Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken Vs Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken Dinner

Sometimes we need a quick meal but frozen dinners are not the most nutritious. Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine carry a line of products suitable for health-conscious individuals that claim to be lower in fat, calories, and carbohydrates. One of my favorite meals is the glazed chicken dinner. I have tried both dinners
in addition, noticed the differences.

Appearance and Preparation

The Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken Dinner and the Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken Dinner are easy to prepare. You cut a slit in the plastic film and place the tray in the microwave for 4 ½ to 6 minutes so there is no mess to clean up. You can prepare them in a traditional oven but it takes 20-25 minutes.

The Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken Dinner features three whole pieces of chicken covered in a mushroom glaze. Rice pilaf and French cut green beans surround the chicken. The food is in one compartment.
The Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken Dinner features chunks of white chicken with a mushroom glaze and a side of rice pilaf. A mix of green beans and carrots is included in a separate compartment.

Nutrition and Ingredients

Each of these dinners is 8.5 ounces. Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken Dinner has 210 calories, 40 of which are from fat, 30 milligrams of carbohydrates, and no trans-fat. The sodium content is a whopping 600 milligrams and the cholesterol count is 15 milligrams.

Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken Dinner has 220 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, no trans-fat, and 500 milligrams of sodium. It contains 40 milligrams of cholesterol and 25 milligrams of carbohydrates.
I find the cholesterol in Lean Cuisine a bit too high for something that is supposed to be healthy. For those watching cholesterol, Healthy Choice makes a better option The Healthy Choice dinner has ten fewer calories but the sodium count is higher. Both products contain milk ingredients

Taste

The meat in each meal is of excellent quality. It is tender, juicy, and easy to chew. The rice pilaf in the Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken dinner seems to be fluffier than the rice pilaf in the Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken Dinner. The glaze in the Lean Cuisine version is sweeter than the Healthy Choice meal. The glaze in the Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken Dinner tastes bland and the meat needs more. The green bean and carrot blend in the Healthy Choice version are sweet and don't taste rubbery.

You can purchase the Lean Cuisine Glaze Chicken dinner from $3.00 to $3.50. The Healthy Choice Glazed Chicken dinner runs between $2.50 and $3.00. You can save a few cents purchasing them at Wal-mart or by using a coupon. As far as taste goes, I prefer the Lean Cuisine dinner even though it might cost a little extra. If you are extra hungry, try adding a side of vegetables along with one of the meals. Either one make a great selection any time of the day.