I ate courgettes (Birds Eye Steamfresh Chicken Penne Pasta with Tomato and Basil)

Member Name: sottovoce1982

Product:	Birds Eye Steamfresh Chicken Penne Pasta with Tomato and Basil
Date:	19/02/08 (133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's a healthier choice, low in calories, and filling

Disadvantages: It contains courgettes and fine green beans

Birds Eye
Steam Fresh Chicken Breast in tomato and basil sauce with pasta (400g)



I bought this ready meal by mistake, for I hate vegetables and I would never choose a meal with so much green vegetables in it if I can help it. So, this meal forced me to eat my veggies in a way, and I'm glad I bought it. This meal can be bought from Asda for £2.29 but I don't think that it is expensive considering the fact that it has 25% chicken breast in it (half a chicken breast in one piece).



All you have to do before you heat it is to remove the cardboard cover. The meal is put in a transparent microwavable strong tub and covered by a lid film which should not be pierced, unlike other ready meals. I like this packaging because it is both transparent and strong, unlike that of most Tesco meals.



Because the meal is sold frozen, it takes a longer time in the microwave. It should be heated in the microwave for 8 ½ minutes at 850W (10 minutes at 650W and 9 ½ minutes at 750W). The first thing I noticed when I heated it was the nice smell of red pepper. It's true that I don't like vegetables, as I mentioned earlier, yet I know that adding red, green or yellow pepper to your meals can do wonders. Pepper is not delicious in itself, for me, but it adds a nice smell and taste to the food.



The meal contains wheat, milk, celery, and may contain sesame seeds. You should make sure you shake it after it is heated or stir the vegetables and pasta with the sauce to make sure nothing is kept dry. This meal has in addition to the chicken breast, nothing but courgettes, red pepper, fine green beans, pasta, and the tomato and basil sauce. I thought it would have been better if the chicken breast was cooked more. The red pepper in the sauce tastes ok, but the courgettes and fine beans are almost bland. However, the sauce itself tastes very good probably because it contains white wine. The pasta, after heating, is also cooked perfectly.



I gave this meal four stars although I don't like the vegetables in it because I think it is a healthier choice. The sauce is not 100% natural, yet having 30% vegetables in one meal is good. It gives not more than 335 calories, and yet it is very filling.



For more information and also for the full list of ingredients, look for this product on www.asda.com. As for the manufacturer's website www.birdseye.co.uk, it does not contain any information about this meal in particular. It gives limited information about only seven of Birds Eye products, in addition to two small recipes. So, I don't think it is a very useful website really.



<<< Steam Fresh Range >>>

Steamfresh salmon and dill penne pasta 400G
Steamfresh veg & rice mix - carrots asparagus and peas 680G
Steamfresh veg & rice mix - broccoli sweetcorn and peas 680G
Steamfresh - sweet and sour chicken 400G
Steamfresh - chicken and ham 400G

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Birds Eye Ireland
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Ireland

Summary: A healthier choice with pasta.