Diet Meal Review: Lean Cuisine's Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce

Most of us know when it's time to take stock of what we are eating or how much. Food is one of the most important elements in our lives and there certainly are enough choices of every variety for each and every one of us. Once in a while a thought occurs that maybe we need to cut back and eat a bit less or we just want a light meal for a change or for a special diet. Or, if you need to fit in a bathing suit for an upcoming beach vacation...Oh Oh...that's going to be my dilemma next month.

When I get that light bulb going off in my head that maybe it would be a good thing to cut back on calories, fat and just eat less I usually pull out my old Weight Watcher kit to remember just what I had learned when I was a member. I also head on over to my local supermarket and stock up on my favorite frozen Weight Watcher and Lean Cuisine meals. Even if I'm not watching my weight there are some of these meals that are good enough to eat when I have occasion to eat alone on nights my hubby works, which has been often lately.

One of my all time favorite meals, which I usually have in the freezer, is an old standby Lean Cuisine, from their "Café Classics" line, Chicken with Basil Cream Sauce... This meal is so tasty it's hard to believe it is a diet meal, other then the fact that it is a small portion but enough to satisfy most appetites especially if a nice salad accompanies it beforehand. Or even a cup of soup. I've really been into soups lately.

What does this meal consists of?

Well, upon opening the package you see two pieces of Chicken Scaloppini and Angel Hair Pasta covered in a cream sauce. It's really hard to see how much you get in a portion until you cook it, when the sauce melts over the chicken and pasta....all it takes is 4:30 to 5:30 minutes in the microwave, after you first cut the film cover before cooking. Let it stand in the microwave for a minute or two, then slowly peel away the film. I always spread the sauce evenly over the both pieces of the chicken and pasta to get the flavor of that really good tasting Basil sauce on each bite.

I must say that even though the portion is small... two thin slices of the chicken rib meat, which has been marinated in a pesto glaze with chicken is so tender you can cut it with a fork, served with about a handful of pasta, but because the taste is go good it is quite satisfying...especially if, like I mentioned, if you have a little something with it....well, unless you have a huge appetite that day.

The pasta has been prepared with red and yellow bell peppers, garlic and black pepper, you can see and taste those little pieces of pepper which really gives it a great taste. The chicken is usually moist and not dry, which I find in other frozen chicken meals.

As far as the calories go there are just 280 in each meal with 7 grams of fat, no trans fats and 35 mg of Cholesterol, 470 mg of Sodium and 35 grams of Carbs, so maybe not for those on a low carb diet...some good news is the 18 grams of protein....and, if following the WW point program you only have to give up 6 of those most precious points.

All in all, I really do enjoy Lean Cuisines Chicken with Basil Sauce for what it is, a frozen diet meal with great taste appeal...No, it's not like going to your favorite Italian restaurant but you wouldn't do that if you were watching the amount of food you were eating or just looking for a quick convenient meal for lunch or dinner that satisfies without filling you up. I give this meal big thumbs up!