Price: $3.99
Serving: 3 oz.
Calories: 150 per serving
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 6%, 140mg
Protein: 2g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 24g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 per serving

Alexia: The wonderful flavor of Sweet Potatoes together with low sodium content make this Alexia favorite a wonderful and healthy alternative to the everyday fry.

Natalie says: Sweet potato fries are my new obsession. They have the same shape as regular french fry, but are made with the “healthier” sweet potato instead. Finding Alexia Sweet Potato Fries in the frozen aisle at the grocery store made me beyond excited. I picked up the package, thinking they were going to be bad for me but I was in for a surprise. They’re only 150 calories per serving and they are low in sodium.

When I got home, I read the back of the bag in more detail. A “serving” is 12 pieces. Twelve pieces of these seemed small (the size and length is slightly larger than a McDonalds French fry), so I spread out a couple more servings on the cookie sheet. I put a batch in the oven and couldn’t wait to try them. After 16 minutes and turning them over a couple times in the oven to make sure all the sides get nice and crispy, they were ready for me. They came out great, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. They have very light seasoning and the flavor of the sweet potato really comes through. I’ve always had a hard time making homemade sweet potato fries crispy, so I’ll be using these when I’m in the mood for fries. If you’re a sweet potato fry freak like me, you’ll love these!

[If you’re an Alexia fan, check out the coupons section on their website. Register there and get a 50¢ off coupon on ANY Alexia product, good until 12/31/2008. Sometimes grocery stores double manufacturer’s coupons, so you could get $1.00 off these fries. Also, the registration system doesn’t require a real email address. - Ed.]

Price: $5.99
Serving: 1/2 package, 5.5oz.
Servings per package 2
REALITY CHECK:
Calories per container: 576
Fat: 50%, 32g
Cholesterol: 4%, 12mg
Sodium: 18%, 420mg
Protein: 16g
Carbohydrates: 20%, 58g
Fiber: 24%, 6g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 13 Points

Sukhi says: Delicate and flavorful Indian cheese pieces in a creamy and delicious blend of diced spinach and authentic Indian herbs and spices.

Abi says: Palak Paneer is an ugly dish. Dark brownish-green muck hides the occasional cheese cube, defies efforts of spoonless eaters and has the potential to wreak intestinal havoc.

Palak Paneer is also the best version of cooked spinach in existence, so you take the good with the bad.

This palak paneer from Sukhi’s features the frightening price of $5.99 for approximately 9 ounces of palak paneer and a piece of naan. This is an insane price for frozen food, even if it does included naan. But according to Sukhi, this box contains two servings, so three bucks per serving is a great deal if you believe in voodoo microwavonomics.

This palak paneer isn’t rich and savory. Instead it is thin and hot, with jalapeno peppers overpowering all other spices. Add the use of cheaper-than-butter (or ghee) canola oil and the dish goes from rich and creamy to bland (yes, spicily bland) and, well, still creamy.

The paneer (fresh Indian cheese) isn’t a player in this meal and the included microwaved naan shows that the claim “It’s Better With Naan!” is only true when the naan is fresh from the Tandoor or reheated in an oven. Naan needs crispiness to counteract its inherent fluffiness and this microwaved version falls short. It is also invisible, as you can see from the photo above. Okay, so it is not invisible, but there’s also not nearly enough to make it a suitable rice replacement. Size of naan: 1.25 CD jewel cases. If you can even remember the size of a jewel case. And 1.25 jewelcases of naan is not enough naan to deal with this spinach.

If you’re trying to pay north of $4.00 for a mediocre frozen meal, you could get this or Amy’s Palak Paneer (the bland version of this meal) and enjoy a toss-up in terms of tasty.

more cat pictures

If you are not already familiar with LOLcats, be prepared to lose much of your day to laughing at absurd kitties at I Can Has Cheezburger.

Price: Free from PR people
Serving: 1 Filled Bagel, 2.5oz.
Servings per package 4
Calories per serving: 180
Fat: 9%, 6g
Cholesterol: 5%, 15mg
Sodium: 8%, 200mg
Protein: 7g
Carbohydrates: 9%, 26g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Sugar: 4g
Weight Watchers Points: 3 Points

Kraft says: A bagel and cream cheese all in one. The warm, golden crust and soft, chewy texture of an authentic bagel wrapped around a center of cool and creamy Philadelphia cream cheese.

The review below is by the director of my department at work. He is French, so you will need to imagine his responses with a French accent.

1. Which type of Bagel-ful did you eat?
   First I couldn’t tell which one I took, I had to look at the packaging to confirm that I was indeed eating what is referred to as whole grain with cream cheese.
   If it had mint in it, I could have sworn I was chewing on some fresh Trident. The doughy taste of the bagel could have probably been avoided by cooking this thing properly. I would have preferred somewhat of a saltier taste rather than the almost sweet taste that is typical to this kind of products.
2. What did you like about the Bagel-ful (aside from that it was free)?
   …I was hungry
3. What would you change about the Bagel-ful?
   Close the factory down. Seriously, it has nothing of a good bagel. The crust is almost more doughy than the inside. The inside should be moist but not sticky and a lot more compact than it is. They’ve got to get rid of the fake chemical taste. I would categorize this as a failed attempt.
4. How much would you be willing to pay for a package of 4 (if you liked them)?
   I wouldn’t buy those so what ever price is not right. But if really I have to put a price I’d say $4.99.
5. How often do you eat bagels (free or not free)?
   Once to twice a week.

P.S. I did it eat it all as I am hungry coming out of the gym.