Review of Hormel Compleats Roast Beef and Gravy

The Hormel Compleats Roast Beef and Gravy meal is an inexpensive meal that microwaves in a minute and a half and requires no refrigeration. I spend most of my workdays traveling around town visiting clients. Taking a lunch to work requires either using a cooler, going in early to put my lunch in the refrigerator, eating food that does not require refrigeration, or eating out. None of these options were particularly attractive, but I usually ended up just taking along a box of crackers or some similar bland food or eating out. Though there are other products on the market, the food pictured on the package of Hormel's Compleats looked so good I decided to give it a try.

The Hormel Compleats Roast Beef and Gravy meal generally retails in my area at around $3 per meal, but I have purchased them for less than $2. The meal also comes with mashed potatoes. The directions for preparation are very easy. Remove the cardboard wrapper, puncture holes in the plastic wrap, microwave for 90 seconds and let stand for a minute. When I made my first one I removed the plastic wrap with some concern at what I might find. But removing the wrapper showed a fairly sizeable and tasty looking portion of sliced roast beef. The surrounding concoction did not look so good however. A thick glob of something (grease, fat, ???) was present. However a quick stirring made the glob mix in while breaking the surprisingly tender roast beef in small pieces. The roast beef actually tasted as good as it looked. The mashed potatoes were not nearly as good however having an odd consistency. In whole the Hormel Compleats Roast Beef and Gravy meal is better than any other non refrigerated food and better than most frozen 'TV' dinners.

The Hormel Compleats Roast Beef and Gravy provides 10 ounces of food with only 230 calories and 3 grams of fat. The 1230mg of sodium is enough to help a handful of cardiologists stay in business but you can't have everything. By comparison one McDonald's Double Cheeseburger has 440 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 1150mg of sodium in less than 6 ounces of food (according to nutrition.mcdonalds.com).

The Hormel Compleats Roast Beef and Gravy with Mashed Potatoes meal is a better choice in quick and easy food than many in regards to both price and nutrition. The best part is that I can buy a few of them, leave them in the car and they are ready when I need them.