I’m working all this week, and since there’s no place around to buy lunch, I’ve been packing TV dinners to eat at my desk. Today, for the first time in recorded history, I opened a meal and discovered it actually looked exactly as pictured!
I grabbed a Healthy Choice Power Bowl from the frozen food aisle, and I was honestly startled to find nice bright carrot pieces and lovely green broccoli and sugar snap peas in the bowl. The plant-based “be’f” wasn’t bad, either. The rice, barley, and quinoa combination was not all mushy, the way they are normally. Really, really good.
I thought it was a bit skimpy, at 9 ounces, but you can’t have everything. The Squire had packed me a small salad, so I was good to go.
thisendoftheswamp 
Now that is nice as usually the food picture and actual food differs! These days we have actual food “freeze dried” and it looks shrink wrapped without labelling photo and it is actual as it gets and tastes good too. I have bought sausages and mashed potatoes, lasagna, spaghetti meatballs and a lot of asian cuisine! Delish as I just microwave it and eat on lazy days. Unsure if your neck of the woods has such items on sale in supermarkets, if so, give it a try!
I wasn’t aware that Healthy Choice was offering plant-based “be’f”, as you called it, in their products. But since you mentioned it I’ll say that a new product has shown up at our Stop & Shop stores in NY & MA that I really like. A company called Pure Farmland is marketing “plant based” burgers, meatballs and ground ‘meat’. I’m not a total vegitarian, but I do stick to a “fins or feathers” meat diet. I’ve tried Impossible and Beyond meats in burger form, and they are good, and chloresterol free, but the burgers have more calories and sodium than I usually want. I find the Pure Farmland burgers quite good with a natural meat taste. And the ground product in a one pound package, some with “mild Italian flavoring”, works really well with Hamburger Helper mixes, especially when you add your favorite extras like mushrooms & sun dried tomato pieces, etc. The meatballs, in my opinion, have a spongy consistency as if they are a blend of “meat” and bread in some form. I don’t care for them.
I’ve never heard of Pure Farmland, but it seems as if two local chains carry that brand, so I’ll have to mosey over and get some. There’s a place near us that sells Impossible Burgers, but I’ve never tried them, as they are pretty pricey.
This particular place tends to have higher prices than most anyway, so I’m not sure if it’s the place or the product that’s expensive. (I found some small, mild, red peppers at store #1 for $9.00 a pound, so I bought four to see how we liked them. The Squire found the same thing for $6 a pound, so we bought enough to have for a party, and filled them with cream cheese.
We have vegetarian meals every other day, and then either fish or chicken in between. As you said, Fins and Feathers.