural cheese and processed cheese slices. Natural cheese breaks organically while you can bend the processed cheese and break it in a straight line. What is natural about that?!

Processed cheese also feels very smooth and sorta rubbery and pliable. Sargento cheese has a rougher texture. Exactly like a block of cheese feels. Of course the texture will vary from cheese to cheese but the sharp cheddar that I felt has a rougher texture to it compared to the processed cheese slices.

Smell:
First off the smells are completely different. The processed cheese smells almost salty. It's made with milk but I couldn't detect a hint of milk smell in it. Processed cheese is usually lacking in the aroma department

Natural cheese has an array of smells depending on which type of cheese you are smelling but either way you there is a distinct aroma you will be able to get from them. The range of smells can be almost earthy, nutty and/or fruity.

Taste:
We loved tasting the cheeses. I will be the first to admit that I have never liked eating cheese from the blocks of cheese that are in the grocery stores. Maybe it was the brand or type of cheeses I've tasted, I don't know. While tasting the Sargento Natural Cheese slices I fell in love. I sorta thing maybe it was the thickness of the slices I usually get off the block that made me not like it? The Sargento slices are not too thick but not too thin, it's the perfect slice for munching on or melting on burgers.

I thought my kids would like the processed better but no joke, Kendall (my 1 yr old) through it on the ground! Makenna (my 6 1/2 yr old) also liked the real cheese a lot better too. After tasting the cheese by itself I made grilled cheese sandwiches and both my daughters ate a whole sandwich without complaints or arguments!

Just as the smells vary cheese to cheese. You may taste fruity, spicy or to sharp. The sharp cheddar slices are definitely sharp and the taste lingers for a bit which makes if ever more delicious. The most dominant taste of processed cheese is very salty.

Sargento has definitely converted my family over and shed a ton of light to what we've been eating. I will ONLY be buying natural Sargento cheeses from now on.

They do cost a little more but the health of my family is more important then money and plus the natural cheese taste better so it doesn't both me to spend more money on food that we will enjoy!


This post has been compensated by Sargento and TheMotherhood. All opinions are 100% my very own as always. I would never post anything that I don't actually like.