Originally part of a line called “Artisan Creations,” Weight Watchers Smart Ones Smart Anytime Stone-Fired Crust Pizzas are quite an improvement over what used to be considered “top shelf” frozen pizza, Weight Watchers or otherwise. I still will add some of my own mozzarella cheese, but I’m not on the program and must have at least one tendril of cheese hanging off the slice when I pick it up. This may be a pizza-for-one, but I can’t pick up an eight-inch circle and bite into it like an animal. I cut it in quarters, and try imagining that this is the real thing. A little extra mozzarella goes a long way toward that fantasy.

Although it’s not as cheesy as I would like, or even as the photo implies, the stone-fired pizza has a nice flavor. The firm crust is covered with tomato sauce, reduced fat/reduced sodium mozzarella, asiago, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses. There is an allergy warning about the presence of milk and wheat in the recipe. The sodium level is 660 milligrams, high but typical for frozen foods. There are 64 grams of carbohydrates, which is understandable when you consider that the dominant feature is the crust. The pizza is worth 10 Weight Watchers PlusPoints.

The preparation process is easy enough. The pizza is tightly wrapped in plastic with what the instructions call a silver disk. The disk, which looks like a matte gray to me, is how the crust gets a slightly crispy texture – mostly at the edges. The box becomes a pedestal for the pizza, allowing air to circulate beneath the pizza during cooking. The whole process takes about 3 ½ minutes, which includes a minute of standing after cooking is complete.

As a snack, it would be filling on its own. Because I eat it for lunch, I add a green salad, veggies and ranch dip, and/or a piece of fruit to round out the meal. Under Weight Watchers original program, supplementing their frozen meals with veggies is encouraged. I was never enamored with green salads, but I adore cut up cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot sticks with ranch dip. It complements pizzas and other finger foods. Coupling the pizza with veggies and dip also helps keep your energy up when you’re working and rarely stop everything for a sit-down lunch. Reaching for a carrot stick and dip is a flavorful alternative to meandering over to the vending machine down the hall.

As I emphasize in every frozen meal review, fresh and homemade are the best options at mealtime. Realistically speaking, after pulling together brown-bag lunches for our kids, we tend to overlook the preparation of our own lunches. Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen meals are certainly healthier than most of the fast-food chain fare available during lunch hour at work. At the price of $3, it’s certainly cheaper than fast food. For me, the person who forgets to eat when I’m home alone, it’s important to have choices ready within a few minutes. True, there are better options, but there are many more that are worse.

Recommended: Yes