Frozen Faves

Quite a while back I posted my frozen faves list in honor of frozen food month. One of those on my list is Michael Angelo's fine Italian products. When it comes to frozen Italian Michael Angelo's is hands down the best the freezer section has to offer. They have quite a big selection of favorites like lasagna, eggplant (my favorite), alfredo, shrimp and many more!

"Each of Michael Angelo’s delicious appetizers, entrées and sauces is handcrafted from Sara’s authentic Italian recipes, using only the natural, wholesome ingredients found in a genuine Italian kitchen. In order to ensure that you provide your family with a delicious and nutritious meal, we use only 100% premium meats, authentic Italian cheeses, 100% durum wheat semolina pasta, fresh herbs and spices, fresh vegetables, and specially selected, vine-ripened tomatoes."

Log onto to their website to view all the delicious entrees that can be on your families table in about 10 mintues and also register for the trip to Italy they have going! Maybe I shouldn't have told you about the trip, I think I just lessed my odds.

Tropical Oasis

In college we had a Jamba Juice right on our campus that I could be spotted in almost daily, I just love their smoothies. Sadly now I have no Jamba's even close to me so I could hardly remember just how great their smoothies are until recently when I got the chance to try their Jamba "At Home" Smoothie line with flavors like Strawberries Wild, Razmatazz, Mango-a-go-go and the all new Caribbean Passion.

Caribbean Passion is a mixup of mangos, peaches, strawberries and passion fruit. All of the flavors also have non-fat yogurt included in the smoothie mix so all you have to do is blend with apple juice and get ready to taste an authentic Jamba Juice smoothie right there in your kitchen. The mix is very easy to make and for a healthy snack very affordable since each pouch makes two 8 ounce servings that clock in at around 70 all-natural calories. The taste? I was fortunate enough to try the Carribean Passion and being a huge lover of tropical smoothies I can honestly say this was super quick, easy to make and delicious. I could easily blend and demolish the entire bag so I have to ration myself on this one. Want to win a coupon for your very own FREE bag? Shoot me an email and let me know which flavor you are dying to try! I will randomly select five lucky readers to get a coupon sent to their snail mail address.

Nature's Dessert

Fruit is nature's dessert-- what is better than a piece of fruit following a delicious meal? One covered in chocolate of course! I am not suggesting that each night you melt chocolate on your double boiler, slice up fruit, dip it, lay it out on wax paper then serve. Instead pick up a box of Diana's Banana Babies and get ready to enjoy a creamy dreamy treat of frozen bananas (hand-picked, fully ripe and deliciously creamy) covered in milk chocolate, dark chocolate or milk chocolate with peanuts.

At my house we are huge fans of the dark chocolate "babies" and eat them constantly, they are a yummy guilt-free treat, but this past weekend we were having people over and knowing not everyone adores dark chocolate we picked up a box of milk chocolate with peanuts and they reminded us of a sundae-- ice cream flavor, rich chocolate and that crunchy, nutty topping YUM! Then Diana's were kind enough to send me some milk chocolates to sample and they were the same quality frozen bananas dipped into high quality bar chocolate (not a coating) covering my banana in a thick layer. If you don't believe that frozen bananas are like ice cream then google banana ice cream maker (don't want to name names) and check out the machine created JUST to make frozen bananas into an ice-creamy treat but its really not necessary to buy this "contraption" use your blender, freeze bananas yourself or get chocolate covered bananas by Diana's and save yourself the hassle. "Like" Diana's on facebook while you are at it and check these full size ones out for fun-- they made me giggle since they are so huge but I really wouldn't having one in my hand right now. Find them here or order online.

Specific Cravings

I was so excited to try Michelina's frozen meals--- perfect for taking to work AND they cater to my very specific pregnancy cravings! They have tons and tons of entrees to choose from in their various product lines that include: Authentico, Traiditional Recipes, Lean Gourmet, Budget Gourmet, Snack Rolls as well as a bunch of new products. The meal I chose was Spaghetti Marinara-- the saucy was sweet with a good tomato tang and the noodles were cooked perfectly. The whole meal only had 250 calories which isn't bad at all for a pasta dish! If you are concerned about the healthy options Michelina's impressed me again by having a "Healthy Options" section right there on the main page where you can dial down entrees by Allergens, Calories, Fat or Sodium. Their Lean Gourmet line is ALWAYS a great choice for a delicious on the go meal. Their site is so up to date with descriptions of each meal along with the nutrition facts so you can make informed decisions. Michelina's makes their meals taste so good by adding fresh ingredients for the best test and topping it with love!

Restaurant quality in the comfort of your own home!

I absolutely love eating restaurant food but after a long day at work the last thing I want to do is go back out and sit in a restaurant. Instead, I would like a quick meal that just tastes like I ordered it straight off a menu. Last week, I tried the new Wanchai Ferry Beef & Broccoli stir fry meal and this was just what I got. Yummy Asian cuisine without the hassle. This was so quick and easy to prepare I had dinner ready in under 10 minutes. Everything I needed was in the bag and it was a balanced meal with a mixture of beef, veggies (lots of broccoli, red peppers and water chestnuts) plus an easy to cook bag of rice. Perfect for two! The meat was great quality, the veggies were crisp and tasted fresh and the rice was tender and fluffy. The brown sauce packet that was included was delicious—a mixture of soy and garlic gave it the perfect touch to the meal. I am SO happy to learn that Wanchai Ferry also has Orange Chicken, Shrimp Lo Mein, Spicy Garlic Chicken and Sweet & Sour Chicken—also coming soon Kung Pao Chicken and Szechuan Style Chicken. Be sure to pick up your coupon worth $1.60 at this link! Their website also has some meal tips to enhance your Wanchai Ferry entrée. This yummy dinner was provided to me by Wanchai Ferry but I would definitely purchase in the future.

Frozen Food Month

Did you know that the month of March is frozen food month? Just last week I was made aware of this little known fact. I know what you are thinking—lets celebrate! Right?! Go out and buy ice cream, frozen pizzas, cookie dough, microwave meals aka tv dinners! Just go crazy! No way. How about if you make it to your grocers freezer and stock up on some of the GOOD for you items that are out there. Here are some of my favorite staples from the freezer section:

Frozen fruit (strawberries, blueberries, blends) for smoothies or as a dessert
Frozen veggies of all sorts (favorites are cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts)
Quick heat able weekday meals like burritos by EVOL and Michael Angelo’s fine Italian products*
Desserts like Diana’s Banana Babies and Coconut Bliss Ice Cream
*“With a standing commitment to using only the freshest, high quality ingredients in their meals, the Michael Angelo’s family uses vine ripened tomatoes and fresh garlic from reputable farms around the U.S. It’s the freshest taste you can find right out of the freezer.”
Now tell me what you stock in your freezer!

Evol

I am a burrito aficionado you could say. I love them but they have to be a good, authentic burrito not a frozen one for sure. Until I saw these from Evol. I knew I had to try them. They claimed to be stuffed with fabulous ingredients, offered multiple preparation methods and well their packaging was just cool. So last night I heated one up with this method – microwaved it until soft and warm then I tossed it in the pan for a minute to brown up each side. Served with some Newman’s Own salsa, some Mexican rice and a side of corn it looked like the perfect meal but honestly I still was not expecting much from my frozen burrito. Staying safe I had the “Bean & Cheese” and its caliber was right there with my favorite local restaurant. I am not kidding. It was out of this world. Totally gourmet, authentic, fresh tasting and satisfying oh and did I mention huge? I have so many other kinds to taste (check out their website for all the options) but next on my list is the Tofu and Veggie Sautee or Veggie Fajita… Thank you Evol, you have forever changed my view on frozen burritos but don’t expect any experimenting outside this line-up!