Smart Ones Lasagna Bake With Meat Sauce

Ah, another case of Smart Ones being vastly inferior to other brands. This is definitely the worst Lasagna Bake of all time!!! However, it isn't terrible. Just not very good. The noodles and sauce are fine, and there isn't too much cheese, but the existing cheese is fine. The little balls of meat are sausagey and gross and made me a little itchy, so that was the worst part of the meal. But there wasn't anything good to balance that out -- therefore, not recommended.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.25]
Taste: 4/10

Smart Ones Home Style Beef Pot Roast

I'm not a big fan of Smart Ones meals, but this one was all right. It had a decent amount of beef in it (5 largeish chunks) and the beef tasted good and was a good tenderness. There are also carrots (meh), a few green beans (good) and potatoes (good), along with an oniony broth (ok). It seems like a decent quality meal, but nothing amazing.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.25]
Taste: 6/10

Francesco Rinaldi Mushroom & Pepper Sauce

You know what, maybe I just don't like spaghetti sauce very much! Anyway, this is pretty good, I just get tired of it really quickly. It's definitely better than a lot of the sauces I've been trying though. It's a good consistency - not too watery, but it's not super thick either. The flavor is good; it tastes a lot like pepper and a little like mushroom. I could do with a few more big chunks, maybe a few tomatoes, but it's pretty tasty sauce.

Overall:
Cost: 7/10 [2.25]
Taste: 7/10

Dole Tropical Fruit

This is my favorite canned fruit -- I don't know if that says much, but sometimes I get in the mood for canned fruit and this is what I reach for. It's definitely convenient in case all your fresh fruit is rotten! Which does happen from time to time. This has pineapple, papaya, mango, and possibly  some other yellow-y cube of fruit in it. I don't really know what's in it, because they all end up tasting pretty much the same, but it's a good flavor. Not as sweet as regular fruit cocktail, and still a nice variety of textures (although there are no smushy grapes, which no one really likes anyway, right?). A good little snack or side dish.



Overall
Cost: 6/10 [1.00]
Taste: 7/10

Trading Company Sunburst Salsa - Habenero Lime

This salsa is very spicy, despite the label prose promising it not to be. It has an OK flavor, or at least it is more interesting than another boring jarred salsa, but it's almost painful to eat. I didn't enjoy it (maybe that's why this flavor was on clearance!).

Overall
Cost: 7/10 [1.39]
Taste: 3/10

Laura says: This is too spicy for my taste. But it's still not BAD and I would finish the jar. Also it's super cheap for salsa. Maybe I would like a different flavor of the same brand that isn't so spicy. 6/10

Smart Ones Ravioli Florentine

This meal contains approx. 5 raviolis that are a little crunchy or smushy (but not both at once). The sauce is OK, kind of a typical tomato sauce for a healthy frozen meal. It's not meat sauce, it's tomato sauce, so there are chunks of tomato in it. Apparently there is spinach too, but I didn't see much of that. The noodles themselves are average at best -- definitely the worst frozen ravioli I've had so far (but not horrendous; I guess it's hard to ruin ravioli).

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [2.00]
Taste: 5/10

Maruchan Instant Lunch - Beef

This ramen is alright. I can't eat the Nissin brand for allergy reasons, so I don't have much to compare with. This one has a seafood warning, but I am willing to risk that and so far it's been fine. This is just noodles in some beef broth, with a few carrots and corn and beef bits. It's a decent sized meal for the price, but as per ramen it's not that great. But it's OK.

Overall
Cost: 7/10 [1.00]
Taste: 6/10


Laura says: These are shockingly good for a noodle in a cup. I like the soupy part in the bottom that's just water the most. I would eat these if I needed a fast meal from a gas station anytime soon, but they're kind of inconvenient because you can't make them in the microwave that easily without another mug or something. 6/10