They add coherence to two unlike side dishes: the creamy lentil dal and the flavorful vegetable curry. The raisins in the curry are another unheralded star. Trust me on the flavors, though. Another Indian dish starring paneer, and I will not apologize. The secret of this genius creation is its simplicity. Three flavors dominate: cheese, beans, spinach. Separately, they are stellar.
Together, they reach a higher plane of microwavable existence. But if you have any followup questions after munching your first bite of this dish, we are very different people. Where does the Monterey Jack cheese end and the poblano begin? Am I crunching on zucchini or bell peppers? A thoughtful consumer may ask these questions. The plate is filled with so much goodness, you will not care about the answers.
When I am down or discouraged, I remain hungry for the tofu in this dish. I crave its broccoli. Even during non-pandemic times, this meal tastes like home to me. How many microwavable meals can you say that about? Subscribe Manage my subscription Activate my subscription Log in Log out.
Regions Tampa St. Letters to the Editor Submit a Letter. Investigations Narratives Pulitzer Winners. And I can attest, Healthy Choice's power bowls are tasty. That brings us to the point: I eat a lot of frozen meals. Primarily, I started relying on frozen foods — meals, bags of pasta, frozen vegetables, veggie burgers and nuggets — for convenience.
But it quickly became clear in the last few years that the frozen meal options have exponentially improved. Frequently, what I can make from things in my freezer is now better than anything I can make fresh.
Here are a few of my favorites, with some local classics. And you'll notice that often I use the frozen meal as a base upon which to build — adding salad, avocado, hummus or even other frozen vegetables and proteins.
Yes, I add avocado to almost everything. Sorry, not sorry. Based in Petaluma, Amy's is a local favorite. It was started by Andy and Rachel Berliner back in when they wanted to make organic, natural, vegetarian food for their new baby — whom the company is named after.
They started with just a pot pie and soon were making pizzas and burritos out of their Sonoma County kitchen. Today, the company makes hundreds of products, from canned soups to veggie burgers to even candy. They now have plants in Santa Rosa, Oregon, and Idaho. And they opened a drive-thru restaurant in Rohnert Park in , with a second planned for Corte Madera. Amy's is one of the few frozen food purveyors fully committed to organic and vegetarian meals, without sacrificing any taste.
All the tofu is made in-house, for example, and much of the produce is sourced locally — though they'll admit that can be difficult with their standards. Along with pioneering organic labeling and non-GMO labeling, they also were one of the first to push for non-BPA cans.
Though they started with just a vegetable pot pie back in , today Amy's makes lots and lots of stuff — and all of it is GMO-free, organic, and vegetarian. There are also a number of vegan and gluten-free meals. I can personally recommend the pad thai, the Indian meals, and most of the bowls. But for our taste test project, I picked two things: a staple of my frozen meal repertoire, the vegetable lasagna ; and one of my favorite snacks, Amy's pesto swirls.
The veggie lasagna doesn't look like much when you pull it out of the microwave, but it's actually delicious. That is, however, why I like to put it on a bed of lettuce and cut some avocado over the top to make a nice little healthy meal. To cook, just pop open one side of the plastic wrap and stick it in the microwave, but don't overcook it.
The lasagna isn't as heavy as you expect a frozen lasagna to be, primarily since it's not meat-based, and it has an interesting flavor tinged with a mix of spices. For a hearty snack or even just an appetizer with guests, Amy's pesto swirls are tasty and filling. As with many of these kinds of snack, you can cook them in the microwave or toaster oven.
The oven gives them more of a crisp, but the microwave works just fine because they're so thick and dough-y. A little bit salty and a little bit sweet, with a pesto flavor that's not overpowering, the swirls are heftier than bagel bites, but still fluffy and light.
You could easily eat the whole box of six, but you probably shouldn't. Amy's is available at virtually all Bay Area grocery stories, from Whole Foods to Safeway to smaller local markets. Use the location search function on their site to find nearby stores. Evol started as a University of Denver graduate hand-making burritos and delivering them.
Once he realized the business was getting bigger than he could handle, he decided it was time to move into the frozen food realm. That's when one of the founders of Bear Naked Granola got involved — seeing an opportunity in frozen foods. Since then, Evol has predictably been expanding its product line. But, the Boulder-based company has managed to maintain most of its quality and sourcing standards.
Evol is one of the biggest "natural" frozen meal producers — with the understanding that the word "natural" doesn't have a firm definition. But even as they've massively expanded, they've continued to source all their ingredients from U. While most of it is not organic, the bacon does come from Certified Humane-raised pigs, the beef and chicken are raised without antibiotics or hormones, and the eggs come from cage-free hens. The primary goal that Evol has been focused on, since that realization there was a space to fill in the frozen food market, is changing how we view frozen foods.
Freezing was originally a way to preserve the highest quality foods, and microwaves were an innovation to make dinner easier. Making high-quality food easy and available via freezing is Evol's main mission. I'll admit Evol is my go-to for meals, especially when I'm traveling and want something I can throw in the microwave that I know will be reliable and tasty. While their burritos are what they were originally known for, the single-serve frozen meals and bowls are their most popular items.
They also make a line of gluten-free meals, and have recently been expanding into breakfast burritos, bowls, and sandwiches. The fire-grilled steak bowl is my favorite frozen meal, hands-down. It comes with black beans, rice, some bell peppers and corn, and then a smattering of cheese.
If you're just looking for a smaller meal calories , it'll get the job done. But I also like to throw the whole thing in a bigger salad bowl, with some lettuce, and then top with avocado or hummus or whatever I'm feeling like on the day. Cooking is straight-forward: Pop open one side of the plastic, microwave just three to four minutes. I err on the shorter side to keep the meat juicy and fresh.
Then stir it well to mix the cilantro, lime, light pesto, and cheese. It works out to a fresh, tasty bowl that's as good as anything you could get at a restaurant. The other popular staple we tried was the butternut squash and sage ravioli , which used to only come in a single-serve frozen meal, but now comes in a multi-person bag for the stovetop. While the ravioli itself would make a filling meal, it's a little light on protein for me, so I added a frozen veggie patty Dr.
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No Artificial Sweeteners. No High Fructose Corn Syrup. Include out of stock. Sort by Featured. Get it as soon as 1am tomorrow with Shipt. Add for delivery. Shipping not available Not at your store. Check stores. Amy's Vegan Frozen Pad Thai - 9. Did you find what you were looking for? For order, account issues, or specific item inquiries, please contact us. Related categories. Sea Pak seafood. In Stores. Related searches. Get top deals, latest trends, and more.
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