So it’s time to go back to the grocery store with Zesty and see what we can find. 

Every now and again I eat a microwave dinner… whether I am in a rush or just lazy or there is nothing left in the house around grocery day.  Well this new microwave dinner is a step above the rest. 

These new meals from SMARTONES are delicious new recipes inspired by the natural goodness of fruit. Now you can make every bite count with wonderful dishes that combine the intense flavor of real fruit into your everyday meals of juicy meat or poultry and crisp vegetables.

The New Weight Watchers® Smart Ones® Fruit Inspirations™ – the first line of frozen entrées to use real fruit combined with juicy lean proteins and crisp vegetables – satisfy cravings while fitting in to a healthy eating plan. They also provide a convenient way to “sneak” more real fruit into your diet any day or time of the week.

Despite the 3 step process in the microwave - this dish is very satifying, very tasty and well worth the wait.  They have four different flavors to choose from but I just picked this one up to see what it was like.

Looking at the nutritional information it is pretty acceptable for a microwave dinner.  The part that I was most impressed with was the texture.  I find in alot of microwave dinners… the texture is terrible and the chicken is usually sub par at best. I believe this one is worth a reverse engineering attempt to see if I cannot duplicate this in the kitchen from scratch.

This new fruit sensation it was very edible for sure.  I am not promoting Weight Watchers in any sense here  – I just wanted to share with you my experience with my grocery item of the week.  I don’t have any endorsement deal with Weight Watchers… yet. You can check out the other choices on their website.

Give me a shout back and let me know your best or worst microwave dinner experience or even one choice that you see yourself going back to time and time again. I can’t wait to hear… we will have microwave dinner day!!

Sitting in the office the other day I get an email with a bunch of Thai recipes from an office colleague. I decided to whip up this interesting soup that I scrolled through. I always have been a big fan of smooth soups so I am hoping this one will be just as good. The recipe is very simple and has some great flavors that I enjoy.

So I said what the heck, lets give it a whirl and see if it is worth serving to others. Follow below and let me hear what you think.

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 1 15 oz can coconut milk
• 2 cups mango nectar
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter; your preference
• 2 veggie bullion cubes
• 1/2 an inch fresh ginger, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 green chilies, minced
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 3-4 green onions, chopped

Method

1. Add the pumpkin puree, coconut milk, mango nectar, and water to a large pot and bring to a low boil.
2. Meanwhile, you can mince the ginger and green chilies (jalepenos are fine too) and add them to the pot.
3. Chop the cilantro and green onions, and reserve for a garnish.
4. Once the soup is hot, take out a small bowlful and stir in the peanut butter until it is completely incorporated. Add back to the pot.
5. Repeat with another bowlful and incorporate the bullion cubes.
6. Serve in bowls topped with the cilantro and green onions.