Supermarket Guru Report for March 16th

RESPECT™ Breakfast Sandwich Apple Maple Chicken Sausage, Egg & Cheese is a HIT.
March is Frozen Food Month, so we are celebrating, and rating all frozen foods this week! This is the best frozen breakfast sandwich I’ve had. The whole wheat english muffin cooked perfectly (more on that later), the real whole egg is like a folded over light and fluffy omelette. The apple & maple chicken sausage is nice and flavorful – but be careful not to over cook and follow their cooking instructions to the letter (more later). The cheddar cheese though was disappointing as it basically all melted into the muffin. One sandwich is 290 calories, 12 grams of fat, 20 grams of protein with just 5 grams of sugars and 540 mg of sodium – about half of what the other breakfast sandwiches contain. Now the cooking. This takes time. You have to microwave on defrost first. then turn over and heat on full power, then turn over again and heat on full for another 30 seconds. But follow the directions and it cooks perfect. No shortcuts here. Retails for $2.99 for 5.05 oz. Total Score is 89.

Graeter’s French Pot Ice Cream Bourbon Pecan Chocolate Chip is a HIT.
 If you love ice cream, and you’ve never had Graeter’s you are missing something big! Years ago you had to go to Cincinnati to enjoy it – now they are in supermarkets around the country. Making ice cream in 1 1/2 gallon french pot batches since 1870, this ice cream is smooth, rich and actually has a thicker consistency than other brands; and the flavors are delicious. They only use cows’ milk without growth hormones. This combo of pecans and chocolate chips with a splash of bourbon is another winner – and every spoonful is loaded with huge pieces of both, not just tiny flecks. Their pint size container still contains 16 ounces, which is something I wish all the others would do. One half cup is 310 calories, 21 grams of fat, 23 grams of sugars. It IS ice cream! Give yourself a treat. Retails for $5.99 for 16 oz. Total Score is 92.

Saffron Road Chicken Vindaloo Indian-Hot Heat is my PICK OF THE WEEK.
 This is a brand I really like. Not only are their foods tasty, but because of their commitment to be certified Halal they practice respect for the environment, and farmers and the humane treatment of animals. Vindaloo is a spicy Portuguese-Indian curry and is delicious – a bit hot and sweet at the same time. I love that they put a "heat meter" on the package front. This recipe uses dark meat chicken, which has more flavor and is more tender and has been raised on 100% vegetarian feed and without antibiotics. One portion, 10 ounces, is only 330 calories, 9 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein and 500 mg of sodium. How does it taste? Delicious. As good as any restaurant, if not better. One suggestion is to serve as they show – don’t eat the basmati rice separately – it deserves some of this great sauce! One confusion though…. this call out that says New, now with chicken? How can chicken vindaloo not have chicken? Retails for $5.69 for 10 oz. Total Score is 96.