Review: Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio Meal

Remember the days when healthy frozen food pretty much meant bland, unbreaded grilled fish and small amounts of skinless chicken? Times are changing, and Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio is an indulgently delicious healthy frozen meal that doesn't bring tons of fat and calories. I should mention here that Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio packs 8 grams of dietary fiber, too! Yes, that's more than a third of a typical person's daily requirement.

I bought my Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio meal for $2.89 at a Central Florida Publix in January 2010.

Preparing Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio

Cooking Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio is simple and can be done in either a microwave or conventional oven.

To cook Healthy choice Manicotti Formaggio in a microwave, cut a slit in the film cover over the vegetables in the tray and then place the meal tray into the microwave. Cook on 100% power for about 3-1/2 minutes and then remove the hot tray from the microwave. Stir the sauce, placing some on the manicotti formaggio rolls, and then place the film cover back on the meal tray and return the meal to the microwave for 4 to 6 more minutes on 50% power. After the cooking process has finished, give the meal 2 minutes to stand in the microwave before enjoying your Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio.

If you're cooking Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio in a conventional oven, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. After removing the film cover from the dessert portion of the tray and cutting a slit over the vegetables, put your food tray on a cookie sheet and then bake the meal for 20 minutes. Take the meal out of the oven, spoon some of the sauce over the manicotti formaggio rolls, and the put the cover back on top of the tray and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes. Your meal is ready to eat!

Flavor

You may be thinking that a manicotti formaggio meal claiming to be healthy must taste not so great, right? Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio is a meal I really enjoy, both for its flavor and quality. The meal, which measures in at nearly 12 ounces, is really quite hefty for a Healthy Choice offering. Two manicotti formaggio rolls are included, as well as a side of broccoli and a grains & apple dessert that really rounds out the whole meal.

The manicotti formaggio is soft and luscious. The manicotti formaggio, in fact, contains fat-free ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, and romano chesses all wrapped up in whole grain pasta rolls. These are covered in a tasty marinara sauce.

The broccoli gives this meal a vegetable sidekick. The apple dessert, which is covered with a healthy sprinkling of whole grain barley and rolled oats and flavored with a bit of brown sugar, makes this meal complete and adds a pleasant degree of sweetness. Unlike some apple desserts in these frozen dinners, the apple dessert here is not at all tart.

Nutrition

I mentioned the 8 grams of dietary fiber in Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio a little earlier. Here's a look at the rest of the nutrition label:

Calories 350
Calories from Fat 60
Total Fat 6 grams
Saturated Fat 3 grams
Trans Fat 0 grams
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 gram
Monounsaturated Fat 2 grams
Cholesterol 30 milligrams (mg)
Sodium 570 mg
Potassium 670 mg
Total Carbohydrates 61 grams
Sugars 24 grams
Protein 13 grams
Vitamin A 10%
Vitamin B12 10%
Vitamin C 40%
Vitamin E 6%
Calcium 50%
Iron 8%
Thiamine 10%
Riboflavin 10%
Niacin 10%
Folic Acid 35%
Phosphorus 40%
Magnesium 20%
Zinc 8%
Manganese 35%

Resources

Personal and first-hand knowledge and experience
Healthy Choice Manicotti Formaggio carton