nutritious junk

I apologize for the double dog review, I suppose i am craving this summertime BBQ staple now.  Well from veggie dogs, today i give you full fledged meat ones, only these are EXTRA lean (Hoffy made it VERY apparent that these were EXTRA lean because the "extra" took up most of the space on the packaging.

I know i promised you a whole slew of Hibachi House frozen entree
reviews because the the compnay was generous enough to provide me with
a couple of free samples and they've been sitting in my fridge because
i intended to share it with someone (because its meant, according to
their nutrition lable for 4.5 servings, but 4.5 people dont usually
hang around me during dinner). Anyhow, I finally convinced my dad to
share this Mandarin Orange Chicken with me. Before i get into the
taste, lets just get some of their nutrtional facts out there. Each 1
cup sering is 250 calories, with 2 g fat, 1 g fiber, 460mg of sodium,
and 15 g protein. To be honest, this wont feed 4.5 people (is like .5
meant to be like left overs for the dog or something?). It fed my dad
and I and there was a little bit left, so maybe three people (the third
person have the stomach a size of a golf ball maybe?) and It'll
definetly feed two hungry people. that being said, its rather high in
the sodium dept for a single meal. But I have a feeling most of the
sodium is from the sauce. And this brings me to the taste. I LOVED the
chicken! You would have never guessed it was frozen, and it didn't
resemble oily takeout mall food at all. The rice was pretty good as
well and I love the easy prep. BUT.....the sauce was a bit much,
infact, i didn't even use the whole packet and I still found it a bit
overpowering. Luckily, i saved some chicken and rice sans sauce incase
i didnt like the sauce and i'd say its way better without it. It still
had that nice orangy tang. I added some hot sauce to mine, but thats
because i like things slightly spicy. Overall, pretty good. and for
those of you who asked where you might be able to find Hibachi
products, they should be available at Wal Mart, Super Target, Shop
Rite, Weis, Food4Less, Albertsons, Price Chopper, SuperValu, Tony's
Fine Food, Raley's, Dierbergs, and Lowes foods.

since i see many people wanting me to post more recipes, i am gonna start doing more of that. I didnt come up with this recipe myself but i used to make these a lot when i was in high school (dont know why but i had ground turkey frenzy back then for some reason).

Cup noodles is a staple for most college students, busy office cubicle junkies, and starving artists/struggling actors. Alas, these cups contain miniscule nutrition and instead give you plenty of msg and sodium. bummer, eh? Well, the Spice Hunter has a whole slew of ready made soups that boast better nutrtionals. So i was willing to give their Chicken Noodle a try. Nutritionally they are rather sound: each container has 140 calories, 2.5 g fat, 8 g protien, 2 g fiber, and 600 mg of sodium (way better than cup noodles' 1434 mg!). I have mixed feeling about this product though. I liked the smell and the quick and easy prep. The noodles were nice and hearty and tasted like good pasta. But i had some issues with the "chicken" pieces that resemebled beige raisins. Plus, the broth itself was too salty and the flavor a little to bold and seasoned for a chicken noodle soup. I am not sure how to explain it, but its as if they added way to much bouillon for the amount of water they suggested adding (and mind you, i added the EXACT amount suggested by the directions). As a college student and struggling actor, these types of soups serve me well so i want to try the Spice Hunter's other varieties, but i dont think i'll get the chicken noodle again. I'll go to Souplantation for my chicken noodle fix (nothing like free seconds!).

Gas stations remind me of two things, the lovely (albeit, super unhealthy) aroma of gasoline and slim jims they always sell at the food mart. Slim Jims, contrary to the name, are not healthy at all and dont do you much good if you want to be "slim". But i spotted these high protein Ostrich sticks out of all places, a frozen yogurt shop! OS Trim resmebles a slim jim in the look but its made with ostrich and beef. Ive had Ostrich before and its actually really good and a nice lean meat, so i was very curious about this dried version. Each stick80 calories per stick with 14 g of protien, 1.5 g fat, 300mg and no sugar. Less soduim and fat than slim jims. I dont like slim jim and i wasn't head over heals for this. The taste was nice, but i found the mushy filling in the casing a little too much to handle so didn't really want to finish it (my dog was very happy to though). I would have like this in a jerky that has a more consitent texture, but this was like a stale hot dog. If you like slim jim, i think this is a great alternative, but i am just not a dried meat stick type of gal. I do feel bad for the poor Ostrich, they are a very economical animal since one of their eggs equals about 8 real eggs. But then again, they can be very anti-social, nothing says "leave me alone" like sticking your head into the ground...