by Marianne Plunkert
Overall rating: 5/5
Meal Description and Cooking Instructions
The luncheon entrée on the final day of my first week on the eDiets plan was “Cajun-Style Chicken Breast Alfredo over Pasta and Vegetables.” The meal consisted of about ¾ cup of chicken and spiral pasta laced with peas, sun-dried tomatoes, and red peppers and tossed in an Alfredo sauce.
It arrived in a single-compartment plastic tray. The heating directions called for nuking the entrée for 1 ½ to 2 minutes. I added 15 seconds to the time to ensure the meal was hot since the other meals have required longer cooking times in my microwave. This amount of time worked well for me and my microwave.
The dieter is instructed to supply a serving of fruit. I decided on 1 ¼ cups of fresh strawberries.
Cajun-Style Chicken Breast Alfredo
My General Impressions
The strawberries I contributed were the least favorite part of this meal for me—and I love strawberries, so that should tell you something. Every bite of the eDiets-supplied entrée was exceptionally delicious.
The bits of chicken were nothing short of succulent. The pasta was a perfect al dente, and the Alfredo sauce was delightfully peppery without being overwhelming. The peas were crisp-tender and provided the slightest bit of crunch to the overall texture of the entrée.
And, with my strawberries arranged alongside the main entrée, the meal was appealing to the eye as well, with the tiny bits of red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes and green peas peeking out through the pasta.
Nutritional Content
I love meals great-tasting, low-fat meals. This is one of them. Only 40 of this entrée’s 220 calories are from fat, and that translates to just slightly over 18%. The dish is relatively high in carbohydrates, though—32 grams—but there are 4 grams of dietary fiber. The meal also contains 5 grams of sugar. Protein weighs in at 14 grams.
The Alfredo sauce contains some dairy products, but there isn’t a full serving of that food group. Nor does the meal supply a full serving of vegetables. The strawberries that I contributed represent 1 serving of fruit according to the information eDiets provides. The chicken is probably a full serving of protein, and the pasta provides a serving from the starch food group.
Nevertheless, the entrée itself provides a healthy amount of vitamins and minerals. It supplies 15% of the recommended daily dose of both Vitamins A and C and 10% of the recommended doses of calcium and iron.
Food Rating/Quality
Given my enthusiastic description of this meal, it probably comes as no surprise that I am giving it a “5” on a scale of 1 to 5. It appealed to the eye and tantalized the taste buds. The chunks of chicken were moist and tender; the pasta was cooked to perfection; and the Alfredo sauce was deliciously piquant.
And while it didn’t appear to be a particularly large meal at first glance, I found myself quite full after I popped the last strawberry in my mouth.
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