Critique: Smart Ones Roast beef and mashed potatoes! Don't buy this!

Way too salty!

Beef too icky!

The mashed potatoes had hard spots! Really?

The meat was swimming in slat laden gravy with bit of something I could not quite define.

WTF? Why did I buy this crap?

And that is my total review on this sorry lot!

Critique: Smart Ones Salisbury steak with Mac n Cheese entree!

Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of ground beef and other 'ingredients', which is shaped to resemble a steak, and is usually served with gravy or brown sauce. Salisbury steak was invented by an American physician, Dr. J. H. Salisbury (1823–1905), an early proponent of a low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss; the term "Salisbury steak" has been in use in the United States since 1897. The dish is popular in the United States, where it is traditionally served with gravy and mashed potatoes or noodles.

In point of fact, this is a gravy covered meatloaf of some questionable origins in terms of the ingredients. That said, this little number by Weight Watchers under the label Smart Ones is rather tasty and anyway, who doesn't like Mac n Cheese?

At just 260 calories, I've found a place for this meal in my freezer and will dig one out, from time to time. As it easily forms the basis for a more hearty repast, I often will include a side or two, making sure not to exceed a 500 calorie speed limit!

On sale, this meal can be had for just a couple of bucks and since it's frozen, it'll keep for quite some time.

Critique: Smart One's Three Cheese Ziti Marinara!

Not true!

Another title might be, 'How the Smart Ones people destroyed what was a good meal!' There were lots of comments pertaining the manner in which the Weight Watcher company 'improved' this offering which I had snagged on sale at $2. According to Heinz, the company that makes the Smart Ones product line, the meal was described as 'ziti pasta in a delicious marinara sauce topped with mozzarella, Monterrey jack and Parmesan cheeses.' And gee, that picture on the package did look sooo yummy, so I figured what the heck....ding ding, my net worth dropped two dolingos.

After arriving home, I was faced with a choice of eating either a baloney sandwich or the Ziti Marinara offering, I elected to do the latter. What a surprise! Ziti pasta is the same type of noodle you see on a box of cheese and mac. So, of course, I already liked that ingredient. And those three cheeses didn't hurt. Finally, at only 280 calories, I have enough room in my dinner budget for a small salad! So, what was not to like?

Preparation was a simple deal of peeling back a corner of the film, nuking for three, stirring and then nuke for another minute. Simple directions for a simple man like myself. I made this meal and had plenty of time to throw together a simple romaine lettuce salad. (I really adore meals that all come together within just a few minutes. It's a lazy guy sort of thing).

Now, I had to admit that the actual picture of this meal did not quite match what I had observed on the package. (Still, it was a far cry better than what you'd see from a stomach cam)! The noodles were Al Dente (firm) and so was quite palatable. To my happy surprise, this meal was pretty darn good overall! I also felt that the sauce was quite good, but admit that I wondered what the 'old recipe' tasted like. The package I had purchased gave me no hint of what version this recipe was... I assumed it to be the new one, though.

Critique: The shrinking Smart Ones Salisbury Steak meal!

This must be the sixth or seventh Salisbury Steak  entree offering that I've critiqued over the last few years. Why I missed this one from Smart Ones is beyond my understanding, so today I am making amends!

This meal came with mac and cheese, so it was a shoo-in at $2.79, (in 2016 I got it for $2 on sale). As one of the Weight Watcher's group of meals, I figured I was making a pretty smart choice!

At just 270 calories per meal deal, I was very tempted to add a side or two to sort of 'round out' the total eating experience. [But, then I realized that I'd already been doing that for some time. One look at my expanding waistline was enough to dissuade me.... this time]. Note also, that by 2016, the meal was just 250 calories... hmm.. the portions must have shrunk!

Preparation was actually pretty straightforward. I've found, from experience, that the smaller the box, the more likely it will be to prepare without much mental effort on my part. I like the smaller boxes a lot for that very reason!

The instructions indicated this to be a 'peel back the corner' class of meal. You peel one corner, nuke it for four and a half minutes, pry open that corner even more so you can stir the contents and then nuke again for about another minute and a half! See! Easy! No mental ability required. That was right down my performance envelope alley!

I got through the requested microwave operations, while pouring myself a glass of ice water. In a few minutes I had an appetizing abet small meal sitting invitingly in front of me at the table.

The Salisbury steak tasted a lot like meatloaf, something I've found to be true in other labeled products by the same name. The mac and cheese was also a real savior because who doesn't love mac and cheese! I gave this meal a sold 7 on a scale of ten and hope to enjoy these more often. Now, I only had 14 hours to go before breakfast..... arrgh!

Update: May 2016 - Circa fast forward and now this meal deal is in separate compartments! So, on one side were the noodles and the other was the 'steak'... My initial take - the cheese side +5, the 'steak' -4. The cheese mac tasted like it should have, while that steak think.. I wasn't sure what the fuck it was... a hard version of a meatloaf? OK, at the sale price of only $2 it was still a pretty good deal. and I found that a breaking up a slice of white bread to use as a sop for the leftover gravy made for a most excellent finish!