I’m too proud to say it…when I’m trying to lose weight and don’t have a lot of time/energy to dedicate to cooking, I reach for the Lean Cuisine in the freezer. None of them are really all that tasty. This is a feature, not a bug. I actually marked down the tastiest meal (the panini) because it was too much like a regular panini…just a very very small one. It left me hankering for more, which is not a good thing when you’re trying not to think about food. The ideal Lean Cuisine meal is inoffensive in flavor and substantial enough to pass for a meal while being low in calories. Choose carefully and try not to rely on them too much.

Sesame Chicken (330 calories)
Quite filling and comforting in its gloopy, sweet-and-sour way. Noodles are a bit on the soggy side of soft. Chicken a little soft and woolly, but quite tasty.
****

Shrimp Alfredo (210)
Not so good. The noodles are just limp. Plus the sauce is weird and watery.
**

Spinach, artichoke and chicken panini (320)
This is one of those where you tear up the box to make a little platform,
then microwave the panini sitting on the platform. Delicious, but the
portions are tiny. Do not feel very full after eating.
***1/2

Apple Cranberry Chicken (320)
Just vile. The only one I had to throw away. I don’t even know what kind of flavors they were trying to go for here.
*

Thai style noodles with Chicken (310)
The chicken tasted much more normal than in the Sesame chicken. Noodle sauce is creamy with a nice coconut/peanut taste. Shame the string beans are kind of watery. Will eat again.
****

Santa Fe Rice and Beans (290)
Smells absolutely delicious. The taste is a little bit watery. But for a Lean Cuisine meal it’s still quite palatable. A relatively hearty meal.
***

Salmon with basil (210)
Not a fan. First of all, the basil tastes manky after being frozen and microwaved. The fish had good texture but little taste. There is something gritty about the sauce. Filled out with quite a bit of matchstick veggies.The only good thing is it is quite filling for the number of calories.
**1/2

Roasted garlic chicken (170)
I was astonished to find just a few chunks of chicken swimming in a vat of gravy. As the side dish (creamed spinach) is also kind of liquidy, I felt like lunch was just a ladle full of glop.
**