Since my return to Los Angeles from Toms River New Jersey, I had discovered that the grocery store Albertsons that I had patronized for years had been replaced by a new grocery store chain called Haggen. It was there that I discovered a brand of frozen meals that I had never seen before. (Well, I had to admit that I don't do that much grocery shopping to really see everything, since I'm a fan of restaurant deliveries...)
The catch phrase that made me buy this frozen dinner is "NO ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS". So, that's is one positive change that came with this new grocery store chain. I had been staying away from frozen meals because of my concern of the possible artificial ingredients and the plastic tray packaging. I am happy to finally see a brand of frozen meal that is all natural. I'm not sure if this brand will covert me into a believer of packaged "frozen meals" because I never felt the need to buy them when I am living in a suburb that is populated by many great restaurants that offer great take-outs and delivery menus. It's not much more expensive to order from restaurants than buying the packaged "frozen meals" in the supermarkets. These enticing looking frozen meal boxes just never made sense to me. The industry of "frozen meals" must be the big beneficiary of America's never ending "suburban sprawls", just like the automobile industry. I can see why these meals are popular in the suburbs that have few restaurants, and that are far from anywhere that have dining and restaurant delivery service. I had been to suburbs that are in the middle of no where and that have not even one grocery store. I guess to these remote towns that are lack of access to amenities, packaged frozen meals make perfectly convenient sense.
Now that I had tried this new brand of frozen meal, I realize it actually tastes okay. However, it's still a huge disappointment from the expectation of presentation. The food inside the box looks nothing like the photo on the box. The food looks really sad and pathetically gross and mushy. Just like all packaged frozen meals, the portion is very small, which makes frozen meals more expensive than restaurant take-outs and deliveries. In this Thai Style Green Chicken Curry, there is only a few tiny bites of chicken meat. The meal does taste a lot more natural and more pleasant than other brands. The package also seems to be healthier and more environmentally friendly than other brands because it's packaged in paper bag and not a plastic tray. I'm always skeptical about heating food in plastics...
I think this is my most favorite brand of frozen meal thus far, despite the lack of appetizing presentation, which is common in all brands. This brand at least tastes really natural and pretty okay to me. Besides, it claims to be all natural. If I have no choice but to consume packaged frozen meals, I will get this brand only. For the sake of convenience, I bought a few packages of these to prepare for the hunger strikes in the late hours of the night when my favorite restaurants are closed.
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