Product Review: Green Giant Steamers Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower and Cheese Sauce

Green Giant released their Valley Fresh Steamer line in Sept 2008. Green Giant Steamers make getting your daily vegetable servings easier. Green Giant developed this package design to allow easy steaming of vegetables in the bag so there is limited clean up. The Steamers are easy to prepare and the sauce makes them quite enjoyable. Green Giant's strategy of releasing coupons and sales prices together to make the Steamers free or minimal cost increased initial product visibility. A quick Internet search on the product name shows numerous results where customers were searching for the coupons to make the purchase free.

My first purchase of this product was the Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, and Cheese Sauce Mix.

Size and Quantity:
The package is 12 ounces and contains 3 half cup servings. This size bag would work well as a side dish for two adults but if you plan to feed the family you will need multiple bags.

Nutrition Count:
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Calories: 45
Calories from fat: 10
Total fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 290 mg
Total Carbohydrates 8g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Sugars 4g
Protein 2 g
Exchanges: 1 1/2 vegetable and 1/2 carb

For those with allergies, this product does contain milk and soy ingredients.

Cooking Directions:
This is a simple preparation product. Tap the bag on the counter to break up the vegetables. Stand the bag in the microwave. Cook on high 5 to 7 minutes. Let Stand for one minute. Tear at the notch, empty into serving dish and stir.

Cost: $2.00 range per bag

My Assessment of the product:
The vegetables in this Green Giant Steamers variety are a good size for steaming. They do not get mushy when cooked. The cheese sauce melts easily in the steaming process. Cooking in the bag eliminates washing a preparation dish. These vegetables can be served from the bag to the plate. The taste is excellent. From a nutritional stand point, the cheese sauce adds sodium which must be considered by those on a low sodium diet. I used this bag of vegetables as a noon time meal. In comparison to a ready to eat meal, the calorie count for the entire bag is much lower and the meal is low in fat content. The price of the item is in line with other frozen vegetables. This new Green Giant product is one that I will buy again even without a coupon making it free.