I had the opportunity to review some Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers thanks to amotherworld.
Day 1: I took the coupons sent to me to a local grocery store in Pickering, which happened to have a large variety of Healthy Choice Steamers on sale for $2.99.
I brought them to the checkout and presented the coupons. The young cashier said she wasn’t sure about the coupons because the coupons sayone per purchase. I told her that I could come in 10 times and it would be the same thing. She called her manager and then after reading the fine print, she allowed me to purchase all the flavours at once, with some overriding of the till.
The first flavour I tried was the Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables. It heats up fairly quickly – 3.5-4.5 min. Lift off the plastic, pour it in the little bowl with sauce, stir it around and voila! Instant meal. I’m going to admit, I’m a meat eater, but I loved this flavour! It’s a little bit spicy (not overly hot), garlicky and not mushy at all. I love broccoli and chick peas, so that was a major plus for me. It’s full of lentils, which is great because I’m not a fan of plain rice. It’s colourful with bright red peppers and I could see the grill marks on the zucchini. This was a very tasty dish, it could be a meal on its own or a side dish with meat.
Day 2:
Ok, being on mat leave, I’ve lost the concept of scheduled breaks, breakfast, lunches and dinners. Today, I was looking forward to lunch – why? Healthy Choice Steamers! I didn’t have to worry about piercing the plastic, or pulling it back (sometimes you forget when you’re at work) so this was convenient. It just popped after the steam built up. Today’s Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamer was Basil Chicken. Once it was done, my 3 yo son asked “what’s that smell?” – it has a wonderful aroma once cooked. I love the fact that the sauces are separate from the entree itself, and I just flip the basket and mix. No soggy noodles at all. It had 3 pieces of chicken (but big pieces) that were grilled. It had broccoli, red peppers, yellow zucchini and noodles. My baby even wanted a piece of the noodle action. It was flavourful, but not overly salty – which is great!
Dinner : I had the Beef Merlot for dinner, and it was very good – the potatoes were chunky, the meat was plentiful and the merlot in the gravy was great! I loved the green b
eans and carrots – the perfect complement to the meat and potatoes.
Day 3:
As a last resort to lunch I gave 2 of the Healthy Choice steamers to my tween daughters – their report will be coming soon. But my 11 yo daughter has been clamouring to try the meals since I brought them home. It usually takes me a good 15 minutes to make their lunch – macaroni and cheese – so this was a welcomed change to heat something in 5 minutes, pop it in their thermos and go. So my 11 year old daughter had the Grilled Chicken Red Pepper Alfredo. She said the flavour was interesting and cheesy, nice texture, lots of veggies, lemony taste. She enjoyed it. My 10 year old daughter had the Beef Teriyaki. She said it was a bit too sweet, but still tasted good. It had lots of rice but the meat was a bit dry. She liked the carrots but the other veggies were too soft (probably from being in a thermos). She said it was very garlicky tasting.
My dinner – Sweet Sesame Chicken – I have mixed feelings about this flavour. I’m not a big fan of plain rice, so the sesame sauce was refreshing to spice it up. It was sweet and slightly peppery taste – but not salty. There were only 3 pieces of chicken, but they were large chunks and it was filling. The vegetables were great too, peas and mushrooms.
Day 4:
Lunch: Thai Curry Chicken has a slight coconut flavour. The spices are well-balanced and the amount of chicken was perfect. My 10 month old baby liked the noodles.
Dinner: Mediterranean Grilled Chicken was filling, the broccoli and peppers were tasty as well as the mushrooms which are my favourite. There were three big pieces of chicken with a lot noodles. It left a bit of a garlicky after taste.
Day 5
Lunch: The most exciting flavour of the bunch was Lemon Garlic Chicken & Shrimp. I love chicken and shrimp together – there was lots of each and the noodles and veggies were delicious, it was filling too.
Dinner: My favourite Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamer was the Pineapple Chicken. I loved the rice and edamame (which I’ve never eaten before!) and sweetness of the pineapple was complimented with a mild peppery taste that was very appetizing.
Thank you amotherworld and Healthy Choice Steamers for the opportunity to try all of these flavours! They make a great lunch and dinner time meal in less than 5 minutes.
Sharlene Henry is a mom of four kids: 11, 10, 3 and 9 months. Follow her on Twitter.