Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken Carbonara – What a disappointment!
Written: Feb 20 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Inexpensive, quick to prepare.
Cons: Virtually everything for me, flavor combinations are bad.
The Bottom Line: I am very glad this was inexpensive as this really was a poor dish from Weight Watchers.
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| Magick1's Full Review: Weight Watcher's Smart Ones Chicken Carbonara Froz... |
Most of the Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® meals that I have tried have been decent. This one, I have to say, totally left me feeling let down and very disappointed. It did not help that I purchased four of these in the store the other day, as my daughter was distracting me while I was trying to pick out a couple of week’s worth of meals.
I was trying to get a good variety. Apparently, I kept grabbing the Chicken Carbonara. I wish I could return the other two that I have left! I will share with you why I am so disappointed, along with the ingredients, the nutritional values, and the overall impressions. You will obviously have to try it yourself to get your own opinion, this is only my take on this dish!
The Product
This is a nice looking lunch with linguini noodles, parmesan cheese sauce, basil and garlic mixed with white meat chicken and lean turkey bacon. Sounds pretty intriguing and tasty, doesn’t it? I am not sure where it went wrong with my taste buds, but, something doesn’t strike a delicious chord with me.
The chicken really did not sit right with me, as it seemed a bit more pieced together than nice pieces of chicken breast. There were a decent number of chicken pieces, roughly 7-8 decent sized pieces. And, then there were only 10 – 12 peas in the entire dish. You would think with vegetables they would be a bit more in the dish. The linguini noodles were kind of sparse too.
I am not sure what happened with the flavors in this dish. I don’t know if the garlic and the basil were overpowering the parmesan or the other way around. But, the flavor, both times I have tried it, left me looking quizzically around wondering why I was eating this dish and should I throw it out.
The Ingredients
Cooked enriched macaroni product (water, enriched semolina [semolina, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], egg whites), water, roasted chicken tenderloins (chicken tenderloins, water, seasoning [corn syrup solids, flavor, powdered chicken broth, cooked chicken powder, autolyzed yeast extract, salt, fermented molasses, silicon dioxide, paprika, turmeric], modified potato starch, corn oil, salt, soy protein isolate, potassium phosphates, carrageenan, glazed with water, caramel coloring), cooked lean turkey bacon (dark and white turkey, bacon flavor [autolyzed yeast extract, barley malt flour, salt, fatty meat type flavor (contains hydrogenated soybean oil, bonita fish extract), bacon fat and natural smoke flavor], water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, seasoning [dextrose, polysorbate 80 (emulsified), spice extractives, artificial flavor, extractives of paprika (coloring), smoke flavoring, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), peas, contains 2% or less of: onions, parmesan cheese seasoning (parmesan cheese [cultured part-skim milk, salt, enzymes], disodium phosphate, salt), mushrooms, milk, cream, modified cornstarch, white wine extract*, sautéed garlic (garlic, soybean oil), nonfat milk, salt, chicken fat, cheese flavor (enzyme modified skim milk cheese [skim milk cheese (milk, cultures, salt, enzymes), water], flavors, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium acetate), egg flavor (egg yolk powder, modified cornstarch, chicken powder), brown sugar, bacon flavor (corn maltodextrin, bacon fat and bacon bits [cured with water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite], smoke flavor, salt, smoked pork flavor [hydrolyzed corn, soy, wheat protein, corn maltodextrin disodium inosinate, smoked pork fat]), spices, chicken broth powder (chicken broth, salt, flavoring), dextrose, beef flavor (corn maltodextrin, beef fat, autolyzed yeast extract [salt, caramel color], modified cornstarch, beef extract [beef, salt], natural flavors [contains natural flavor from partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils]), onion powder, chicken flavor (autolyzed yeast extract, chicken broth, water, salt, flavor), xanthan gum, chicken type flavor (flavor, autolyzed yeast extract, chicken fat [BHA, propyl, gallate, citric acid], glycerine, soy lecithin), black pepper, concentrated onion juice (onion juice, sunflower oil), garlic powder.
Contains eggs, fish (tuna), milk, soybeans, wheat
*This product contains wine extract, which contains sulfites.
Whew…glad that I was able to get that information typed. They make the edges of these boxes tiny and the writing tinier yet. I almost need a magnifying glass to read some of these ingredients! I hope they help someone out there that might have allergies or dislike something. This way, they know in advance and don’t have to stand in the freezer section reading everything!
Nutritional Information
This is based upon the standard 2,000 calorie diet and is, as the ingredients above, taken directly from the box:
Calories 250 Calories from Fat 40
Total Fat 4.5g or 7%
Saturated Fat 1.5g or 8%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monousaturated Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 40mg or 13%
Sodium 660mg or 28%
Total Carbohydrates 32g or 11%
Dietary Fiber 2g or 9%
Sugars less that 1g
Protein 20g
Vitamin A 0%
Calcium 10%
Vitamin C 2%
Iron 8%
Overall Impressions
As you likely have gathered already, I do NOT like this dish. It is, as other in the Weight Watchers ® Smart Ones® food line, easy to prepare, taking only about 3 – 4 minutes depending on your microwave. The noodles are nice, tender and enjoyable, but the flavor of the bacon, the seasoning, the parmesan, and whatever else, are not pleasing to me whatsoever. Mind you, I like peas and mushrooms, so I don’t think those contributed much to the flavor. Mushrooms, until I read the ingredients, I did not know they were in this product. Peas, likewise!
The chicken in the last two packages that I have eaten are not very appealing. They seem as if they are pieced together rather than being a nice cut of chicken tenderloin. I think one of the biggest dislikes has to be the “over smoked” flavor of the turkey bacon. I don’t mind bacon and I don’t mind turkey products. But, the smoked flavor, I believe might be what I truly dislike the most. The parmesan flavor does not really jump out as being a strong flavor in this dish. The basil and garlic are really in the background as well, so if you want a mild dish, this, I consider, to be mildly flavored.
If you enjoy chicken carbonara, this might be a good selection for you. I hope your taste buds enjoy the flavor. I know that I am very lucky that these do not cost very much. You can usually find these meals in the store (on sale) for 3 packages for $5, at least in my area. So, for the cost, it is a decent meal.
If you are watching the points, this product comes in on the Weight Watchers® point scale as a 5 point dish. Keep your eyes open, and give it a try, you may like it. But, I certainly know that I do not like it and will not be purchasing it again.
~Thank you for spending time with me today!~
Recommended:
No
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