In my continuing quest to find healthier frozen food products, I keep returning to the Lean Cuisine line for their broad variety of good-tasting, quality meals. I just tried the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla and am again impressed by the flavor and goodness in yet another Lean Cuisine product. The best thing for me about the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla is its mild flavor – I’ll go into some detail about that in just a second.
Flavor
So, about that mild flavor I was talking about a moment ago… The Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla tastes like I hoped it would: basically Southwestern meets the South. But what makes the flavor great for me is the sweet BBQ flavor and only a mild onion flavor. When I picked this BBQ chicken quesadilla up at the grocer, I was a little concerned that what I was buying would be overrun with the flavor of raw onions. I’ve had a few similar meals before and love the overall flavor but don’t like the raw onion flavor that often accompanies. So, I was pretty much rolling the dice here on this because some quesadilla/Southwestern dinners are loaded with the flavor of raw onions and others aren’t.
Outside of the onion issue, the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla meal offers flavor and is filling for what it is. I, of course, would like for it to be a little larger. I’d say it measures about 6-1/2″ by 3″, which is probably just fine for most people here. I would probably round out my quesadilla with some microwavable vegetables if making this Lean Cuisine offering as part of a meal.
Preparation
Preparing the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla is very simple. One issue for those without a microwave is that the box clearly states you can’t heat the quesadilla in a conventional oven or toaster oven.
Closely follow the instructions on the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla box and make sure you open the box along the perforated lines. The box opens up into a specially made quesadilla stand that goes in the microwave and helps the quesadilla to cook more thoroughly.
Using the Lean Cuisine instructions, the BBQ chicken quesadilla heats up in about 2 minutes and 15 seconds, but cooking times will vary a bit. The Lean Cuisine box states the cooking directions are based on the usage of an 1100-watt microwave oven.
Nutrition
So, how does the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla stack up in the health category? Except for perhaps the fairly high sodium and carbohydrate counts, I’d say the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla looks like a very healthy food choice, at least considering the options we have in the frozen dinner aisle.
A whole Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla represents 1 serving, so you can eat the entire contents of the box and not worry that you’ll be eating more than you’re supposed to!
Here’s a rundown of the nutrition label on the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla box:
260 calories
60 calories from fat
7 grams of total fat content
2.5 grams of saturated fat
0 grams of trans fat
1 gram of polyunsaturated fat
1.5 grams of monounsaturated fat
15 milligrams (mg) of cholesterol
630 mg of sodium
300 mg of potassium
35 grams of carbohydrates
2 grams of dietary fiber
7 grams of sugar
16 grams of protein
Vitamin A: 8% of recommended daily intake
Calcium: 30%
Vitamin C: 5%
Iron: 10%
Overall, I’d say I did well buying the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla. This product, as well as many of the products in the Lean Cuisine line, stand out from the rest in the frozen food aisle thanks to a flavorful combination of tantalizing meals and decently healthy numbers to accompany each of the meals.
I bought this product for $2 at a Sweetbay Supermarket grocer in Central Florida in January 2010.
Resources
Personal and first-hand experience
Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadilla carton
