About a month ago, I was contacted to try some new frozen meals from Amy’s Kitchen. Normally, I don’t buy frozen meals, but when I do, I lean towards Amy’s because they are vegetarian (many are vegan) and contain ‘real’ ingredients. It is nice to have a few meals on hand for those nights that you really don’t want to cook or need something really quick! My favorites to keep on hand are their burritos and soups! I was excited to try their new Light & Lean meals!
Amy’s five new Light & Lean meals all contain less than 300 calorie and 5 grams of fat. They are:
- Bean & Cheese Burrito
- Roasted Polenta
- Spaghetti Italiano
- 3 Cheese Penne Marinara
- Sweet and Sour Asian Noodle
You can find them in the freezer section of many grocery stores for under $5.00. Don’t the flavors sound good?
Bean & Cheese Burrito
Since I really enjoy Amy’s other Burritos, I already knew that this one would be good! The wrap is filled with plenty of beans and cheese making it taste great. The burrito was a little bland, but I would much prefer that than it being overly salty, as many frozen meals are. This burrito clocks in at 280 calories and 5 grams of fat. Add a piece of fruit, and this would make a perfect quick lunch.
And, the best part?! The ingredients are R-E-A-L!
(from the website) Ingredients : 0g Trans Fat/No Added MSG/No Preservatives Organic pinto beans, organic wheat and whole wheat flour, filtered water, organic brown rice, organic tomato puree, organic onions, organic bell peppers, expeller pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheeses (pasteurized milk, culture, salt, annatto, enzymes [without animal enzymes or rennet]), sea salt, organic sweet rice flour, spices, organic wheat gluten, organic garlic, organic cornstarch. Contains milk and wheat.
Roasted Polenta
I was most excited to try the Roasted Polenta. I don’t eat polenta very often, but when I do, it always tastes so good! And, it is paired with swiss chard – yum! This meal was by far my favorite! I heated this in the microwave and the polenta was soft, but the outside was still a bit crisp. The combination of the polenta, swiss chard and tomato sauce was delicious. Really good for a frozen meal!
At only 140 calories and 4 grams of fat, this would make a really good snack! Or, pair it with something else to make more of a meal. I don’t know about you, but 140 calories isn’t enough of a meal for me.
(from the website) Ingredients : 0g Trans Fat/No Added MSG/No Preservatives Organic tomato puree, organic zucchini, organic swiss chard, organic lowfat milk, organic cornmeal, organic onions, filtered water, mushrooms, Monterey Jack Cheese (pasteurized milk, culture, salt, enzymes [without animal enzymes or rennet]), organic bell peppers, extra virgin olive oil, grade aa butter (cream, salt, annatto), organic garlic, sea salt, organic evaporated cane juice, black pepper. Contains milk.
Spaghetti Italiano
This spaghetti and meatballs dish tasted yummy, but there wasn’t anything particularly special about it. Don’t get me wrong, I ate every last bite because it tasted great. The meatballs were crumbly and mixed in to the pasta, which I liked. The meatballs are made of lentils, quinoa and tofu and I could see bits of lentils and quinoa. The other thing I liked – there were whole pieces of broccoli! It was nice to have chunks of veggies in the meal. At 240 calories and 5 grams of fat, this could be a good meal paired with a slice of toast.
(from the website) Ingredients : 0g Trans Fat/No Added MSG/No Preservatives Organic pasta (organic semolina flour, organic whole wheat flour, water), organic tomato puree, organic zucchini, organic onions, filtered water, organic broccoli, organic long grain red rice, organic tofu (filtered water, organic soybeans, nigari [magnesium chloride, a natural firming agent]), organic quinoa, wheat gluten, extra virgin olive oil, organic green lentils, organic bell peppers, se salt, organic garlic, organic unbleached wheat flour, basil, expeller pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, flax seed, spices, organic evaporated cane juice, black pepper, fennel seed, honey, natural hickory smoke flavor, yeast. Contains soy and wheat.
3 Cheese Penne Marinara
I was pleasantly surprised by this meal! It is a freezer meal, so my thought it that the pasta would be mushy and the meal would be flavorless. I should have known better from Amy’s, though. It tasted a lot like baked ziti, which I love! It had a decent amount of cheese, too. Not exactly like homemade, but perfectly fine in a pinch. I really enjoyed it! It clocks in at 270 calories and 5 grams of fat, so pair it with a side of veggies or a big salad and you could have a good meal. I roasted some broccoli and stirred it right in to the penne.
(from the website) Ingredients : 0g Trans Fat/No Added MSG/No Preservatives Organic pasta (organic semolina flour, organic whole wheat flour, water), filtered water, organic tomato puree, organic onions, whole milk Mozzarella Cheese (pasteurized whole milk, vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, enzymes [without animal enzymes or rennet]), Fontina Cheese (pasteurized milk, culture, salt, enzymes [without animal enzymes or rennet]), Parmesan Cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, culture, salt, enzymes [without animal enzymes or rennet]), sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, organic garlic, black pepper. Contains milk and wheat.
Sweet and Sour Asian Noodle
This was the only meal that I didn’t really like. And, I think it was because of the flavors. The noodles were not mushy and there were chunks of veggies and tofu, which was great. But, I tasted too much sesame oil, and I’m not a huge tofu fan. I still gobbled it right up, paired with a fresh salad, but it just wasn’t my favorite. The meal has 250 calories and 3 grams of fat.
(from the website) Ingredients : 0g Trans Fat/No Added MSG/No Preservatives (Vegan) Organic rice pasta (organic rice flour, water), organic broccoli, organic green beans, organic carrots, organic tofu (filtered water, organic soybeans, nigari [magnesium chloride, a natural firming agent]), organic cabbage, organic tamari (water, organic soybeans, salt), pineapple juice, organic evaporated cane juice, organic bell peppers, organic green onions, organic onions, filtered water, organic lemon juice, organic ginger, organic sesame seed oil, organic cornstarch, organic garlic, expeller pressed high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil, spices, black pepper. Contains soy and sesame seed oil.
Overall, I really enjoyed these meals and would definitely consider purchasing them to have as back up in my freezer for nights when cooking isn’t an option. But, I still prefer home cooked meals if I have the time. With kids, though, you never know what is going to happen. 🙂
Amy’s Kitchen has a large variety of other frozen dinners meals, such as pizza, desserts, chili, breakfast bowls, snacks, etc. I would definitely try feel comfortable buying these meals due to the real food ingredients, and because they taste pretty good! Since these Light & Lean meals all come in at under 300 calories (some well under 300 calories), I felt that I needed to eat something else along with the meal. I mainly ate the meals for lunches and paired them with a yogurt and a piece of fruit. By doing that, they made a perfectly satisfying meal.
Thanks, Amy’s Kitchen, for letting me try these meals!
Filed under: Eating Laps, Product Reviews | Leave a comment »
healthy laps 