| Product: |
Sainsbury's Super Naturals |
| Date: |
20/01/08 (281 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Unusual and Imaginative Range. Healthy Options
Disadvantages: Not as tasty as the recipes suggest. At full price they will be expensive
January! For many of us it's a month of regret over Christmas excesses and of struggles to keep those New Year resolutions, many of which will, undoubtedly, involve desired weight loss and a healthier diet. What better time to launch a new range of "fabulous tasting products that are also bursting with healthy ingredients" and surely this is the marketing opportunity Sainsbury's was trying to exploit when launching its new range of ready meals for one?
The Christmas leftovers were at last exhausted when, as I browsed for my first 2008 online shop, I chanced upon "Sainsbury's Super Naturals". This is a range of twenty dishes which look really inviting and are presently available on a half price introductory offer. It's an interesting collection consisting of quite an eclectic mix of flavours and exotic styles of cuisine and my eyes feasted on choices such as Caribbean Prawn Curry, Piri Piri Chicken, Cod Parsley and Mint Sauce, Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta, Thai Style Beef and Rice and Chilli Ginger Salmon.
The mission statement for these dishes is that they are all made with natural ingredients and designed to be nutritionally balanced. Therefore they contain no additives, flavourings or preservatives and only a "controlled" amount of fat, sugar, calories and no added salt (although some salt may be present in the ingredients used). With such attention to detail Sainsbury's has ensured that each dish scores only greens and ambers on their "traffic light" wheel of health system. They also boast that each dish is a source of fibre (although, as this is not quantified overall, it's not that impressive when you consider even the most unlikely candidates often contain traces of fibre!). The final nutritional recommendation is that each dish helps in the achievement of the " five a day" target by including one or more portions of different coloured fruit or vegetables.
This all seemed very worthy and I knew consumption of such healthy options would promote a certain smug dietary satisfaction within me. However I must be honest and reveal that what really motivated me to try some was the ease of preparation. Hours of cooking presentable gastronomic delights for my guests over the festive season had taken their toll on my limited culinary skills and my enthusiasm for the same, which was always less than fervent, had completely deserted me. But all these options are presented in black "plastic" bowls (some 7½ inches diameter and 2inches high) topped with a film covering and encased in a colourful cardboard sleeve and only take a few minutes in the microwave before they are ready to eat. Indeed these are only suitable for microwave cooking. The most energetic manoeuvres one has to negotiate is the removal of the cardboard and the rather satisfying piercing of the film lid! They can even be eaten direct from the container! Thus even clearance after the meal is minimal. One cardboard cover to recycle, one dish (unfortunately not recyclable) for the rubbish and a knife and fork for the dishwasher! Bliss!
And so my sortie into the Super Naturals began:-
Moroccan Spiced Lamb and Couscous was my first choice. This registered 414g, on the calorific scale, 10.4g on the fat and 4.4g on the saturated fats (all green for go!) plus 1.25g of salt and 12.4, sugars (both amber!). The only allergy warning concerned the gluten content. The lumps of New Zealand lamb were quite tender but I could only find five bite sized pieces. Home grown lamb would have been more acceptable in terms of my carbon footprint but the minimal cooking time, only 3½ minutes in the microwave, compensated to some extent! The minted couscous did not significantly taste of mint and the spiced fruit sauce was fruity but seemed to be singularly lacking in the host of spices it allegedly contained. The vegetable content consisted of recognisable slices of courgette and chunks of red pepper, both chargrilled, plus a sprig of coriander.
Overall the dish was acceptable but not as enjoyable as that served in my local Moroccan restaurant. I could have put this down to the lack of atmosphere in my lounge when compared to the belly dancing and ethnic music of that venue but it was more than that. Of course the Sainsbury's version, whilst on offer, costs only a fifth of the price of the restaurant variety but it was also only about a fifth of the quantity. The whole dish lacked piquancy and flavour. It left me feeling rather flat and still hungry. Maybe I just have an over healthy appetite but this 400g did not satisfy it. It might have been enough for lunch but not for the main meal of the day and a couple of hours later I found myself searching out a supplementary butty, thus negating many of my healthy eating aspirations which drew me to these dishes in the first place.
Next up was Herb Meatballs and Spaghetti weighing in with three green wheel of health sectors (calories, 418, sugars, 9.5g and salt 0.38 g) and two amber ( fat 16.7g and saturated fat, 5.7g). The potential allergen warning lists milk, egg, celery, mustard and wheat gluten. Contemplation of the " seven vegetable sauce, free range egg spaghetti herb meatballs ... and shavings of cheese" and the appetising aroma as it was prepared excited my gastric juices in no small measure! After its three minutes in the microwave and 1½ minutes standing time, I happily tucked into the five (one bite!) meatballs of British pork and British beef which were tasty and significantly herby. The spaghetti was satisfyingly al dente and the sauce very palatable. The vegetable accompaniments were the same as with the previous dish apart from the coriander sprig which was replaced by a couple of "strands" of rocket. I enjoyed this dish as far as it went. I have tasted better and more substantial meatballs and would have liked more of them but I suppose we must all make sacrifices when seeking healthy eating options and this time I did not feel the need to supplement my meal.
My final choice, Marinated Chicken and King Prawn Paella, was less of a success although it was an even healthier option with only one amber sector (salt 1.28g) and four green (sugars 11.4g, calories 377, fat 4.6g and saturated fat 1.4g). There were no allergy warnings and, in fact, it was labelled as suitable for coeliacs. The "marinated chicken with succulent prawns in a delicately spiced dressing, topped with a garlic rouille" served with brown rice, chargrilled peppers and parsley looked extremely colourful and appetising. However, although I followed the 3 minute heating and 2 minute standing instructions to the letter, the (British) chicken was very unappetising having that cardboard consistency and taste which suggested it was overcooked. In fact I left the chicken but enjoyed the remainder including the TWO rather less than king sized prawns despite the fact that my enthusiasm for chargrilled peppers was waning by this time!
Overall this range of ready meals demonstrates an exciting originality and 'hats off' to the Sainsbury's cooks who concocted the recipe options and to whoever thought of the name with it's "out of this world" connotations. Unfortunately I did not find the reality as heavenly as the concept but maybe half a century of foods laced with flavourings has accustomed my palette to stronger tastes and it needs to be re-educated. I would also like to see more than the two vegetarian options in the range. However I might well try some more but only whilst they are on half price offer. The full prices will be £2.99 for the vegetable dishes and £3.49 to £3.79 for the meat and fish dishes. For the amount you get this is just too expensive however healthy and convenient these meals may be.
For the full range see http://www.sainsburys.com/groceries/index.jsp?bmUI D=1200857039338
Summary: Probably worth a try whilst on half price offer but don't expect a heavenly experience!
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