Banquet Chicken Sesame Meal - Product Review

Banquet is known for convenience, especially when it comes to their microwavable meals. I generally think they're a pretty good value for the dollar (or less) we pay for them. They are quick and easy, and fairly tasty, though I always felt the nutritional value was questionable. I'm easy to feed, as there are very few foods that I don't like. In all honesty, if I was only feeding me, I could probably get by on a freezer full of microwavable meals.

Really liking most kinds of Asian cuisine, I had high hopes for Banquet's Chicken Sesame Meal. It came in the typical bright red box, with the red and yellow "Banquet" banner. A majority of the box was taken up with a close-up of the meal inside. In this case, a plate loaded with rice, chicken nugget "patties", and colorful veggies, drizzled with a thick, brownish sauce. I liked that the package included a "mypyramid.gov" emblem, which informed me that my "Banquet Chicken Sesame" meal contained 30 percent of my daily grains and 25 percent of my daily meat. I'm not used to seeing nutritional values expressed in these terms, but it sounded pretty good.

Banquet's Chicken Sesame meal was tasty enough, but I was a bit underwhelmed. The portion was a bit skimpy and the sauce a bit weak in the flavor department. But what I thought was strangest was that the "breaded chicken nugget patties" were just Banquet's regular chicken nuggets. They even had the same chicken fried seasoning. It was edible, but the blend of seasonings ended up being pretty incongruent. I guess they were cutting costs by not creating a different nugget type for this meal, but the end result would have been better if they skipped the seasoning or the breading altogether.

The best news here for Banquet's Chicken Sesame meal is that there is much more nutritional value that I would have expected. If you are cutting down on fat, however, you need to be aware that this meal packs in 16 grams (25 percent of your daily-recommended value). This is also a bad choice for those avoiding sodium as it has 690 milligrams (29 percent of your daily-recommended value). But the "good stuff" listed on the back of the box is impressive. Of my daily-recommended needs I get 6 percent of my potassium, 16 percent of my dietary fiber, 20 percent of my vitamin A, 4 percent of my calcium, 25 percent of my vitamin E, 6 percent of my riboflavin, 8 percent of my B6, 6 percent of my B12, 6 percent of my magnesium, 10 percent of my vitamin C, 6 percent of my iron, 6 percent of my thiamine, 4 percent of my niacin, 20 percent of my folic acid, 10 percent of my phosphorus, and 30 percent of my manganese. You also eat 10 grams of protein. As I count calories, I also like the fact that there are only 340 calories in Banquet's Chicken Sesame meal. I can add a piece of fruit and know I've gotten about what I need for a good lunch.

So while Banquet's Chicken Sesame meal may be a bit short of great, it wasn't awful, and makes for a very quick lunch. I can't fully recommend it, but I can suggest trying it and deciding for yourself.