Healthy Choice Chicken Romano Fresca

Laura says:

The Healthy Choice meals are, I think, some of the least expensive in the frozen meal section and I had some really good luck once with a barbeque steaming tray Healthy Choice meal that I barely remember except that I remember it being one of the best frozen meals I've ever had. This one has broccoli and chicken in it, both of which I'm a big fan of so I was pretty excited for it. But I have to say, I didn't really like this meal. I didn't finish it and left most of the peppers and noodles, as well as the whitish, very thin gravy. I'm just not a fan of the overall taste even if I like the elements (besides the gravy) individually. There is a good amount of broccoli, peppers, and chicken, but it's the flavoring in the gravy that ruins it for me.  3/10

Cheez-its Mozzarella

Laura says:


I think someone with a more discerning palate may be able to tell the difference between specific cheese-type flavor varieties of Cheez-its, but to me these taste a lot like other white Cheez-its I've tried before (I think Five-Cheese?). I'm not sure if I like them more than original Cheez-its, but I do find it hard to not eat a whole boxful! The powdery cheese flavoring is something the flavored-varieites of Cheez-it offer that I really enjoy and they're less salty than regular Cheez-its. I don't know if they're necessarily as creamy & mild as the box describes, but they're pretty delicious cheese crackers. 7/10

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Treats Bar

Laura says:

I was really surprised that something like this has only wheat, milk and soy allergens in it. I used to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch Milk & Cereal bars as a snack but they were always too big even though they tasted good. This bar was smaller so it was a better snack-portion. The bar is really smushy and tastes a lot like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. There's an icing swirl and the cinnamon-sugar top is strong in a good way. I'd eat these again if I were in the mood for something sweet and cereal-y but less dry than regular cereal. 6/10

Lean Cuisine Traditional Pepperoni Pizza

Laura says:


To be fair, I like most microwaveable pizzas more than other people seem to like them. The flavor's pretty good and the pizza isn't too tiny. I like that the crust is fluffier than it is crispy so it feels bigger than most frozen personal pizzas. The pepperoni is kind of lacking in flavor, but the sauce of the pizza is what I think I really like, flavor-wise. 7/10

Lean Cuisine Meatloaf and Whipped Potatoes

Laura says:

I really like this frozen meal, actually. The meatloaf tastes very vegetable-y in a way that's actually good, like it's more related to spaghetti sauce than a traditional meatloaf. The potatoes are just alright but since the meatloaf taste is good enough you can kind of eat it all together and it all tastes better as a result. I'm not sure the difference between potatoes being whipped or mashed so these potatoes just tasted like standard frozen-meal mashed potatoes. It's one of the more filling Lean Cuisines since usually they leave me kind of hungry afterward, so if you're looking for more of a meal this meatloaf one is at the top of my list. 7/10

Snackwell's Devils Food Cookie Cakes

I don't like these cookies much. They taste just like a frozen-meal brownie or similar cheapo dessert (possibly diet). They are a fun texture though. Spongey.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [3.00]
Taste: 5/10

Laura says: I love these cookies a lot. They're soft but with a harder shell of chocolate that makes them very satisfying to bite into. There's a tiny layer of marshmallow that you can't always taste but that is sticky and sweet. I think they're great because they're very chocolatey. I didn't actually know they were supposed to be diet cookies until really recently and have been eating them since I was a really little kid happily, so if you're worried they won't taste as good as a regular cookie I don't think that's a problem. The only downside is that it doesn't seem like there are that many per package, but maybe that's because I eat them so fast. 10/10

Tyson's Any'tizers - Pepperoni Chicken

Hello again, Peanut Free Food Reviews blog! I'm back and ready to guest-blog some peanut-free foods that I've enjoyed (or not really enjoyed) lately for you!

These anytizers sound a lot crazier than they taste. These specific ones (that I suspiciously cannot find on the Tyson's website?) are little chicken nugget spheres that have cheese and bits of pepperoni stuffed inside of them. That pepperoni and cheese filling isn't very strong or delicious. The pepperoni is the square red kind that you would find on cafeteria pizza. I like them mostly when I pretend they are normal chicken nuggets. They come in this nice zip-locky pouch so you can just bake a couple at a time and then put the rest back in the freezer, which is what I did with mine. I don't know much about the price because my parents gave me these and I think they were bought with a coupon, but considering one bag covers a lot of snack and/or meals for one, I think they're a pretty good deal. They obviously are pretty unhealthy. Also, for those of you with allergies that include certain kinds of processed chicken, these made Amanda kind of itchy if I recall.

Amanda says: Yeah, these are super processed and the middle part tastes worse than the plain nugget part! 5/10

Overall

Cost: 6/10

Taste: 6/10

Guest Post: Biscoff Spread

This stuff is not a peanut butter substitute. Ok, yes, it's the same color and comes in a jar and you can eat it on bread with jelly, but Biscoff spread is now in my mind a completely different concept. I want everyone in the world to try Biscoff spread and then really evaluate if we ever need to eat peanut butter again as a society. Seriously. It's not the same. Don't go into it thinking that it'll smell or feel like peanut butter. It's not nearly as sticky as peanut butter or as thick. There's this picture on the top of the jar of a Biscoff cookie being crumbled up into the jar to form this spread, and that's as accurate of an understanding of the taste as I can give you using words. It's like cookies. You can just eat it by the spoonful. Or put it on toast or a cracker or scoop it up with a piece of chocolate and then just renounce peanut butter for the rest of your life. It's even a dollar cheaper than the I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter (without a coupon)! I haven't tried cooking with it because I honestly don't want to waste a spoonful of it just in case it doesn't turn out well. It has an allergen warning for wheat and soy, so it's another great alternative to peanut butter if you want a jelly and something sandwich. Also, if you're a life-long peanut-allergy-haver, this would be the PB-alternative you should try first if you feel left out of the PB&J world.

Overall

Cost: 6/10

Taste: 10/10 (yes, it's that good!)

Guest Post: I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter

Hello, Peanut Free Food Reviews! I'm the infamous Laura from "Laura says yum yum yum!" and other great hits! Now that we're no longer roommates, Katilina and I still want to share our food experiences, so she let me come guest-blog here for a while. So lately I've been picking up peanut-butter substitutes and things from companies that focus on allergen-free foods. I'll be starting off with the peanut-butter replacements, and the first is this one: original I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter!

This is the first peanut butter substitute I ever tried! For me, this is the perfect peanut butter replacement if you're looking for something that tastes and feels like real peanut butter, but isn't. It's pretty expensive (at $6.29 a jar!) but if you give them feedback on their website, they'll send you coupons! A lot of coupons. They sent me ten coupons. This stuff is made of soy nuts, but you honestly can't tell the difference. It's just as sticky and works great on faux PB&J sandwiches. It also bakes well! I made three-ingredient peanut butter cookies with, of course, this soynut butter instead and they turned out great. Overall, I'd really recommend this for people who are related to people who have allergies and get the urge for peanut butter or who developed allergies later in life and have been missing peanut butter. Katilina says all peanut-butter replacement things would be way too real for her, and I think this one especially is just too peanut-buttery for those of you who are understandably peanut-phobic.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10