Soy Vay’s the Way to Go

In honor of National Poultry Day, I am reviewing a way to use one of my easiest, tastiest, fastest ways to cook America’s staple meat: chicken.  Some time ago I impulsively found Soy Vay’s Marinades and Sauces at the grocery store.  Initially I just like the design of the bottles: little boats and fun looking writing on a larger-than-usual bottle.  I was further intrigued when I discovered that not only are all the sauces completely organic and preservative-free, but they’re also completely kosher because, in their cute little story, “Jewish Boy Meets Chinese Girl and SOY VAY!  A Sauce is Born!”.  Nutritionally, they’re relatively low-calorie, although the sodium content is very high (although expected in soy-based sauces).  My personal favorite in the line is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki. In fact, this stuff is so good it’s not only the only teriyaki marinade I use now, it’s also the only teriyaki sauce that Trader Joe’s even sells.

Initially I used this alone just to figure out how it would taste cooked when chicken was marinated in it.  It’s a little thicker than regular teriyaki sauces, and you have to shake the bottle pretty well to ensure that all the sesame seeds that aggregate at the bottom are mixed in.  I had some chicken thighs, so I dumped them in a plastic bag with a generous amount of the sauce.  About 2 hours later, I removed them from the bag, put them on a baking dish with some of the sauce and cooked them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  What I ended up with were honestly some of the best chicken thighs I’ve had. 

Gastronomized: Heinz One Carb Ketchup

So sue me, I love ketchup.  When someone asks “do you want fries with that?”, they’re not really referring to a burger or a hot dog, they’re referring to the massive amounts of ketchup I dip the potato-y wonders in.  Not to say that there’s much of anything in ketchup, but when I saw Heinz One Carb Reduced Sugar Ketchup, I thought I’d give it a try.  Nutritionally, the only difference between this ketchup and Heinz’s regular ketchup is that this is 5 calories per tablespoon and 1g carbs, and regular is 15 calories and 4g carbs.  It also contains sucralose instead of high fructose corn syrup.   If you’re only eating a tablespoon or so, there’s really no difference.  If you’re like me and eat your meal with your ketchup, this is a potential carb and calorie saver.

So in true oxymoronic fashion, I brought a bottle to McDick’s with me, ordered some fries and sat down to do a taste test between the original Heinz and the One Carb Heinz.  Let me tell you, there’s nothing like sitting down to eat McDonald’s fries with a bottle of reduced-carb ketchup.  The verdict?  Not much of a difference!  One Carb Heinz is still nice and thick, and despite being slightly less sweet and a little more salty it essentially tastes just like the original stuff.  If you want to add the sweetness back in it’s an easy fix: just add a packet of Splenda or something similar and you’re set (which I tried.  It worked pretty well!).

The next test: I sat down with a massive plate of Hungry Girl’s Butternut Squash Fries and dug in.  In one sentence: Best Gastronomized Swap Ever.  Completely guilt-free in every aspect and I felt like I was eating fries with real ketchup!

Stars: 5/5

Nutrition Facts:  Serving Size: 1 tbsp.  5 Calories.  0g Fat.  0g Cholesterol.  190mg Sodium.  1g Carbohydrates.  0g Protein. 0 WW Points.

St. Pat’s = Irish Soda Bread!

As a second generation Irish girl, nothing makes me happier than a dinner of beef, potatoes and a fresh toasty loaf of Irish Soda Bread.  On St. Patrick’s Day, this dinner is absolutely essential.  I’ve made many different forms of soda bread over the years, some containing caraway seeds and flax, others containing generous amounts of roasted garlic.  But as my grandmother taught me, traditional soda bread should be simple; in fact, real soda bread contains nothing more than flour, butter, baking soda and salt.   Why no yeast?  Because of the Irish climate, hard wheat could not be grown (which rises nicely when yeast is added).  To make up for this, the Irish used baking soda as a leavening agent, which is why the delicious result is called Soda Bread.

I’ve never been a fan of the versions containing bits like caraway seeds, raisins or currants (Martha Stewart’s, sadly, is one such recipe), so the two I’m including and had success with contain none of those extras.  The key to soda bread is to never overwork the dough.  Only mix until the ingredients are moistened and the dough ball is formed.  Overworking it will destroy the bread.  The first recipe is more savory, slightly more impressive and great for dinner.  The second is more traditional and simple and I love it for breakfast with jam (although it works for any meal, really).

Edy’s Loaded Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream

I am now officially on a hunt to find the best tasting chocolate ice cream out there that won’t make me gain 20 pounds in a single sitting.  So logically, I go into the grocery store and pick up a carton of what seems to be the most extreme and delicious flavor I can below 200 calories per serving: Edy’s Loaded Chocolate Fudge Brownie (for those of you in a different part of the country, Edy’s is also known as Dreyer’s).  The carton design is so crazy I could barely even wait to go home and give it a taste (I mean seriously, it makes you think that brownies will actually be exploding out of the ice cream).

Needless to say, the best part about this ice cream was the carton.  I was surprised, considering the fact that I had heard some rather exuberant reviews of it from friends.  However, the ice cream failed to live up to expectations.  Despite the low calorie content (120 per 1/2 cup), I would’ve felt better about splurging and digging into a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  While there was both a decent chocolate taste and an abundance of brownie pieces in the Loaded ice cream, I had a serious issue with the texture in every component.  To best describe it, the ice cream simply seemed “off” to me.  An inspection of the carton revealed why: this isn’t actually ice cream!  Edy’s has labelled it a “frozen dairy dessert”, which may explain why it lacks the rich, dense creaminess that I expect when eating ice cream.  The only creaminess it does have seems artificial and airy, not to mention that the stuff didn’t even seem frozen.  It had been sitting in my freezer for quite some time, and the travel time between the grocery store and my house is about 5 minutes, yet the ice cream was way too easy to scoop to be real.  I even dug way down in the carton thinking maybe the layer on top had melted a bit.  It made no difference; essentially it was more like a glorified mousse.  Likewise, the brownie pieces were less than stellar, not to mention too small.  It was as if the brownies were overcooked before being mixed in, making them way to hard and chewy (but not in a good way).  In the end, this is not an ice cream I will be buying again.  When I want ice cream, I want real ice cream.  I don’t want some sad imitation glop that in no way satisfies my need to sit down with the carton armed only with a spoon.  Bad form, Edy’s.  Next time get it right.

Stars: 2/5

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 1/2 Cup.  120 Calories.  35 Calories from Fat.  4g Fat.  1.5g Saturated Fat.  0g Trans Fat.  10mg Cholesterol.  55mg Sodium.  19g Carbohydrates.  1g Dietary Fiber.  13g Sugar.  3g Protein.  2% Vitamin A.  4% Calcium.  4% Iron.  3 WW Points.

Boca Bruchetta Tomato Basil Parmesan Veggie Patties

So once again I succumbed to the ever-excitable “new!” flag and picked up the Boca Bruchetta Tomato Basil Parmesan Veggie Patties.  At first I laughed, thinking maybe the length of the name was a sort of Napoleonic complex to make up for the lack of meat.  To be completely honest, I’ve never understood vegetarians.  Nothing excites me more than the prospect of going out for a steak dinner, and my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving for all the obvious reasons.  In fact, the entire idea of a veggie patty kind of freaks me out.  Why not just eat a burger?  But since I’m on this little health(ier)-food kick though (and more importantly, I have nothing to grill a burger on), the juicy deliciousness of a double bacon cheeseburger was not on the books for lunch today.  So when I saw the Bruchetta Tomato Basil Parmesan Boca Burgers out of the corner of my eye, I inspected the box with interest.  Boca described them quite appetizingly as containing “oven-roasted tomatoes, basil and Parmesan cheese—it’s all the best flavors of Italy packed into a wholesome veggie patty”  I like tomato.  I like basil.  I like Parmesan.  I love bruchetta.  So these meatless wonders must be a hit, right?

Needless to say, my foray into the world of vegetarianism was not bad!  I nuked the patty, toasted myself a bun and topped the whole thing with cheese, diced onions and tomato (a la bruchetta).  The whole ensemble actually made a very good-tasting lunch, and it seemed drastically more substantial than my usual turkey sandwich (yet somehow calorically equivalent).  Unlike the mouthful of a name, the patty is unfortunately on the thin side and kind of an unusual dark orange color.  This may be true for all veggie burgers; I really wouldn’t know.  All together the sandwich was delicious!  I detected a pleasant little bit of heat in the burger, and an inspection of the ingredients revealed paprika.  I was surprised to see oats on the list as well, since I didn’t really taste any.  The balance of tomato and onion was perfect, and the texture was closer to that of a beef burger than I thought it would be.  The only part that I really missed was the juiciness.  These were disappointingly dry and didn’t give me the experience that biting into a real burger affords.  All in all, though, these are a welcome addition to my lunch rotation.  I don’t think they’re quite savory or large enough to be a dinner, but they were a filling and satisfying lunch.  Nutrition-wise, I was pleasantly surprised.  While it was a little high in sodium, it was also high in protein and fiber and contained both calcium and iron.  To top it off, it was only 70 calories!

Next time I think I will top one off with a little marinara or pizza sauce, some mozzarella cheese and some diced tomatoes and onions.  I think the sauce will make up for the dryness of the patty.  Even better, some toasted Tuscan bread and some homemade bruchetta topping would take this Boca burger from good to absolutely delish.

So for all you vegetarians out there, the good folks at Boca have now made a believer out of me.  I won’t be giving up my love of eating meat (ever.), but since I can’t reasonably eat a burger every day, I will no longer scoff at the notion of a veggie burger.  I actually think I’m going to have to try other kinds now!

Stars: 4/5

Nutrition Facts:  Serving Size: 1 Patty.  70 Calories.  1.5g Fat.  0.5g Saturated Fat.  0g Trans Fat.  5mg Cholesterol.  290mg Sodium.  9g Carbohydrates.  3.5g Dietary Fiber.  0g Sugar.  10g Protein.  15% Calcium.  15% Iron.  1 WW Point

Healthy Choice Tomato Basil Penne

Since I’m always on the lookout for new things to try, I tend to notice boxes with bright red “new!” flags on them more than those without.  In the case of Healthy Choice Tomato Basil Penne, it was also the modernized packaging.  I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I saw that the streamlined green and white box was not, in fact, an entirely new brand of frozen dinners (but Healthy is now spelled Hea!thy, which I guess will entice us to buy it).  At any rate, I couldn’t pass this one up.  For a long time I’ve been skeptical about Healthy Choice’s ability to deliver a decent-tasting meal, but ever since trying their Cafe Steamers Chicken Marghertia (delicious by the way, review to come) my opinion of the brand has improved substantially.  Not to mention the fact that this frozen meal claims to be “all-natural”.

So what is this new line by Healthy Choice?  They describe the all-natural meals as high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins A and C, low in saturated fat and cholesterol and free of preservatives and artificial flavors.  Ever since reading the article in Women’s Health about the truth behind the ingredient list in frozen dinners, I’m always on the lookout for items that are preservative-free.  The other items in the line are Portabella Marsala Pasta, Portabella Spinach Parmesan, Pumpkin Squash Ravioli, Sweet Asian Potstickers and Mediterannean Pasta.  I figured if they could get the Tomato Basil Penne right, the other ones would be worth a try.

In their words: “Wholesome nine-grain penne pasta topped with tomatoes, onions, sweet basil, and mozzarella cheese is prepared with 100% extra virgin olive oil for a great-tasting meal with just 280 calories and 7 grams of fiber”.

I must admit, reality came pretty close!  I nuked the dinner according to their directions and in under 7 minutes it was nice and steamy and ready to eat.  The first thing I noticed was the portion size.  Despite being only 280 calories, this seemed like a well-sized meal.  Unlike Lean Cuisine’s rabbit-sized Cheese Ravioli, this pasta looked like it might fill me up.  Tasting revealed to be a pleasure.  While the penne is clearly whole-wheat (and I always prefer regular pasta), the flavor actually added to the dish instead of detracting from it.  While I couldn’t really taste much cheese, the basil added a nice note and the sauce was plentiful and tomato-y.  I even detected a hint of a brown sugar giving the meal a hint of sweetness.  Even though there was 600 mg of salt in the dinner (a large amount, although less than a lot of frozen meals), I still needed to add a little more.  Mrs. Dash’s salt-free tomato basil seasoning would’ve done the trick, too.  While it wasn’t the absolute best frozen pasta dish I’ve ever had, it’s still one that will be going on my weekly shopping list!

Stars: 4/5

Nutrition Facts: Serving size: 1 Meal.  280 Calories.  60 Calories from fat.  6g Fat.  2.5g Saturated Fat.  0g Trans Fat.  15mg Cholesterol.  600mg Sodium.  39g Carbohydrates.  7g Dietary Fiber.  6g Sugar.  13g Protein.  2% Vitamin C.  10% Vitamin A.  10% Iron.  20% Calcium. 5 WW Points.

Pepperidge Farm Light Style 7 Grain Bread

While I am someone who definitely enjoys bread, when I fix my own sandwiches I can never bring myself to eat 400 calories worth of it every single time.  Also, I can no longer justify spending at least 5 dollars on a sandwich everyday for my lunch break.  Since it’s time to start being frugal and creative, I was naturally led to one of the big staple sections of the grocery store: the bread aisle.  Let me tell you, as someone who always likes to try new brands and products, variety can be just as overwhelming as it is exciting, and the bread aisle is one of the most overwhelming sections of all.

I’m usually a huge fan of Arnold Bakery Light 7 Grain, but when I saw Pepperidge Farm Light Style 7 Grain, I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, Arnold beat Pepperidge out of the water. The Arnold bakery has a delicious, almost buttery taste and a nice soft crust that is never dried out; it has never seemed like a “light” bread to me. Even though I often toast my sandwiches, I would argue that the Arnold bread is at its best completely unheated. Alternately, the Pepperidge Farm bread had a strangely dry crust that tasted like cardboard and wasn’t the easiest to bite, so I decided to make another sandwich toasted to see if the taste or texture improved. They didn’t. The grains, while they clearly existed in the bread, were tasteless. Altogether it did not make for the moist, delicious light style bread I was hoping Pepperidge Farm would be able to put together. They should stick to items like Milanos, where the two main ingredients are butter and chocolate. They have those down to an absolute art form.

Stars: 3/5

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size: 1 Slice.  45 Calories.  0 Calories from Fat.  0g Fat.  0g Cholesterol.  90mg Sodium.  9g Carbohydrates.  1g Dietary Fiber.  1g Sugar.  2g Protein.  2% Calcium.  2% Iron.  1 WW Point for 2 Slices.

Lean Cuisine Cheese Ravioli

Furthering my quest for a good frozen pasta dish, I picked up Lean Cuisine’s Cheese Ravioli at the grocery store yesterday. Ravioli may qualify as the best invention ever, and if I can eat it every day for only 240 calories I would be in heaven. Lean Cuisine offered just that, saying the dish contained “delicate ravioli stuffed with Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheeses, then topped with a robust tomato sauce accented with basil, onion and garlic”. You’ve got to love it when Lean Cuisine starts using “robust” in their product descriptions.

Needless to say, the ravioli was not robust. Even though microwaving it smelled incredible, when I took it out I was disappointed to find only 6 small ravioli pieces. They were only just covering the bottom of the little plastic container! Deciding that this would be better suited as a side dish, I reheated some chicken Parmesan and served myself the ravioli to go along with it. Were I eating just the ravioli, this would be massively disappointing. I would have to eat at least two of these for them to qualify as a dinner.

As far as taste is concerned, the ravioli definitely ranked well above the previously reviewed Angel Hair Pomodoro. The pasta shell had a much better texture and the sauce was not as runny. Despite all this, they were not packed with flavor. You could taste the cheese (although the ravioli could have contained more of it) and the tomato sauce had some hint of the basil, onion and garlic. All together, though, this did not hit the spot. If you’re looking for a full meal, you’re better off going a different route. As a small side dish to something more substantial and tastier (I served myself about 2/3 of the package), it actually works decently well.  Massive reduction on the overall rating due to the serving size, though.

Stars: 3/5

Nutritional Facts: Serving Size: 1 Package.  240 Calories.  50 calories from Fat. 6 g Fat.  3.5 g Saturated Fat.  40 mg Cholesterol.  600 g Sodium.  540 g Potassium.  38 g Carbohydrates.  3 g Dietary Fiber.  10 g Sugar.  11 g Protein.  5 Weight Watchers Points.

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Lean Cuisine Angel Hair Pomodoro

From Lean Cuisine: “Delicate angel hair pasta in a chunky marinara sauce and topped with melted Parmesan and zesty Asiago cheese”.

If I had to describe Lean Cuisine’s Angel Hair Pomodoro in word word, it would be forgettable. Craving pasta again last night, I popped this in the microwave looking forward to what I was hoping would be a satisfying, healthy alternative to ordering out from an Italian restaurant. Size-wise, this was fairly substantial for only 250 calories. Taste-wise, this wasn’t what I would call a winner. Despite subtracting 30 seconds from the cooking time, the angel hair pasta was a little overcooked and gummy (by no means al dente). The sauce, while it wasn’t incredibly watery, didn’t really taste like much at all. While the chunks of tomatoes were tasty and sizable, they were also somewhat sparse. As for the Parmesan and Asiago cheeses, I could barely tell they were there.

While I wouldn’t describe it as bad, it wasn’t necessarily good, either. There was enough pasta to make it a full meal, but the only way I would buy this again is if I needed a 5 minute side pasta dish to something more flavorful and filling. Also, its good to keep in mind that this contains a whopping 620 mg (26% DV) of sodium. Better bet? Boil a small pot of water and drop some pasta in it and add some marinara sauce. It seriously only takes about 12 minutes longer and you will be a much happier camper.

Stars: 3/5

Nutritional Information: Serving Size: 1 package. 250 Calories. 45 Calories from Fat. 5 g Fat. 2 g Saturated Fat. 0 g Trans fat. 5 mg Cholesterol. 620 mg Sodium. 470 mg Potassium. 42 g Carbohydrates. 4 g Dietary Fiber. 10 g Sugar. 8 g Protein. 5 Weight Watchers Points.

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Trader Joe’s Barbeque Popped Potato Chips

The barbeque kind looks just like these, but the bag is bright orange

I am always on the lookout for a way to fulfill my desire for potato chips without giving myself a heart attack from all the saturated fat I would be consuming by eating a bag of Utz everyday.  I keep coming across various forms of “popped chips” in grocery stores lately, so when I was at Trader Joe’s I snatched up a bag of Trader Joe’s Barbeque Popped Potato Chips.  What are popped potato chips?  Not fried or baked, they’re potato chips cooked under heat and pressure until they “pop”.  Apparently this means they’re much healthier than regular chips.  Side-by-side with Lay’s Barbeque Potato Chips, they contain 30 less calories for a 1 oz serving (in the case of the Trader Joe’s chips, this translates to about 19 chips) and less than half the fat.  They are also free of saturated fat and cholesterol.  They do, however, contain 20 g of carbohydrates to Lay’s 15 .  Curious, I looked at the ingredients.  The first ones named are potato flour, potato starch safflower oil and/or sunflower oil, barbecue seasoning, onion and garlic powder.  In a nutshell it sounded like a pretty darn good combination of flavors.

Assured that these would not, in fact, kill me, I gave them a try.  In one word, these are AWESOME and not lacking in flavor like the sad cardboard excuses for potato chips that baked chips are.  Each od the popped chips has a very generous amount of the barbecue seasoning on it, giving the chips the necessary bright orange color.  The seasoning had a nice smoky, spicy mesquite flavor to it.  They are roughly the same size as regular potato chips, although they are circular and slightly thicker and airier and seemingly grease-less (they do, however, still have a fantastic crunch to them).  My only complaint is that they were a little too salty, but it did keep me from eating the whole bag.  Overall though, these were absolutely incredible and have officially become my new favorite potato chip!  I will have to try the regular store version (Popchips) in comparison.

Stars: 5/5

Nutritional Information: Serving Size: 19 chips (28g).  Calories: 120.  Total fat: 4 g.  Saturated fat: 0 g.  Total Carbs: 20 g.  Protein: 1 g.  3 Weight Watchers Points

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