Lo Mein Event (Green Giant Create A Meal Lo Mein)

My much beloved and maligned Spouse – the Hubster – has a long track record of mangling the English language. It’s not malapropisms, like some comedians…it’s more a tongue-twisting that ends up creating phrases that end up living in infamy around here. We have some unique desserts – for example “puddo jelling,” which has always been a favorite of mine, followed closely by “cook and milkies.” (I defy you to read that and not think it from this point forward in time whenever confronted by a Toll House cookie.) The other day, though, he was staring forlornly at some items he had scavenged from the refrigerator, and wanted to know if I could manage to whip something up out of my “trick of books.”

Sadly, I wasn’t able to whip up something from Ye Olden Trick Of Books, but in that vein, I did find something else that will be helpful to those of you that have limited time or energy to cook. I tried one of Green Giant’s Create a Meal Stir Fry dinners (add meat and stir), and selected their “Lo Mein” version. It’s billed as “Lo Mein Noodles, Broccoli, Carrots & Mushrooms in a Flavorful Stiry-Fry Sauce, and after all is said and done, my overall opinion is: it’s not bad, and it’s a very easy way to “home-cook” a meal.

The general idea is that you take ½- ¾ pound chicken or pork, slice it into ½” strips, sauté (fry) the meat in a 12-inch skillet/frying pan for 4-5 minutes, then add water, the provided veggies and sauce…cook another 8-10 minutes and dinner is done. The 21-oz. package has additional serving suggestions printed on it (e.g., add variety by using beef sirloin instead, spice it up by adding crushed red pepper, stir in bean sprouts, etc.). I made it, and it’s extremely easy. You could make it even simpler by either buying meat already cut into strips (like fajita meat) or even using leftovers. If you use leftovers, you would just mix the meat, water, sauce and veggies together and cook the 8-10 minutes specified on the package. The bag claims about 3½ servings, and I think that’s about right – maybe 4-5 if you served it with a side of rice, assuming some of the diners were kids. The Lo Mein has 140 calories per serving (excellent!), 1 gram of fat (even better!), 28 grams of carbohydrates, and 5 grams of protein, so it even constitutes diet food. Granted, you then have to add in the caloric value of the chicken, but still - not bad.

The veggies were pretty good. The carrots were average, the broccoli was crisp and tasty, although the mushrooms seemed less prominent than I should have liked. The noodles held together surprisingly well, and the sauce was reasonably flavorful, although not quite as tasty as I would have hoped. I would recommend that you spice this up with a dash of your own stir-fry sauce, or dribble some Sesame Oil over the dish after you have prepared it. For hardier souls, the red pepper sauce (sold in specialty stores if you can’t find it in your grocery) would be a lovely addition.

This normally sells for $3.99 – which I think is a bit steep – I scored it for $2.75, and that’s a good price. I’m not sure I’d pay the four bucks, but I would buy it again on sale. I still don’t recommend it as highly as some of the other pseudo-Chinese dishes we’ve had around here, but it’s worth a try to see if you would like it better, and a product like this allows you involvement in the preparation of the final dish, unlike most frozen meals.

Still, though, for “frozen Chinese,” I definitely recommend Contessa’s products above all others that I have tried. I had their Chicken Stir-Fry again this past week, and it really is an excellent product…and as you can see from my earlier review, their Kung Pao Chicken really will “wow” your taste buds (particularly if you're an onion fan).



Next week: I’m going to be doing something a little different. You know, you cannot turn on the television, or pick up a newspaper, without being barraged by Nutrisystem advertisements. Now, what is Nutrisystem, really? Basically, it’s prepared foods (like granola bars) and frozen meals (like the ones we review here) used as a weight-loss program. You buy all of your “groceries” from Nutrisystems, you eat their food 3 times a day (plus a snack/dessert) and, purportedly, you lose weight…all for a mere $10.00 a day…$70.00 a week, $280.00 a month. Is it worth it? For that matter, can you emulate the Nutrisystems diet plan and spend less – and still lose weight?

In my next column, I’ll be posting a sample one-week menu, copying Nutrisystems’ meal plans, listing specific brands and meals, estimating what it would cost you to “copy” Nutrisystems’ diet meal plan at your own grocery store. As merely one example – Nutrisystems lists a dinner called “Basil Chicken with Tomato Sauce.” Why not try instead Stouffer's Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce, costing $3.99 (regular price), currently on sale most stores for $1.99, with 270 calories?

Let’s find out if that $10.00 a day is such a great deal, or if you could save money by buying similar products yourself (and still lose weight!) in Auntie’s Nutrisystems Challenge.

Until next week….

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