Wednesday – you know what that means! We headed out on the bike path today. The temps were in the mid 50s, which is a perfect morning ride temperature.
This part of Glens Falls is going through a rebirth. It had some questionable buildings (aka flophouse) which are now closed and there will be some demolition. This coffee shop opened in one of the restored buildings. The Empire Theater building.
My cuppa joe:
And my wheat bagel:
Delicious!
The sun broke out today, so we had a sunny ride home. 3 cheers for vitamin D! It was quite a nice day for a ride. 12 miles round trip. Gotta burn off some of that cream cheese.
Lunch time came pretty fast as work was busy all morning. I made up a salad and crushed some tortilla chips on top for a little crunch.
Interesting, but I think I like nuts better.
I received a fun box today from Amy’s Kitchen. They have 4 new Light and Lean Organic meals, and offered me a sample of each of them to try. I used to be the Lean Cuisine Queen back in the day and I haven’t had a frozen entree in years. I didn’t like the processed taste after a while, but these sounded interesting. Being organic, I figured they were a few steps up from LC, right?
The best part? They were packed in dry ice! That meant John and I could geek out for a while.
Outside? Pretty boring.
Inside – instant fog machine!
Dry ice is so fun to play with. I brought the bowl over to Pixie thinking she might find the bubbles interesting, but she was was all “get that out of my face”. 
After keeping my face in the smoke for a while, I began wondering if it was possible to suffocate from dry ice vapor, so I figured it was time to make dinner.
John and I each had an entree. Mine:
Official description: Rotini pasta tossed in a light tomato sauce and tender shallots, organic asparagus spears and broccoli florets. Just 210 calories, 5 grams fat, and 470 mg sodium. (haha – you know with broccoli florets I was all over this one)
John’s entree:
A mixture of organic black beans, tofu, brown rice, vegetables and cheese tucked into a tortilla covered with tomatillo and ranchero sauces. Organic brown rice with carrots and sweet corn complete the meal. Contains 240 calories, 4.5 grams fat and 480 mg sodium. Gluten free.
We chose to cook these in the microwave. I didn’t want to wait 45 minutes to cook in the oven. Does anyone ever cook frozen meals in the oven?
Mine cooked for 3 minutes, stirred and another 1-1/2 minutes. Voila
Actually pretty close to the picture, just not with cheese on top. It mixed in when I had to stir the entree.
Served avec poire:
The taste? I actually liked it quite well. I find that often times frozen meals with veggies always taste heavily of bell peppers. Maybe it is just me, but that was my experience. Not the case here. The pasta was not gummy or mushy and the veggies were surprisingly fresh tasting. Not often that asparagus appears in a frozen meal. I definitely could have used more cheese, though. What I really liked was that the pasta was not over sauced. Too many time frozen dinner have gobs of sauce and 3 pieces of pasta. Overall I was quite impressed with the quality.
John’s meal:
There was sauce pictured on the box of his meal, but it must have soaked into the tortilla, which made it a little chewy. He really liked the flavor of the enchilada. The enchilada filling had a nice spice to it. The rice was good, but a little on the bland side (I agreed with that). He said that cooking in the oven would probably be the best method for his dish. His meal was gluten free, too.
These meals retail for $4.89 per meal, which is on the high side, but then again, they are organic and of definitely better quality than a Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine. And pretty low in sodium for a frozen meal at around 470 per meal. We have 2 more to try as well, so you will see those sometime 😀
Evening snack for me tonight is some of this:
Question: Have you ever tried Amy’s Kitchen products?
Disclosure: I received these items from Amy’s Kitchen to sample, but the opinions expressed are my own.
I am drooling over your bagel! I have gone carb free for a few days. LOL….I love Amy’s meals, but they are pricey.
Yum! I love bagels. Frozen foods not as much. I tend to avoid them as much as possible. I’ve heard Amy’s frozen lunches aren’t as bad as others though.
My comment The First: It was 104 degrees today when the train finally brought me back to the Park ‘N Ride so I could get home. I did NOT envy you all the time you were stuck indoors because of the snow, but I certainly do now.
My Comment The Second: I have a huge crush on Amy’s meals. Like, if I weren’t married, I would go out on multiple dates with these things. Considering the Santa Fe bowl is my go-to lunch and I have been known to bring them to work in bunches of 10 to ensure always having a good one on hand, it might be safe to say I’m thisclose to cheating on my husband with them. I love that all the ingredients are Real Things, not Unpronounceable Chemicals. And I just wait for a sale and then I buy up all of my favs and keep them in the deep freeze (Whole Meal Cheese Enchiladas, Veggie Lasagna and the aforementioned Santa Fe Bowl). I had a coworker who lived in India for years that claimed the Indian Food Amy’s were fantastic, but since that’s not my bag (baby),I’ve never been able to comment.
My Comment The Second, continued: I just buy them on sale and stock up. But apparently, someone else does this at my local grocery store. So if I don’t get there early enough, this mystery-other-person buys up all of the exact same Amy’s and leaves the freezer empty. 🙁
Thanks for the link for the duathlon training. It is too late for this one but I may follow it at some point in the future. My duathon is in two weeks. I have spent a lot of time on the bike trying to incorporate hills as it is a very hilly course. I will do my best and then have a time to beat!
I haven’t heard of that coffee shop! I Googled it and it looks lovely, I’ll have to check it out – that bagel looks delicious! 🙂
I’ve had quite a few of Amy’s meals, but not the Light & Lean ones. I really like them, my favorite is the cheese ravioli, although I haven’t had them in a while because they go a little beyond my budget.
It is very cute. They opened up in late December, I think it was. Simple menu and small shop. They make their own baked goods there, which John loves like the coffee cake and scones. I hope they do all right there.
I tried Amy’s cheese enchiladas once and LOVED them. These look quite tasty too. Not like that horrible ‘crab stuffed fish’ that you had a few days back!
hahaha!! I had to go look at the picture of that meal again so I could laugh at it. 😀
I have tried a couple of Amy’s meals…actually, I may have had the one that John tried. As far as frozen meals go, Amy’s are definitely higher quality in taste. Great in a pinch when you just want to “heat and eat”!
Love the blue sky in the first pic. Right now our skies are full of thunder and lightning.
I have not tried these entrees. I rarely have frozen prepared food, unless it is food I made.
The dry ice is so cool! Did you feel like a rock star?
I’m impressed – the Amy’s meals actually look like their pictures! I don’t do frozen meals anymore (another former Lean Cuisine queen here), but I may buy one or two, just for those times when I’m going down the “cereal for dinner” path too often.
I laugh as I know better than anyone that a blog post is merely a SNIPPET IN TIME in a bloggers life and yet I so so so long to be you for a day…every day I read your blog 🙂
Hey Lori, thank you for your encouragement – I really needed it. It struck me also when I read part of your profile, about working to lose the weight “it took a long time, but I’m almost there” – I needed to hear that too! 😉 Funny but I thought of you yesterday – I finally went for a BIKE RIDE on my new bike!! Yah. The adrenelin was needed and it helped me get back onto the horsey. Dawn
That bagel looks so delish!!!!!!!!!!! Have not had one in a while so I need to get out! 😉
I am not a frozen meal person either & the sodium always gets me – even though yours were lower. Also, a bit pricey for my budget but looks good!
There are very, very few premade packaged foods that I like. I just always have found them to be not as pictured – so it’s interesting to see that Amy’s are. Although I have to say 210 calories isn’t very much for dinner. I’d definitely have added cheese 😀
Thanks for the review! I’ve eyed the Amy’s products several times, but I haven’t bought anything yet. They’re a little pricey, but they might be a nice option just to break out of my normal meal cycle. 🙂
I love Amy’s products. The Mango salad dressing is one of my favorites!
I am hosting a Small Change Challenge to kick off the summer in a healthy way. Stop by and read about it and perhaps you would like to join me! I have gained a few pounds and need the help of the blogging community to get back to goal!
http://fitnessfoodfun.com/
Sorry that was the wrong link! Clearly I need better computer skills!
http://nutmegnotebook.com/2011/05/small-change-challenge/
I haven’t tried Amy’s organic foods, but I did notice the low sodium – nice! I have a co-worker who has chronic kidney problems and needs to be on a low sodium diet, and she doesn’t cook much, so I am happy to let her know about these!
When I saw your entree, I thought, “I wonder if you could just pour that into two cups of low sodium broth and make a soup?”
Hooray for bagel Wednesday!
I’ve tried Amy’s cheese enchiladas. They were really good. I haven’t tried any of light and Lean kind. I don’t think I’ve seen them in the store.
I would so be playing with the dry ice too! LOL!!!! A lower sodium frozen dinner? Sign me up! (not that we get these here in Canada….yet….)
Have a great day Lori!
I love Amy’s! They have really good gluten free options and I like that I can pronounce all the ingredients! 🙂 I’ve not seen the light and lean ones yet. I usually get the enchilades verde for lunch. They also have a gluten free lasagna that has pretty decent nutritionals. When I need comfort food I get the Amy’s GF mac and cheese and eat it for dinner with Applegate Farms GF chicken nuggets. I call it my toddler meal! lol
Have to say the meals look good for prepared meals. I never tried it but that’s because you can’t buy it here. Usually I don’t like prepared meals.
Nice bike ride Lori.
i find amy’s to be really hit or miss. it’s hard to remember which is which too, b/c they have so many!