Its the new year and with it come all of my favorite resolutions.. to keep in touch better with friends, to get more exercise, to read more, and of course, to eat better. Sometimes I feel like I am going it alone - my husband is fit as a fiddle... my friends all look fabulous and are great at creating salad combinations that restaurants envy. But when I try to up my salad levels, I find things get into a rut in a hurry.
Lean Cuisine has heard about this phenomenon... the boring salad. I was invited to try the new Salad Additions from Lean Cuisine as a Bzz Agent. With Salad Additions, the options for a great salad have become limitless.
The Bistro, Cranberry and Chicken, and the Southwest Style Salad Additions from Lean Cuisine have been the first flavors I have tried. Included in the box are a microwave heat-able meat packet with add-ins like roasted red peppers, black beans and corn (with the Southwest salad), or cranberries, broccoli, red onions, carrot sticks and whole grains (with the Cranberry and Chicken)....Then Lean Cuisine has included a crunchy "topping" and a packet of salad dressing. All you have to do is grab a bag of lettuce (or chop one yourself) and you have a delicious, easy, low calorie, and limited CARB lunch! (I love that!)
You pop the meat packet in the microwave for about 3 minutes, while you thaw the frozen salad dressing under running water. When the meat is heated, you pour it on your lettuce, add the dressing, and top with the crunchy topping... voila - instant amazing salad!
Another part of these that I really like (I REALLY LIKE THIS) is that you aren't dealing with one of those plastic trays that screams to everyone "I AM EATING FROZEN FOOD". I have a feeling this little combo will, in fact, create quite the office stir. When I was trying my first Salad Addition with my family, they were having a lovely, but rather high calorie dinner. My kids wanted to know "Why does MOM get to have the really good dinner??"... I think that is what everyone will be asking you when you eat this. The combination ends up looking like you spent a lot of time prepping a great salad for yourself... something you would buy at a nice sit down place where they have linens on the table and lime in your water. But its easy and you don't have to leave your kitchen or office to get something that looks great and tastes even better.
And I do need to mention how these taste. My favorite flavor so far is the Southwest Style. We lived for a while in Texas and I came to love big, bold flavors and that great southwestern kick of pepper that makes things just a little spicy. Lean Cuisine has captured that in their Southwest Style Salad Additions. With black beans, corn, and roasted red peppers, along with spicy grilled chicken, I was transported back to the San Antonio Riverwalk! I did add in a splash of lime juice, but it was delicious even without that. The flavors are so good - and the corn chip strips as the crunchy "topping" were just right. Yum.
With the salad (and I put about 4 cups of lettuce in my big bowl for this) the calorie count for the meal is about 300 calories... easy to fit into any diet, or just into a regular routine of eating. The packages also have the "Weight Watchers Points Plus" calculated on the side - handy if you are following that plan - even though Weight Watchers isn't a sponsor (that I can tell) of Lean Cuisine.
At the end of the day I think these are a wonderful new option for those of us wanting to watch what we eat... they will certainly keep you out of the boring salad rut... and I love how these are limited in their carbs - something I have been trying to watch more lately, too! Two thumbs up for Lean Cuisine Salad Additions.
Thanks Bzz Agent for giving me the opportunity to try and talk about these great salad add ins. I love getting free samples and coupons to try new products, then share my opinion. Its great being a Bzz Agent!
