Most days I go home for lunch since we live so close to the office. It’s a chance to take care of a chore or catch up on a show while enjoying lunch. I had a midday dental appointment earlier this week and took one of the new Healthy Choice 100% Natural Café Steamers for lunch afterwards.
About Healthy Choice Natural Café Steamers
Healthy Choice fans shared their feedback on ways to improve the recipes and the company listened. The 100% Natural steaming entrees are now part of the Café Steamers line, giving consumers some great new vegetarian options. Even though I’ve introduced dairy and lean meats back into my diet I still like to eat vegetarian meals.
Of course the 100% Naturals Café Steamers use the tray-in-tray technology that separates the ingredients while cooking – so the vegetables are crisper and the pasta is al dente.
There are five varieties available including:
- Portabella Marsala Pasta: Freshly made whole wheat pasta and rich crimini mushrooms, tossed with a savory Marsala wine sauce and topped with rich fontina cheese.
- Pumpkin Squash Ravioli: Tender pumpkin-stuffed ravioli with crisp green beans, sweet butternut squash, and juicy Granny Smith apples, topped with a tasty butter-sage sauce.
- Tortellini Primavera Pasta: Four-cheese-stuffed tortellini featuring whole-grain pasta, julienne carrots, and red pepper strips and now includes more tortellini and sauce.
- Asian Potstickers: Vegetarian dish served on a bed of rice and covered with a sweet Asian-style sauce. We’ve also added more potstickers and sauce, while making it less spicy, per consumer feedback.
- Portabella Spinach Parmesan: Freshly-made whole wheat pasta, and now featuring even more baby portabella mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes and spinach.
You can learn more about these and other Healthy Choice products HERE.
Tasting the Portabella Marsala Pasta Café Steamer
My closest grocery store was only stocked with the Portabella Marsala Pasta 100% Natural Cafe Steamers. I like mushrooms but portabella mushrooms aren’t my favorite so I was concerned about liking this variety. Those worries were in vain because the portabella mushrooms are used to create the rich, flavorful sauce for the pasta.
The mushroom pieces in the dish are cremini mushrooms and added a nice contrast to the pasta pieces. Speaking of which they are just the right shape to eat without a knife or slurping.
I really enjoyed my lunch and found it hard to believe it’s just 250 calories! The only improvement I would like is to have more vegetables. You might want to have this meal with a side of vegetables or a piece of fruit. I had blueberries afterwards.
I’m looking forward to trying the other flavors of Healthy Choice Naturals Café Steamers soon. Which variety would you try first?
Disclosure: I am participating in a Vibrant Influencer Network Healthy Choice campaign. I have been provided with free products and remuneration in exchange for my honest opinions about the products. All opinions are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by Healthy Choice prior to posting.
I’ve got to be honest – I’ve never been a fan of those meals. 🙁 But I can see where they are convenient and portion controlled – which is a good thing.
Diane, I understand. Ideally, I’d have a good home-cooked meal every day but the reality is that I cook infrequently now. If I’m going to have a frozen meal, it’s nice to know there are low calorie, tasty options with or without meat.
I love portabella mushrooms. Looks delish. I might need to pick some up to stock at home. 🙂
Hi Christine! It was delicious! The sauce was amazing.
I wonder where we can find some of the other varieties locally? Which store did you try? (I think the Pumpkin Squash Ravioli sounds divine!)
I went to Albertson’s because I was in the area, but I bet Ralph’s has more options. I agree with you that the pumpkin squash ravioli sounds great.