(with gravy and garlic-herb mashed potatoes)

Directions: microwave on HIGH for 3 1/2 minutes, stir, cook for 1 more minute, let stand in microwave

Since when is meatloaf a Bistro selection? I thought it’d be a shoo-in for Comfort Classics.

This is a two-compartment tray. Once side is a meatloaf slice slightly larger than the palm of my hand. The other side is the mashed potatoes with green flecks which I believe are chives. The ingredient list reads like a chemistry lab. And although there are no red pepper chunks, the loaf and the “gravy” have red pepper in it.

The meatloaf has a pleasing spongy texture to it and I swear I taste a tinge of ketchup in it, which reminds me of home. The taters are decent too…a bit flat but the garlicky taste makes up for it. It’s not garlicky enough, though, to be a bad-breath-at-work issue.

Paired with a side salad and some carrots, it filled me up and made me happy. On its own this meal wouldn’t have.

250 calories, 8g fat, 5 POINTS)

(White Meat Chicken With Rice In Cheese Sauce)

Directions: Microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes, stir, then cook for another 1 to 1/2 minutes. I cooked for 2 minutes during the second phase because the chicken was still quite icy when I stirred it.

We’re low-calling the lunch today as penance for a very indulgent weekend. It’s an issue between me and my scale.

In this “Simple Selections” dish five chunks of chicken are covered in a thick orange cheese sauce and mixed with mostly white rice. There are a few grains of brown rice mixed in to give it a healthy look. Upon further review of the ingredients, it’s a cheddar cheese with cream cheese mix in the sauce. The carrot and broccoli side dish held its crunch…probably because it’s a 2 compartment-tray.

Between the rice and the cheese, it’s filling as heck on its own (even though I coupled it with another side of mixed veggies and a good Monday lunch after an indulgent weekend. :/

220 cal, 6g fat, 4 POINTS

(tender shrimp in a mild soy-garlic sauce paired with Asian noodles tossed with sugar snap peas and carrots)

Directions: Microwave for 3 minutes, stir, cook for 2 minutes more

Mmm…smells good coming out of the microwave. There are 10 shrimp in this “Bistro Selections” dish. The smallest is about the size of a nickel and the largest is about the size of a quarter. The noodles aren’t mushy at all, probably because they are heavier than your average piece of spaghetti.

The sauce is light with touch of ginger and garlic. And more than a touch of salt. 690mg of sodium worth of salt. That’s 29% of your recommended daily value - IF you’re rocking 2000 calories a day. I’m sticking to 1200 calories a day, so if my high school algebra doesn’t fail me, this meal comes to about 48% of MY recommended sodium intake. That’s almost Lunchables territory.

The overwhelming taste of salt in my mouth is the dealbreaker for this meal. It’s not very filling, either. So this dish won’t be seeing the inside of my cart again. I hope that the salad and jello wash the taste away.

(240 cal, 5g fat, 5 POINTS)