Product Spotlight: Lean Cuisine

If you're anything like me, one of the biggest issues with committing to a healthy lifestyle is that it generally eliminates the delivery of Chinese food.

Call me uncultured, tell me it's "inauthentic", I'll happily agree with your diagnosis as I shovel in another ladle full of overcooked mussels in spicy black bean sauce. Knowing that I can fire up my speed dial and have delicious Chinese cuisine in my living room within the hour is one of life's great pleasures.

Once I decided to suppress these naughty inclinations, I'm going to admit, my overall mood took a serious nosedive. Just in case I haven't conveyed it , the frequency with which I used to indulge on fast and greasy food was intense.

Then I discovered Lean Cuisine.

When I was a kid, a TV dinner wasn't exactly a good thing. I remember making that no-win choice between the same three unappetizing flavors, and the dull blue box coming out of the freezer to signal that my mother wouldn't be cooking any of the hundred more preferable meals in her repertoire. When your mom is an amazing cook, a TV dinner in 1992 could really ruin your night.

The TV dinner landscape has seen a good deal of growth since 1992. There's an entire section of any given grocery store dedicated exclusively to this ever-expanding cast of culinary experiments. Some are fantastic. Some are passable. Some are downright terrifying - another lesson for another day.

You can imagine the celebration that was had by me (right there, in the middle of the aisle at ) when I glimpsed the following phrase on a Lean Cuisine Box:  Spa Cuisine Beef and Broccoli.

Beef and Broccoli. My dish! The meal I spend at least one complete paycheck on in any given year! Naturally, I loaded up my cart, but the treasure hunt didn't end there. A few slots down I saw Simple Favorites Asian-Style Potstickers by the same company. One shelf over, Spa Cuisine Sesame Stir Fry. It was like a miniature menu, conveniently packaged in single-serving sizes for easy freezer storage!

I tried one of each throughout the next day. Beef and broccoli won my heart. Soft, flavorful broccoli florets, fluffy white rice and a generous helping of sauce to keep the beef moist while cooking. The stir fry was a close runner up, sweet, savory and a sure craving killer.

The potstickers . . . well, they were like a dull first date. I won't be calling again, and I'm pretty angry that I payed for the food. If there's one thing a potsticker should never be, it's "citrusy." The entire entree was tart and sour, and the delicate skins they're wrapped in turned crispy in the microwave. You can't win 'em all!

At roughly $2 per box, these all-in one meals are significantly easier on your wallet than the nearest delivery place, and with a calorie hit of just roughly 260-340 each, they'll be easy on your waistline, too. Perfect for those hectic, exhausted nights when the last thing you want is to fire up the stove, and your temptation would normally be to dial up Happy China.