When bloggers quit their jobs and go full-time, sometimes they forget about the trivialities of real life, where most of us don't have time to cook eggs for breakfast or assemble a salad from the garden for lunch. No, the rest of us are jockeying for space in the break room to get a microwave at 12:02 p.m. and consider a large coffee with extra cream as breakfast on those days when we can barely even function.
You won't find me suggesting anything of the sort anytime soon because I know. I'm in the trenches too and even if I was able to become a full-time work-from-home blogger, I've had ten years in the full-time workforce. Which is why what I am talking about today is much more relatable to you, fellow office-goer! We need microwavable food. We need quick cooking dinners. Some days we need it to be packaged and frozen by someone else. And when we do, we want to have it be not insanely unhealthy and we definitely don't want to be disappointed when we finally tuck into it.
That's where Lightlife comes in. They've recently released some new foods that go beyond the Smart Dogs and deli slices that they are known for. I gave a few of their items a try to see what it was all about.
Southwestern Quinoa & Black Bean Bowl
This one has a bit of spice to it! The most filling one I had, this is nine grams of protein and lots of vegetables on top of quinoa. The ancho line chili sauce is flavorful, not overpowering, but definitely not bland. It's kind of like chili with a bunch of tempeh and some extra vegetables mixed in. I finished it off with a glass of milk to cool off. I might buy this one again.
Teriyaki Tempeh Bowl
This one cooks up nicely, with no gross crunchy pieces of rice or soggy vegetables. The teriyaki flavor comes through a bit sweet but otherwise quite pleasant. There aren't many large pieces of tempeh, but there are lots of smaller ones scattered in with the rice for a good texture. I also love edamame and enjoy that there is plenty in this meal, bringing it up to 12 grams of protein. I had this one for dinner on a rainy Wednesday night after a drag of a workday. Would definitely get this one again.
Wild Mushroom Ravioli
For those days when you want to make a hot dinner, but don't want it to take very long, Lightlife has two ravioli varieties that are of the just-add-sauce type. One is a veggie sausage which I think would be good with marinara sauce, and the other is stuffed with wild mushrooms. I put a pot of water to boil while I browned 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter over medium high heat. By the time the butter was browned, the ravioli were done. I sauced the ravs and put rubbed sage and parmesan cheese on top for a little extra flavor. As a mushroom skeptic, I really liked these because the mushrooms within are ground up pretty well. No weird mushroom texture, but good mushroom flavor. I will definitely get these again.
These new frozen entrees are available at Kroger in the freezer section. For those who are looking for it under the Vegetarian Alternatives in the freezer aisle, these were found in the Frozen Entrees section. Took me two trips to find these! If you're local to the Columbia area, may I recommend going to the huge and amazing new Kroger at Killian Crossing? WOW.
Though I was compensated for my time and provided product by Lightlife, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support this blog!