by Marianne Plunkert
Overall rating: 4 of 5
Meal Description and Cooking Instructions
The Chicken Breast Chow Mein dinner entrée consisted of about ¼ cup of chicken chunks on what appeared to be a little more than 1/3 cup of basmati rice. It came with a side of 6 medium broccoli florets.
The heating instructions called for a microwave time of 1 to 1 ½ minutes. Based on my previous experiences, I added 10 seconds to this time. This allowed me to enjoy the meal at just the right temperature.
Chicken Breast Chow Mein
I was required to supply a serving of fruit and a serving of non-fat dairy. I chose fresh strawberries and an ounce of low-fat cheddar cheese this time around.
My General Impressions
The meal made for an attractive plate, with the green broccoli, golden cheddar cheese, and rich red strawberries offsetting the creamy color of the chicken chow mein, which itself had bits of red peppers and a couple of green beans mixed in.
And it was also pleasing to the palate for the most part. The main entrée was absolutely delicious. The chicken pieces were succulent, and the basmati rice was cooked to perfection and provided its wonderful characteristic nutty flavor to the meal.
Unlike the first President Bush, I’m a broccoli lover, so even though the broccoli had a little bit softer texture than I prefer, I still enjoyed it. Nevertheless, it seemed more like frozen broccoli than the broccoli I’ve enjoyed thus far in other eDiets meals. The broccoli sides in my previous meals have had a crisp-tender texture, resembling freshly-steamed broccoli more.
Nutritional Content
Only 50 of this delicious entrée’s 250 calories are from fat—exactly 20%. And it contains a healthy 22 grams of protein. Total carbs weigh in at 25 grams, with 3 grams each of fiber and sugars.
It supplies a whopping 70% of the daily average requirement of Vitamin C, 10% of the Vitamin A, 4% of the calcium, and 6% of the iron. And all six food groups of the food pyramid are represented: protein (chicken), starch (rice), vegetables (broccoli), fruit (strawberries), dairy (low-fat cheddar cheese), and fats (canola, olive, and sesame oils).
Food Rating/Quality
I rate this meal as a 4.3 on a scale of 1 to 5, primarily because of the texture of the broccoli. I also don’t care for the fact that the list of ingredients contains items such as green pepper, celery, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, which I neither saw nor tasted. Green beans are also on the list, and I did take note of those, but there were only two lonely beans in the chow mein. Truth in advertising is important to me.
Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the chicken chow mein on the basmati rice, and I didn’t dislike the broccoli—although if you’re not a broccoli lover to begin with, you may disagree with my point of view on it. I’m hopeful that the texture of the broccoli in this eDiets entrée is only an anomaly because I will definitely replace a dinner item I liked far less with this one if the situation arises. (The “Savory Turkey with Harvest Raisin Sauce” comes to mind.)
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