by Marianne Plunkert
Overall rating: 4.5 of 5.0
Meal Description and Cooking Instructions
The eDiets Chicken Meatball Stroganoff entrée arrived in a 2-compartment plastic tray. Five reasonably-sized chicken meatballs and a few mushroom slices were served in a sauce on a bed of egg noodles in one section. Whole cauliflower and broccoli florets occupied the other section.
The heating directions called for microwaving the meal on high for 1 ½ to 2 minutes. Two minutes fifteen seconds proved to be the appropriate amount of time for my lower-wattage microwave oven.
Chicken Meatball Stroganoff and Broccoli Cauliflower Medley
The dieter is instructed to supply items from the fruit and dairy sections of the food pyramid to supplement the eDiets entrée. I elected to have a bowl of unsweetened mixed berries and a 1-ounce wedge of low-fat cheddar cheese.
My General Impressions
The meal was visually appealing. The dark green broccoli florets, the red and blue mixed berries, and the golden wedge of cheddar added a lot of color to the plate. There didn’t seem to be a lot of the stroganoff sauce, but having been on this meal program for over 2 weeks now, I have discovered that a lot of sauce isn’t required to make a meal taste good.
And it did taste good.
The chicken meatballs were nicely seasoned to provide just a touch of zest. The egg noodles had a wonderfully creamy texture, and the sauce proved adequate enough. It was a light beef-flavored sauce, with a hint of a sour cream and white wine.
The broccoli and cauliflower side dish tasted no different from a frozen broccoli/cauliflower mixture you can buy from your grocer. The flavor and the texture were the same. That said, I enjoy this type of frozen vegetable medley and sometimes purchase it myself.
Nutritional Content
About 27.5% of this entrée’s calories are from fat—80 of the total 290. It contains 19 grams of protein and 32 grams of total carbohydrates, with a healthy 5 grams of fiber and only 3 grams of sugar.
The entrée is rich in Vitamin C, supplying 50% of the daily average requirement of that vitamin. It also supplies 6% of the recommended daily average intakes of Vitamin A and calcium and 10% of the iron requirement.
Food Rating/Quality
On a scale of 1 to 5, this meal scores a 4.5 with me. It was very, very good, but it wasn’t as exceptional as some of the other eDiets meals I’ve enjoyed that I’ve rated a perfect “5.” The stroganoff was tasty enough. The chicken meatballs had just the right amount of spice, and the noodles almost melted in my mouth.
Still, I didn’t find the dish all that reminiscent of real stroganoff, even though the sauce did offer a hint of sour cream. And it contained only a few slices of what seemed to be canned mushrooms.
The texture of the broccoli and cauliflower side was good, too, but no better than the texture you get when you follow the directions on a package of frozen broccoli and cauliflower that you can purchase at your grocery store.
Although the green broccoli in the side dish added some pop to the eDiets’ entrée itself, the visual appeal of the meal was enhanced by my mixed berries and cheddar cheese additions.
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