Results tagged “ravioli”

Healthy Choice Pumpkin Squash Ravioli

By: Emily W | Aug 31, 2009

I have never been a huge fan of Healthy Choice meals, but after their recent makeover and introduction of new meal options, I figured that it was time to give them another shot. Therefore, I picked up a box of Healthy Choice Pumpkin Squash Ravioli (which is a vegetarian meal by the way), and headed home with an open mind.

The first thing that caught my eye, after spending 6 minutes by my microwave, I cannot say I was thrilled with the appearance. There was something that looked like oil suspended within the watery substance. I had mixed feelings about the taste. The Healthy Choice Pumpkin Ravioli is described as having, "Ravioli stuffed with tender pumpkin and combined with crisp asparagus, sweet butternut squash, and juicy Granny Smith apples, topped with a butter-sage sauce." I thought the pumpkin filling was delightful - each mouthful is rich and flavorful - but, the rest of the meal was mediocre.

The sauce was sub-par and lacking in flavor. As far as vegetables go, the plentiful asparagus was a welcomed addition; but the butternut squash chunks, while flavorful, were way too mushy. Furthermore, I found about 3 random cubes of apples (despite being listed as the fifth ingredient, they fail to make the "front-of-the-box" description). It is almost as though the apples accidentally fell into the tray on their way to the dessert section of the Healthy Choice's Fire Roasted Tomato Chicken entree.

See more on: Frozen Meals , Vegetarian , frozen dinner, pumpkin, ravioli

Annie's Homegrown Organic Cheesy Ravioli

By: Allison P | Aug 30, 2009

(Photo Credit: J Wynia)

When I was a kid, a can of Chef Boyardee was pretty standard fare. I can remember eating everything from the spaghetti and meatballs to the canned Mac and Cheese. My favorite though was always the Cheese Ravioli. But there are better, less caloric options out there. For several years now, I have noticed that my local health food store has been carrying Annie's Certified Organic Cheesy Ravioli. I've always been tempted to buy a can and give them a try, but the $2,79 they charge for ONE CAN has been keeping me away. As luck would have it, I saw it in Wal-mart for only $1.29 a can so I snatched up a can to try (okay, two cans).

Annie's Cheesy Ravioli is described as "organic pasta pillows filled with yummy organic cheese smothered in traditional organic tomato and cheese sauce". A quick scan of the can showed a surprisingly short list of real food ingredients and not one thing I couldn't pronounce. This product also contains only vegetarian ingredients as no animal rennet (aka calf stomach) is used in the production of the cheeses. I emptied my can into a bowl and was pleased to see that the raviolis were very puffy and full looking and that there were a lot of them - not just a 15 ounce can of sauce with a few bits swimming around.

I was also excited to see that all of my raviolis were intact - there is nothing worse than a can of broken up pieces ravioli. Like any canned pasta, Annie's can be prepared either via microwave or stovetop. I popped my bowl into the microwave for like a minute and half, gave them a good stir and dug in. These things kick Chef Boyardee's butt! The cheese inside the raviolis actually tastes like cheese and the pasta itself isn't near as mushy as your standard pasta from a can. The sauce tastes less salty and more tomato-ey. It's still pasta from a can, so it's obviously not a replacement for ravioli at your favorite Italian restaurant or even the frozen out of the bag kind, but for what it is they were good.

See more on: Frozen Meals , Vegetarian , ravioli

Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli

By: Ann H | Jan 23, 2007

When was loading up on my frozen dinners for the week I was super excited to see the brand new additions to the Lean Cuisine Spa Cuisine line. After much debate, I settled upon the Butternut Squash Ravioli which is described as "butternut squash ravioli in a creamy sauce with walnuts, snap peas and carrots." The front of the package also boasts the addition of, "twice the veggies" of the first round of Spa Cuisine and I love me some veggies, so into the buggy the Butternut Squash Ravioli went.

I popped the Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli into the microwave as per the directions and let me add that I was very encouraged by the yummy aroma of creamy, nutmeggy, parmesan-iness that was wafting from the microwave as the meal was being nuked. And when I finally pulled off the plastic and looked at my dinner, I was really suprised that it actually looked pretty darn close to the image on the box! I emphasize this because never, I repeat NEVER in the world of microwave meals do you end up with something that looks as picture perfect as the depiction on the box - Kudos Lean Cuisine!

Another suprising element of the dinner is that there are indeed "twice the veggies" than prior Spa Cuisines that I have tried. The snap peas were cooked perfectly...not mushy at all and the same goes for the carrots and peas, There were 5 large sized raviolis in the dinner and as I cut into the first ravioli, I was greeted with an oozing emission of butternut filling. Yummy . The walnuts added a perfect little crunch to the texture and the sauce was indeed creamy but not in a gluttonous, fatty way. There were also undertones of cinnamon and nutmeg in the sauce along with a mild cheesiness from the parmesan cheese.

I dare say that this is my favorite microwave dinner of all time, running in close competition with my prior fave: Amy's Soy Mac and Cheese.

See more on: Frozen Meals , frozen dinner, ravioli

Weight Watchers SmartOnes Ravioli Florentine

By: Tanya Patrice | Jan 27, 2006

Weight Watchers Ravioli Florentine is simply delicious! It's "pasta filled with creamy ricotta cheese and tossed in a hearty, chunky Italian spinach marinara sauce." The ravioli is tender and has a generous amount of ricotta cheese. The marinara sauce has chunks of tomato and some spinach in it, and there is a lot of it, meaning there was a lot left over even when I finished eating. The taste of the ravioli florentine reminded me of the Michelina's Five Cheese Lasagna which I also absolutely love.

See more on: Frozen Meals , frozen dinner, ravioli