Background
I have to start by saying that I absolutely detest cooking. It isn’t that I am bad at it, I just don’t like doing it; it takes too much time. Unfortunately for my husband, it leave the majority of the cooking burden on him. Fortunately for me, he is a fabulous cook, and actually enjoys it.

Generally, I get the pleasure of eating one of his terrific seafood dishes. Occasionally, he gets one of my chicken dishes. Regardless of who cooks, we still need a side dish or two to complement the meal. This is why I was so pleased to try out Knorr-Lipton’s side dishes. They are easy to make, and they taste pretty decent. Plus, I personally wanted a bit more fiber in my diet and liked the idea of eating a whole grain pasta instead of the standard pasta, so this fit the bill.


So What Is It?
The product I tried was Knorr-Lipton’s Alfredo with whole grain pasta. Each package sells for around $1.49, which is a good deal in my book.

From what I can tell, Knorr-Lipton has taken some of their more popular pasta and rice dishes and made a healthier version by making them with whole grain. I’m glad to see they are doing this, and I think that their first attempt is a good one, but something tells me they will be redoing this formula to make it even better. Just a hunch.

In general, I’m not crazy about Alfredo. Creamy sauces aren’t my favorite thing, as they are often too heavy for me, but I thought that this Alfredo really wasn’t bad. Granted, I’m not completely sold on it, but it was decent. Perhaps it was the whole grain pasta that made the difference, because the pasta itself had more to it than standard pasta. I liked that the pasta’s consistency was grainy and I enjoyed the parmesan flavor of the sauce (although I would actually have liked a bit more spices, it is a little too bland for me). The look of it might be a turnoff to some of you, as the pasta is darker than ‘regular’ pasta, and the taste could also be a turnoff if you don’t like the grainy consistency of the pasta.


More on the Product
Ingredients in the Alfredo:
Enriched Whole Wheat and Semolina Pasta (whole durum wheat, durum semolina, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate (vitamin B1), Riboflavin (vitamin B2), folic acid), Parmesan and Romano Cheeses (Pasteurized Milk, Salt, Cheese Cultures, Enzymes), Cream Cheese, Pasteurized Milk, Cream, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Salt Whey, Sodium Citrate, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Potato Starch, Natural Flavors (Soy).

Servings Per Serving Size 2/3 cup (1 cup when prepared)
Servings Per Container 2

Each Serving Contains:
Calories: 300
Fat: 4g
Fiber: 4g
Protein: 10g
Carbohydrates: 39g
Sugars: 2g
Sodium: 790mg

Other Side Options:
- Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Broccoli Rice
- Sesame Chicken Rice


Is It Easy To Make?
You get a resounding yes to that question. Basically, if you can boil water, you can do this. Just boil water, add ingredients, cook it some more and then let it sit a bit. The whole process took about 10 minutes. Making it in the microwave seems even easier, but I chose the stovetop. I just think easy to make foods like this generally taste better when they are made on the stove.


Overall
The calories are a bit higher for a side dish than I would like, but I found that if I made a healthy vegetable as a second side dish, it worked out really well. Plus, I was left both full and satisfied. I don’t like that the sodium content is so high, but unfortunately, that seems to be the case with most of the quick-to-make products.

In the end, I would buy this product line again (meaning the whole grain line), but I think I would rather try one of the other three sides as they are more my style.

Thanks to Fleishmann-Hillard for my test product in exchange for my unbiased review and thanks to all who have read/rated this review.

Heidi (hjs33)


Recommended: Yes