Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Michael Angelo’s Frozen Meals Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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When I think of the holidays, I think of baking special treats in the kitchen, and even making a few special meals. I also think of to-do lists that can make a grown woman cry and the stress that comes along with trying to do it all. That’s why in this season of extra special cooking and baking, I actually stock my freezer with yummy convenience foods. It may seem counter-intuitive at first, but I promise, it is an important strategy for helping my family take care of all we need to get done so that we have the time and energy to bake those cookies!

Lately, we have been REALLY enjoying Italian meals from Michael Angelo’s. You’ve likely seen these products in your frozen food section, as they are found all over the nation. It is a family-owned and operated company with a serious dedication to producing the highest quality Italian food. They want their frozen foods to meet the same standards for flavor and quality as any other meal. That’s a tall order, I think. But I can tell you from experience that they are successful!

We’ve tried a few different products from the line, but the one that had us totally flipping out is their meat lasagna. On a particularly stressful weeknight, I took care of dinner by popping a family-size lasagna in the oven. I was honestly expecting it to taste, “just fine.” Actually, it tasted really incredible. Tim and I both commented that we would have been really proud of our end result if we had made this from scratch. And of course, we didn’t have to go through all that work at all! It was so nice to have such a delicious meal on a day when it would have been completely impossible to have a decent home cooked meal (I’m thinking we would have had cereal…it was that crazy of a day).

I really appreciate that Michael Angelo’s products address some of my chief concerns with buying frozen foods. Their products do not contain any artificial colors, flavors, fillers or chemical preservatives! Their food is also shipped to stores within 36 hours of being created. If you’ve ever wondered just how old the frozen food is you are eating, the answer for Michael Angelo’s products is, “not old!”

Michael Angelo’s has a line of products available at warehouse stores, and an extensive selection of foods in natural food stores. But here’s a list of products you can find in more conventional grocery stores:

  • meat lasagna
  • eggplant parmesan
  • vegetable lasagna
  • chicken picatta
  • italian-style sausage and meatballs
  • chicken alfredo
  • chicken paremesan
  • four cheese lasagna
  • lasagna with sausage
  • manicotti with sauce
  • shrimp scampi
  • stuffed tilapia
  • chicken cannelloni
  • baked ziti & meatballs

I very highly recommend that you get some Michael Angelo’sproducts to have on hand for your next stressful day. Let the professionals take care of dinner while you take care of other things!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will win the following:

  • One family-sized meal voucher, valued at $9.49
  • One single-serve meal voucher, valued at $4.99
  • One single-serve meal voucher for our Natural Line, valued at $5.99

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And the Crowd Goes Wild: Nutrisystem Frozen Desserts

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So far I’ve told you all about my experience trying out Nutrisystem’s frozen breakfasts, lunches and dinners. I have saved the best for last, because today I’m telling you about their desserts.

During my 10 day challenge, I tried the following items:

  • Caramel Swirl Sundae
  • Fudge Swirl Sundae
  • Ice Cream Sandwich
  • Orange Creme Bar
  • Creamy Fudge Bar

In my previous posts, I gave every item a star rating. There’s just no need to do that in this post because EVERY. SINGLE. DESSERT. WAS. AWESOME!!!!

Each dessert on the list above tasted indulgent, sweet, creamy and just great. AND…they all hover right around 100 calories! Nutrisystem, you have totally outdone yourself with the desserts. I just can’t recommend them highly enough for anyone out there with a sweet tooth but who wants to watch their calorie intake.

So in conclusion, here are some of my basic thoughts about Nutrisystem after trying it out for 10 days.
1. It was SO nice to not have to cook! Nutrisystem certainly offers a very convenient approach to making healthy eating choices, since there’s no real cooking involved for you, and once you place your order, the food is even delivered to your house. When you are pressed for time (and who out there isn’t?) that is a plus.

2. With that said, some thought needs to go into what other items you will have on hand to add to your meals, as the Nutrisystem food by itself doesn’t provide you with enough fuel to get you through the day. I didn’t have a good plan in place for this, and as a result, I didn’t actually lose weight.

3. Going along with that point, it is always important to remember that diet alone is not the key to achieving a healthier lifestyle. Exercise and in many cases doing a bit of deep digging into your personal thoughts and feelings are all necessary components for lasting change. I like that Nutrisystem has created an extensive online community to help out in all those areas.

4. I only tried a sampling of the food that Nutrisystem has available. I would be very curious to try out some of their non-frozen options, as well. While not everything I tried was a winner, many things were quite tasty, so I would be willing to try out more of their food in the future! And the desserts have an open invitation to come live in my freezer!

Disclosure: I participated in a 10 day challenge with Nutrisystem and received complimentary products in exchange for my honest opinion.