296209 Thu Feb 19 20:04:54 -0800 2004 20 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1630872 This month I'm stuck in a Boston hotel room that's equipped only with a fridge, a microwave and a coffeemaker. There's a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's within walking distance, but that's about it. I haven't eaten microwave meals since I was a kid, and I'm wondering what acceptible (dare I hope for delicious?) things I might be able to find at either of these two stores. Link: http://meglioranza.com Thu Feb 19 20:04:54 -0800 2004 0 Tom Meg 1 1630878 You lucky devil-- You're in luck with both Whole Foods AND TJ's. I really like the tamales and roasted veggie burritos from the freezer section at TJs, and they have a great selection of ready to eat cold food, like sushi (not fancy but not awful either), and salads. Whole Foods (at least the one by me in Seattle) has a great hot food section-- prime rib, roasted pork loin, hot sandwiches and pizza... and all the sides you could ever want... AND a pretty substantial salad bar. Sometimes they also have a "Mexican/Cuban bar" or an "Asian/Indian bar". You'll eat well... Thu Feb 19 20:35:56 -0800 2004 1630872 0 chococat 2 1630908 Tom, Whatever you do, do NOT get the "Vegan Pad Thai" from TJ's (see my post on this from about a week ago). Also, I must disagree w/the previous poster re: TJ's sushi. I found the rice extremely glutinous, w/grain fused together in a gloppy mess. I threw it away. Just a heads-up. Fri Feb 20 10:27:09 -0800 2004 1630878 0 LisaM 3 1630914 Personally I love the vegan pad thai. The texture is a little gummy, but the flavor is fabulous. Fri Feb 20 12:35:51 -0800 2004 1630908 0 Bride of the Juggler 3 1630921 You're absolutely right, AVOID TJ's SUSHI. It's disgusting...seems like they mashed the rice, so it's a really awful texture,and the fillings are not fresh. yuck! Fri Feb 20 14:57:23 -0800 2004 1630908 0 lala 1 1630882 At Trader Joe's the meals from india are pretty good, like the chicken masala, I also like the cannelloni At Whole Foods frozen meals by Ethnic Gourmet are good. Thu Feb 19 21:46:46 -0800 2004 1630872 0 LisaN 2 1630911 The TJ's veggie dishes that we have tried are excellent. Some even include rice. Fri Feb 20 12:08:09 -0800 2004 1630882 0 Susan H 1 1630917 TJs has some frozen French Onion Soup that can be reheated in the microwave that's pretty good. It includes bread and cheese in it already! Of course, it's better if you heated it in an oven, but the microwave works too. Add a side salad and you're set for a light meal. Also - if you can get a little rice cooker, you can plug that in and be able to cook up some easy meals. Fri Feb 20 13:34:49 -0800 2004 1630872 0 Macy U. 2 1630918 You can make rice in the microwave. And, it keeps for a day or two in the fridge. Fri Feb 20 13:52:14 -0800 2004 1630917 0 kc girl 1 1630920 Tom, You (of all people) do not have to limit yourself to a ready made frozen meal just because you don't have a stove/oven/broiler. Many meals can be made in a microwave using TJ items with little (if any) preparation. Similar cook time as a frozen meal. And, fresh produce can be easily made in the microwave - 1 cup of broccoli takes about 5.5 minutes on high when covered with liquid (even chicken broth). I guess that's a nice way of saying that there really aren't a lot of satisfying frozen meals IMO. TJs (1) Frozen black bean and corn enchiladas (top with some sour cream, buy an avocado) (2) a packaged Southwestern salad in the deli is good - add crunchy tortillas chips (3) Their boxed soup (Imagine brand?) - creamy corn is better than the butternut squash, which is also good. Use them as gravies or for creaming vegtables, too. Add chunks of cheddar cheese to the creamy corn soup and warm up some of their sourdough rolls and butter them up. (4) Fresh frozen sweet corn, french green beans, peas, artichoke hearts. (4) The rest of the chips can be nachos/cheese, beans (5) The packaged already cooked chicken in the deli section is good. It has a little roasted flavor. (6) Add some Piccadillo simmer sauce (7) Frozen Spanikoptia can make a meal with a salad (8) Their reduced fat Greek salad dressing is good and their lowfat parmesan ranch dressing is good (bottled dressings found in the produce section) (9) Frozen fish can be poached in the microwave. Make a fresh mango salsa with tomatoes and green onions - cayenne pepper and salt - for salmon. (do NOT get the bottled mangos for any reason) (10) They have nice size frozen shrimp. (11) Their bottles of cioppino sauce is good ("Trader Giottis"). (12) Their frozen ciopinno mix is complete with fish. (13) Frozen artichoke hearts with bowtie pasta package is good. (14) Their frozen gnocchi is good (gray package) - Their dry pack gnocchi are awful. Boil water in micro before adding the gnocchi - then return on micro high until they are done (about 5 min?) (15) Their frozen cubes of fresh garlic are excellent and ready to go - no smashing and extremely fresh flavor - not at all like the bottled stuff. (16) boxed ready-made Madras Lentils are good. found in the shelf, not the frozen section. Here's an Italian salad: TC frozen french green beans (whole) broiled chicken from Whole Foods Olive oil Italian spices garlic salt and pepper Blanch beans in the package in the micro - poke a few holes and place on plate or towel. Micro on high for Mix em up with the other ingredients (You can fuse the garlic and spices into the oil first in the microwave, if you have time.) There's more. You can make rice and pasta in the microwave. And, if you buy something at TJs that you just can't stand the taste of - take it back with no arguments. Fri Feb 20 14:18:25 -0800 2004 1630872 0 kc girl 1 1630928 I love WF's soups. You can buy them hot or cold in to go containers. Last night I tried the macaroni and beef WF brand frozen dinner, it was pretty good, very basic but good comfort food and it was only $1.99. DH had Amy's frozen stuffed shells and like them quite a bit. Fri Feb 20 15:37:19 -0800 2004 1630872 0 Tracy L. 1 1630937 Tom, I got on a big Trader Joe's kick for lunch at work - here are my tasting notes from that period. Tasting Notes on Trader Joe’s Frozen Lunch, December, 2002 Thai Style Lemon Grass Chicken & Seasoned Rice, $2.49 – This had very complicated directions (heat 3 min, removes plastic, heat 2 min, stand 2 min). Heating made it smell like an agreeably sweet curry. Somewhat skimpy on chicken and vegetables, mostly rice. Rice slightly mushy. Sauce good, vinegar intensive. Not overly sweet, but nicely counter-pointed. Vegetables appear and taste very frozen. Green beans more flavourful than carrots and more realistically textured. Chicken slightly tough, conforms to sauce rather than having any unique taste. Basil very noticeable in rice, a pleasant addition. Lemongrass is overpowered by ginger. Very hot even after rest period. The rice and sauce is really good, if a little soft, but not helped that much by the other ingredients. Chicken is really mediocre. I do feel full enough after eating, which is nice. Spicy Kung Pao Chicken, $2.29 – Spicy. Good spicy. Rice more firm than previous bowl. Same cooking directions. Nice peanuts. Carrots even more square and frozen. Squishy green pepper and broccoli. Chicken fairly intensely flavoured, but very mushy. Overall very decent. Still very very hot even after cooling off period. Light sauce but enough. Better than much of the Chinese food available in the Renaissance Center. Scary mushroom tastes better than it looks, but not much. I feel full. Thai Style Massaman Chicken, $2.29 – Same cooking directions. Smells very similar to Thai Style lemon grass chicken. Very hot after sitting. Big rice grains, not soggy. Lots of good onion, red bell pepper flakes. Weak, bland bamboo shoots. Flavored well but not spicy enough. Chicken pleasantly firm, noticeable real chicken taste. Overall though this one falls short – it just was not greatness in a frozen bowl. Chicken Vindaloo, $2.29 – More chicken, this time Indian-themed. This is a microwave meal that at first glance lives up to its packaging description of “Vegetables and white chicken with a vindaloo curry sauce served over steamed rice.” The sauce is good, although again not spicy enough for real lovers of Indian food. The rice is of a different texture than that used in the Chinese and Thai dishes, in that it is of a much more fine texture and seems less prone to be overcooked in the microwave, despite the now-familiar Trader Joes “three with cover on/two with cover off” heating regimen. This time the carrots look like carrots, round and firm, and are much less frozen in both appearance and taste than in previous dishes. Similar comments apply to the potatoes and peas, which hold their shape nicely and are cooked through, but not mushy. The real surprise in this dish though is the chicken. It is by far the best in any frozen Trader Joes meal to date – firm, fully seasoned and yet still tasting like chicken. This meal is a great value, and yet it stands on it’s own as food. In fact, I would eat a second one right away if I had one. This is the first time that a frozen meal has exceeded my expectations for it. By far the best one so far. Chicken Biryani, $2.29 – At first glance very promising. Heavily sauced. Interestingly, what smelled like an ashtray halfway through the cooking process has become fragrant and spiced. Very hot after the usual typical 3/2 cooking time. Much sauce absorbed during the cooking time. Same very good long(er)-grain rice found in the Chicken Vindaloo. Texture of the vegetables is not up to the standard set by the Vindaloo. The cauliflower is quite limp. Even the peanuts are soggy. Chicken almost as good as in the Vindaloo but toughness keeps it from measuring up; the flavor however is quite good. Overall better than most, not enough to knock off the Vindaloo. Shrimp Thai Red Curry Rice Bowl, $2.99 – This one was just a standard heat and serve, which I like so much better than returning to the microwave and stirring in the middle. Good looking shrimp, not too tiny. Skimpy on curry sauce. Not spicy enough. Good firm rice. Shrimp more spicy than rice, burn down throat (good!) but taste very frozen. Carrots and broccoli very wishy-washy in texture. Will have to try it again. 2nd impression: Having had eight different kinds of these bowls to date, the cooking directions on this one are still the most simple. So hot, much more after cooking than I recall. Smells great. Still firm rice, vegetables still near useless. This dish holds up better overall after testing several others. This time the shrimp are not as spicy so sauce distribution is apparently a factor in how the elements dish taste individually. The shrimp are definitely not overcooked, but they still do not taste wonderful, but a mouthful of rice taken at the same time improves them considerably. Chicken Tandoori with Spinach, $2.29 – Described as “Boneless chicken Breast simmered in Spinach & exotic spices. Served with Seasoned rice,” this dish is in fact a garishly colored day-glo specimen that actually appeared to have been simmered in nuclear coolant. As always too hot to eat immediately, but when consumed having a taste significantly better than its looks. The orange chicken pieces don’t fall apart and have a real taste, that of chicken with a nice spicy background. The spinach is pretty gooey but tastes like greens with a lot of garlic. The peas add nothing and taste very frozen to the point where they are best eaten around, but the rice is firm enough and well-seasoned. Overall this holds up though, and interestingly is much more cohesive to taste than many of the previously tasted Trader Joe’s meals. This is a very good effort, and it is actually enjoyable to eat, something I would not have said about the Massaman chicken. I also think that this is the first TJ meal I have tried with dairy, in the form of yogurt and non-fat milk, and while it gives the spinach a sort of cheezy texture, it tastes good and is probably why this dish forms such a strong whole. Vegan Pad Thai with tofu, $1.99 – This had the 3/2 cooking directions, but it was a lot more difficult to stir than usual because of the length of the noodles and the glutinous peanut sauce. Smells absolutely great, sort of like vinegar mixed with hot peanut butter; it actually smells better than some restaurant Pad Thai. A little tough to get food out of the bowl as the sticky noodles get entangled, but once released this is slightly spicy and with a great chewiness to the noodles. The tofu is a little bland, but not soft. Tends to spray smalls flecks of peanut as noodles are pulled from the mass. Overall very tasty and very filling. I would get this again. Mahi Mahi Rice Bowl with Vegetables and Asian Style Sauce, $2.99 – This is a little on the pricey side for a TJ’s rice bowl, but given the exotic nature of the main ingredient I was willing to be give it the benfit of the doubt. It turned out to be good, too, a lot of rice and two Mahi Mahi medallions, and a lot of little julienne carrots and bell peppers, even yellow! There were also a few green onions floating around. The sauce was good, even though I was not certain it was “Asian-inspired,” and the Mahi Mahi had great texture but tasted like frozen fish. Not a bad thing, but not the best ever, even for 3 bucks. The veggies held up pretty well under micro-waving and the rice was just as you would imagine. I can’t quite recommend it unless you are pretty hungry. Fri Feb 20 18:57:07 -0800 2004 1630872 0 Jon Stein 1 1630938 Don't forget that with the coffee maker you can have (near) boiling water, which opens up the possibilities for using instant ramen (it's been a while, but I always liked Westbrae's green tea ramen and curry ramen alright) or Thai Kitchen instant rice noodles (available at WF; see thread below), or couscous, all of which van be doctored up with veggies from the salad bar, flavored baked tofu, etc. Couscous, with dried fruit and some milk or yogurt, also makes a good hot breakfast. (I know you can do these w/the microwave, but I hate microwave-boiled water.) I agree that some of the WF soups are good; if you want a preview of something in the refrig. case, they usually have the same soups sold hot, so you can sniff, look up close. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/295408#1623462 Fri Feb 20 20:07:32 -0800 2004 1630872 0 Caitlin McGrath 1 1630944 Tom, I second the reccomendations re TJ's frozen burritos and enchiladas. Their frozen quiches are also pretty good microwaved, although they're better reheated in the oven. I'm in the "vegan pad thai bowl is yucky" camp. Their cold peanut noodles in the fresh foods section is good, though, as is their curry chicken salad option. The hot foods at Whole Foods are good and their soups are great. Their line of Amy's vegetarian foods are good- their veggie pot pies and burritos, especially. I'm guessing that you may be in the Symphony Hall /Boylston street area, in which case you should know that there's a Star Market/Shaws? at the Shops at the Prudential Center. They have the Uncle Ben's Rice Bowls-- and I actually think they are good, if you stick with the simpler flavor combos, like chicken and vegetables, or turkey with wild rice and cranberries. A japanese friend who lived in that area told me their sushi was pretty good. There are tons of good places to eat right in that area, including lots of student-cheap places out near symphony. I'm sure you've posted on the Boston board and I haven't seen it yet. Good luck! Sat Feb 21 07:33:29 -0800 2004 1630872 0 EMDB 2 1630947 Just wanted to say thanks to all for all the information and ideas! I'm now approacing the frozen food aisle with new enthusiasm. What would I do without Chowhound? I'm actually in the Doubletree near the B School. The nearest point of interest seems to be Harvard Sq, a half hour walk away. Link: http://www.operaboston.org/nixon01.html Sat Feb 21 08:37:13 -0800 2004 1630944 0 Tom Meg 3 1630948 Then there's a Shaws/Star Market on Western Avenue-- if you walk in, toward Brighton, and away from the River, the Shaws on Western Ave (on the 66 busline) is a full sized supermarket. If you keep going in past the Shaw's on western ave., there's also a Super Stop and Shop , near the New Balance headquarters, on Market Street in Brighton. The stop and shop is less walkable than the shaws. Also, the Allston/Brighton area is full of cheap eats. Sat Feb 21 09:32:15 -0800 2004 1630947 0 EMDB 4 1630973 The Whole Foods near your hotel also has a Blue Ribbon BBQ counter (or did last time I was there) -- tasty stuff. Mon Feb 23 10:29:22 -0800 2004 1630948 0 GretchenS 1 1630954 Trader Joes has gourmet sausages pre-cooked and packaged in 6 - Cantelli's - chicken and turkey pesto sausages are good. How about that micro'd - a warmed sourdough bun and roasted red peppers (bottled). It might be a little messy, but maybe you will like the flavors. Sat Feb 21 18:22:53 -0800 2004 1630872 0 kc girl 1 1630959 I just had an Indian dish - Curried potatoes and garbonzo beans over rice - a shelf stable product (not frozen) that I bought at Trader Joe's. It was pretty good. Sat Feb 21 22:14:40 -0800 2004 1630872 0 jlawrence01 2 1630966 The shelf stable Indian entrees at Trader Joes? Maybe you had Tasty Bite brand. I've tried most of the Tasty Bite entrees. The only one I like is Madras lentil, and I like it quite a lot. Fresh tasting and a nice mix of spices -- one of my regular office lunches with basmati rice. Sun Feb 22 15:19:07 -0800 2004 1630959 0 Val Ann C (formerly Val G) 1 1631010 I bought the Eggplant Parmesan microwavable grilled not fried/followed the cooking directions and before the 9 minutes on medium heat was finished,the edges of the dinner were totally fried- I only was abl eto eat the middle of the meal which was very ood- but I am dissapointed that I was not able to eat the entire Eggplant parmesan dish, either I bought a bad batch or the cooking directions are not correct. Needless to say I am dissapointed. Please write me back I still have the plastic covering on hand that it came in. Fri Mar 10 10:54:48 -0800 2006 1630872 0 karen varley