For the past couple of weeks I have been reviewing weight watchers product line. While I am not following the diet I have known several people who have and who have been very successful with it. I was curious how the food tasted relative to how healthy it was. Below is a run down of my pros and cons along with a review of each product I tried.
Pros:
- Taste – I was very pleasantly surprised with how good everything was. It definitely didn’t taste like “diet” food or a frozen dinner.
- I loved the convenience factor of these since I don’t always have time to make food the night before work or the morning of.
- I liked that each dish had a healthy dose of protein – something a lot of people are lacking in their diet, especially women.
Cons
- I thought the serving size was a bit too small and unrealistic for someone trying to lose weight. You never want to feel deprived on a diet so feeling full after a meal is very important.
- I would have liked to have seen more vegetables. While it is easy to add them not many people will and I think that would help with the satiety issue.
- I didn’t recognize some of the ingredients listed on the back, which concerns me. I was also a little uncomfortable about all the waste it was producing. I’m big on being “green” and all of the plastic containers bothered me a bit.
Mac & Cheese
Creamy, delicious and nostalgic – what’s not to like? I felt like a kid again, and I definitely did not feel like I was eating a lesser version, it could have been full fat for all I knew. In actuality it was only 250 calories and packed a whopping 11 grams of protein. I’d say a side of veggies and hummus would make this a go-to meal since I was still a bit hungry afterwards. (6 points)
Chicken Salad
This tasted better than it looked and this time, I was perfectly satisfied with the portion size. I had mine with crackers, veggies and my favorite Neuro Sonic but I think it would be equally as delicious in a wrap with spinach.
Three Cheese Ravioli
It was pretty funny because I had this while Corey made a regular version and the calorie difference was several hundred. Mine was only 310 and Corey’s…well, we won’t go there. Pasta can pack on the cals if you’re not careful so I was shocked to see it was below 400. It also had 3 grams of fiber and an impressive 15 grams of protein. Again, I would have liked to have seen some veggies but all-in-all, it was a great dish. And talk about not feeling deprived! Both of our meals looked the exact same! With one HUGE difference obviously! (6 points)
Baked Ziti
Another pasta dish but this one was only 220 cals and 11 grams of protein. I had to add some of my own parmesan Ā and a dash of salt but it was still pretty tasty. I don’t know if I was just extra hungry that night or if this wasn’t enough for me but I had to have a side of grilled veggies to be fully satisfied.
Meatloaf
Ok, this one isn’t as photogenic as the others but don’t judge a meatloaf by it’s picture – it was awesome! It was one of those comfort-food meals that brings you back to Grandma’s kitchen. This clocked in at 240 cals, 2 grams of fiber and 15 grams of protein. I washed this down with a banana and peanut butter and was full until dinner. (6 points)
Roast Turkey
I may be a little biased on this one because I am a total sucker for Thanksgiving dinner, especially stuffing! Needless to say, this was my favorite, and shocking low on the caloric scale (for what I expected). 250 cals, 1 gram of fiber, 22 grams of protein. I paired mine with a nice fruit salad (kind of an odd combo but it was hot out and that’s all I had in the fridge). (6 points)
Have you ever tried Weight Watchers products? What do you think?
Do you know someone who has tried it? What was the result?
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Dishin' About Nutrition 