by Marianne Plunkert
Overall rating: 4.5 of 5
Meal Description and Cooking Instructions
I wasn’t looking forward to the breakfast of flapjacks on the second day of my eDiets’ program. To begin with, I’m not a pancakes-for-breakfast type person. On top of that, the last couple of times pancakes were on my breakfast menu was several months ago when I reviewed a few days’ worth of both the BistroMD and the Diet-to-Go diet meal delivery services, and I wasn’t overly impressed by those offerings. BistroMD’s sweet potato pancakes had an overwhelming cinnamon flavor, and Diet-to-Go’s pancakes were sawdust dry.
This eDiets breakfast was packaged in a 2-compartment plastic tray with 2 four-inch whole wheat pancakes and almonds on one side and the pineapple cream cheese spread on the other. The heating instructions called for a microwave time of 15 to 20 seconds. I nuked the meal for 25 seconds since my microwave tends to require more time. I put some plain non-fat yogurt and some blackberries in the blender to serve as my fruit and non-fat dairy accompaniments.
Classic Flapjack with Pineapple-Almond Cream Cheese
My General Impressions
Like the Huevos Rancheros Scramble I had for breakfast yesterday, this meal didn’t appear too attractive on the plate. One of the pancakes was much browner than the other. Although the cream cheese spread had the consistency of syrup, it contained medium-sized chunks of pineapple, which made it look lumpy rather than appetizing.
I poured the cream cheese over the pancakes, spreading it to cover both flapjacks, and sprinkled the almonds on top.
As was also the case with the Huevos Rancheros Scramble, I was more than pleasantly surprised when I began eating. The pancakes were moist, with good texture, and I loved the taste of the unappealing-looking sauce. The pineapple chunks in the cream cheese sauce provided just the tiniest bit of sweetness. I much preferred it to any of the syrups I’ve tried, which tend to be overly sweet in my mind.
Nutritional Content
This breakfast is fairly high in fat. Of the 190 total calories, 70 are from fat. This translates to a fat content of almost 37%. It has 7 grams of protein. Total carbs are 23 grams, with 3 grams of fiber and 7 grams of sugar.
The cream cheese, along with the non-fat yogurt I chose to accompany the meal, equals over one serving from the dairy products group of the food pyramid. The entrée alone offers 20% of the recommended average daily intake of calcium, and the yogurt provided an equal percentage.
The entrée itself contains some fruit, but the pineapple chunks in the cream cheese sauce do not constitute one full serving of this food group. However, the blackberries I blended into my yogurt combined with the pineapple chunks did.
Food Rating/Quality
On a scale of 1 to 5, the eDiets Flapjack with Pineapple-Almond Cream Cheese breakfast rates a 4.5 with me. The food itself was excellent. The texture of the pancakes was good, and they tasted moist, even without the cream cheese sauce.
The sauce itself was exceptional. Its consistency allowed it to be poured over the pancakes like syrup, and it had just the right amount of sweetness. The appearance was less than appealing, however. This might be improved if the pineapple chunks were smaller.
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