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Articles: food

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Wednesday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Chicken and Vegetables

Friday, 2010 July 23 - 4:38 pm

"Roasted chicken tenderloins, garden vegetables & parmesan cheese with vermicelli".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Honey Ginger Chicken

Monday, 2010 July 19 - 2:11 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins with an Asian Style Vegetable Blend in Honey Ginger Sauce over Whole Grain Rice".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Friday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Classic Meat Loaf

Monday, 2010 July 19 - 12:54 pm

"Meat Loaf with Rich Brown Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet Corn Blend & Apple Cranberry Multigrain Crisp". I find the spelling of "Meat Loaf" (as two capitalized words) odd, like they're referring to the singer instead of the dish.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Thursday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Lobster Cheese Ravioli

Monday, 2010 July 19 - 12:46 pm

"Ricotta cheese and lobster filled ravioli, with green and yellow zucchini, in a vodka sauce, topped with parmesan cheese".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Roasted Sesame Chicken

Wednesday, 2010 July 14 - 4:52 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins in Roasted Sesame Sauce, Brown Rice, Vegetables & Gingersnap Peach Crisp". Wait, so the sesame is what's roasted, not the chicken?

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Posted by Ken in: food

Last Thursday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio

Monday, 2010 July 12 - 4:46 pm

"Whole Grain Pasta with Four Cheeses in Marinara Sauce, Broccoli & Caramel Apple Multigrain Crisp".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Marie Callender's Penne Garlic Chicken

Tuesday, 2010 July 6 - 6:19 pm

"Penne and Roasted Garlic Sauce with White Meat Chicken, Artichokes and Roma Tomatoes".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Last Friday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Sweet and Tangy Chicken BBQ

Tuesday, 2010 July 6 - 12:22 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins in a BBQ Sauce, Sweet Corn Blend, Red Skin Potatoes & Caramel Apple Multigrain Crisp." Note that it's "BBQ", not "barbecue".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Last Fortnight's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Bacon Alfredo Pizza

Tuesday, 2010 July 6 - 12:15 pm

It's "Wood Fire Style"! (No actual wood or fire used in the making of this product.) "Spinach, tomatoes, bacon & reduced fat mozzarella cheese with a creamy alfredo sauce on a thin crust."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Last Fortnight's Frozen Meal: Kashi Southwest Style Chicken

Tuesday, 2010 July 6 - 12:04 pm

Not actually southwest; just "southwest style". "Grilled Chicken Breast Seasoned with Lime, Cumin & a Hint of Chipotle; Fire Roasted Onions & Corn, Red & Green Peppers; Kashi 7 Whole Grains & Sesame Pilaf."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs

Monday, 2010 June 21 - 5:50 pm

"With pasta in a savory sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Friday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Oven Roasted Chicken

Monday, 2010 June 21 - 5:44 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins in Homestyle Gravy, Vegetables, Whipped Potatoes & Peach Multigrain Crisp."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Thursday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Pineapple Chicken

Monday, 2010 June 21 - 5:32 pm

"Fried Chicken Breast, with Carrots, Pineapple and Red Peppers, in a Sweet Glaze, Over a Bed of Whole Grain Rice." What's with the random commas? It's, madness!

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Pumpkin Squash Ravioli

Tuesday, 2010 June 15 - 2:28 pm

"Pumpkin filled ravioli with a butter-sage sauce, asparagus and butternut squash."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Philly-Style Steak and Cheese

Friday, 2010 June 11 - 2:02 pm

"Beef steak, red & green peppers, onions & cheddar cheese sauce on sourdough bread". I'm sure Philadelphia residents would have a good laugh about the "Philly-Style" claim.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken Primavera

Thursday, 2010 June 10 - 1:29 pm

"Grilled white meat chicken with asparagus, tomatoes and whole wheat pasta in a creamy garlic sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Lemon Pepper Fish

Tuesday, 2010 June 8 - 1:41 pm

"Breaded White Fish Fillet with Whole Grain Rice Pilaf, Broccoli Florets & Caramel Apple Multigrain Crisp."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Stouffer's Vegetable Lasagna

Tuesday, 2010 June 8 - 1:13 pm

"Lasagna layered with a colorful medley of carrots, spinach, broccoli and onions, with a parmesan and romano cheese sauce." So, vegetable lasagna, then.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Last Fortnight's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

Tuesday, 2010 June 8 - 1:00 pm

"Grilled white meat chicken, broccoli & pasta in a creamy alfredo sauce". If you thought there were only a finite number of ways to combine chicken, pasta, a green vegetable, and cream sauce, apparently you'd be mistaken.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Panera Bread Now Selling Asian Sesame Dressing in Bottles

Sunday, 2010 May 30 - 2:11 pm

Thanks to my high ranking in search engine results for "panera asian sesame dressing recipe", I'm up on all the latest developments in America's never-ending quest to duplicate Panera Bread's Asian Sesame Chicken Salad dressing at home. Recently, commenter Mellannie noted that she found the dressing, bottled, at SuperTarget.

So I went to our local SuperTarget and checked for myself, and sure enough, there was the bottle, right in the bagged salad section as Mellannie had said. Price: $4.49.

Panera Asian Sesame Salad Dressing thumbnail

Panera Asian Sesame Salad Dressing thumbnail

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Posted by Ken in: food

CPK Small Cravings Menu

Sunday, 2010 May 30 - 12:58 pm

A few weeks ago I got an email from the director of "Social Media and Grassroots Marketing" for a marketing company:

My name is Jon and I’m working with California Pizza Kitchen to help promote their new Small Cravings menu. I noticed on your blog that you’re a fan of CPK and I wanted to share this video we created that documents CPK diners’ first impression of the new Small Cravings menu. I’d like to invite you to visit CPK in hopes that you’d document your experience and write about your own reaction.. I can offer you $50 in CPK Dough so that you can head out to your local CPK on us.

Well, hey: a paying gig. I imagine this came about because of this review I did earlier. So, I took Jon up on the offer; sure enough, after a couple of weeks, $50 in "CPK dough" arrived in the mail.

Last weekend Amy and I went to CPK, and we ordered one of each item on the Small Cravings menu. That, coupled with the fact that I was photographing everything, probably had the waitstaff thinking I was some kind of Actual Journalist or something.

Anyway, here are the results.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Chicken Alfredo Florentine

Monday, 2010 May 24 - 2:14 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins in Alfredo Sauce with Spinach and Tomatoes over Whole Grain Penne".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Thursday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Lemon Garlic Chicken and Shrimp

Monday, 2010 May 24 - 2:09 pm

From the "Café Steamers" Mediterranean-inspired collection: "Chicken Tenderloins and Shrimp, with Whole Grain Pasta, Spinach, Onions, Tomatoes and Olive Oil, in a Lemon Garlic Sauce".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Tuesday's Frozen Meal: Smart Option Supreme Pizza

Monday, 2010 May 24 - 2:02 pm

"Crispy thin crust SUPREME sausage, pepperoni, red & green peppers and onions PIZZA".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Meatloaf with Gravy and Whipped Potatoes

Tuesday, 2010 May 18 - 9:59 pm

It's meatloaf. No other description necessary, I guess.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Sous Vide

Tuesday, 2010 May 18 - 9:43 pm

Yeah. Until recently I didn't even know about sous vide cooking. My foodie friend Eileen gave me some well-deserved crap about it. But now I get my revenge: I am doing my own sous vide cooking at home, using my $80 home-built contraption. How many people can say that?

So I already had a vacuum sealer. That's half of this technique ("sous vide" means "under vacuum"). Here are a couple of steaks I vacuumed-sealed with a basic marinade (just lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper).

Sous Vide Prep

The other half is a temperature controlled water bath for precision cooking. I took a $20 crock pot, a $50 temperature controller, and a $10 thermistor, and made this thing:

Sous Vide Prep

132°F for a little over an hour, and then seasoned and marked on the grill. Here's the amazing result.

Sous Vide Finished Product

It's a perfect medium-rare, juicy and tender. It's fantastic and foolproof. I am a happy happy man.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Pasta Primavera

Friday, 2010 May 14 - 3:15 pm

"Tender bow tie pasta with broccoli florets and julienne-cut carrots in a creamy parmesan sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Slow Roasted Turkey Medallions

Friday, 2010 May 14 - 3:02 pm

"Turkey Medallions in Savory Gravy with Red Skinned Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Apples & Cranberries."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Monday's Frozen Meal: Michelina's Lean Gourmet Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Chicken

Wednesday, 2010 May 12 - 4:04 pm

"Creamy sauce and pasta with broccoli and WHITE chicken."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Roasted Honey Chicken

Friday, 2010 May 7 - 5:59 pm

"Roasted white meat chicken in a sweet honey sauce with snap peas, yellow beans & whole wheat pilaf." Yes, a sweet honey, as opposed to that other kind.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Health Note

Friday, 2010 May 7 - 12:10 pm

So, remember back in the day, when I was running frequently and posting my two-mile times? And then I stopped running for a while, and ate poorly a lot, and my blood pressure skyrocketed? Yeah, that was scary.

I haven't talked about it much, but I'm running regularly again. I've got the Nike+ thing for my iPhone now, which is a lot of fun. There's a decent route for running near where I work. So I'm running 5 kilometers two or three times a week. I've broken the 30-minute mark twice.

And all those frozen lunches I've been eating... yeah, you can decry all the preservatives, but there's no denying that they're significantly lower in calories, fat, and sodium than just about any fast food or restaurant meal I can get. I used to eat out for lunch a lot. Replacing all those burgers and subs with these little frozen meals has made a difference. How much of a difference? Since the start of the year, I've lost eight pounds. My blood pressure this morning: 113 over 77.

And no, I'm not planning on eating those frozen lunches forever; this is just an experiment. The next phase will involve cooking healthy low-calorie meals from scratch. I'm even planning to make my own cheese.

I have a lot of motivation to stay healthy... the main one is that I want to be around a long time to take care of my lovely wife. That's the thought that keeps my legs moving when I'm out there on a long uphill stretch.

I think I'm doing okay.

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Posted by Ken in: food, life

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Chicken Pad Thai

Friday, 2010 May 7 - 11:23 am

From the "Café Steamers" collection: "Chicken Tenderloin with Whole Grain Pasta and Vegetables in a Sweet and Mild Curry Sauce".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken with Noodles

Thursday, 2010 May 6 - 11:45 am

"Roasted white meat chicken, whole wheat noodles, green beans & carrots in a creamy chili peanut sauce."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Tuesday's Frozen Meal: Michelina's Lean Gourmet Chicken Alfredo Florentine

Thursday, 2010 May 6 - 11:34 am

Is this new? I didn't know Michelina had "lean" meals. "Creamy alfredo sauce with white chicken & spinach with fettuccine". Note the emphasis on WHITE chicken. Damn chicken racists.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Wednesday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Sweet and Spicy Orange Zest Chicken

Friday, 2010 April 30 - 11:23 am

From the "Café Steamers" collection: "Chicken Tenderloin with Rice and Vegetables in a Spicy Orange Peel Sauce".

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Orange Sesame Chicken

Tuesday, 2010 April 27 - 10:21 am

From their "Fruit Inspirations" collection. "Breaded chicken tenderloins in a zesty sesame orange sauce with rice."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Three Cheese Ziti Marinara

Thursday, 2010 April 22 - 6:01 pm

"Ziti pasta in a delicious marinara sauce topped with mozzarella, monterey jack and parmesan cheeses." Again, why the need to explain that ziti is pasta? And if yesterday's meal was "Asian-style", why isn't this one "Caucasian-style"?

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Teriyaki Chicken and Vegetables

Thursday, 2010 April 22 - 5:49 pm

"Grilled white meat chicken and Asian-style vegetables in a sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce over white rice." Asian-style, eh?

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Suiza

Monday, 2010 April 19 - 1:28 pm

"In a zesty sour cream and green chile sauce with Spanish rice." Wait: Smart Ones has two nearly identical enchilada meals? Or is this one a replacement for the other one?

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Smart Ones Chicken Enchiladas Monterey

Thursday, 2010 April 15 - 1:01 pm

"Two white corn flour tortillas filled with tender chicken, smothered in a spicy tomato and pepper sauce paired with a side of southwest style rice and corn." Note to company: I am not fooled by the fact that you named a California city in your product.

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Posted by Ken in: food

Yesterday's Frozen Meal: Healthy Choice Spicy Caribbean Chicken

Thursday, 2010 April 15 - 12:54 pm

"Chicken Tenderloins, Pineapple, Black Beans and Corn, in a Jerk Sauce, Over a Bed of Whole Grain Rice."

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Posted by Ken in: food

Today's Frozen Meal: Kashi Red Curry Chicken

Monday, 2010 April 12 - 12:26 pm

"Kashi 7 Whole Grains & Sesame Pilaf; Chicken Breast with Fire Roasted Sweet Potato, Red Peppers, Bok Choy, Bamboo Shoots & Kale; Zesty Thai Style Red Curry Sauce."

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