Heat Eat Review: A Convenience Food Guide for Busy Lunchers

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, March 31st, 2009

Whether or not we’d admit it, many of us probably have some Lean Cuisines stashed away in the freezer for emergencies (or for lunch…and sometimes dinner).

Those microwavable meals stacked neatly in the grocery freezer aisles are constantly on massive sales (Giant, for example, features Stouffer’s entrees at 5 for $11 in its circular this week), making it even easier to give in and pick up a few boxes to supplement the nutritious, preservative-free, lovingly homemade meals that otherwise sustain you.

How do you decide which convenience foods to buy and which to leave on the shelves to marinate in their own sodium benzoates?

You certainly can’t judge these books by their deceptively stylized covers or even rely on brand names for consistency. At lunchtime, you’re left playing a rather unpleasant game of trial-and-error.

Abi Jones, a former volunteer at Teach for America Corps, has come up with a better way. On her website Heat Eat Review, she and her team of 30 writers from all over the U.S. very nicely offer to play guinea pig for us and report thoughtfully on all varieties of nuke-able fare.

In keeping with Jones’ day job in user-centered design, her website is a pleasure to navigate. Want to search for only five-star products (or the scary zero-star products)? You can do that. Counting Weight Watcher’s points? You can sort her reviews by WW point value. There are even reviews on food for vegans (like Heather’s review of Tofurkey) and others on specialty diets.

What’s more, the site is fun to read. Here’s a sample review for an unfortunate kid’s fish sticks meal (check out the play-by-play video review as well):

This meal wasn’t so much a lunch as an act of vengeance. If you’ve been doing some sinning lately (Fat Tuesday festivities and poor voting choices on Super Tuesday both come to mind), you could always choose this meal as part of a Friday Lenten penance. It must be worth at least 40 Hail Marys.

I’m happy to report that reviewer Daria gave Campbell’s Select Harvest 98% Fat-Free New England Clam Chowder a five out of five rating. That very can of soup has been sitting in my desk drawer (next to the tea bags and the bus schedules) for a over week now. I’ve been putting off the inevitable in case it turns out to be one of the many evil-tasting convenience foods that I loathe. With that positive review from Heat Eat Review, I think I might crack it open today and give it a try.

What are your go-to convenience meals? Alternatively, what’s the worst microwaved meal you’ve ever eaten?

– Christina Lee

Tags: abi jones, campbell's select harvest 98% fat-free new england clam chowder, christina lee, frozen meals, Gut Check, heat eat review, lean cuisine, lunch, stouffer's, tofurkey, vegan, weight watchers