The South Beach Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans entree is one step above the Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans. Unless you are vegetarian, opt for the healthier and tastier South Beach Santa Fe Style Rice from South Beach Living.
Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans: Overall Review
The recipe and taste of the Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans frozen entree has remained unchanged over the years. The Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans is a tasty, vegetarian entree that is one of the less expensive frozen dinners from Lean Cuisine.
The Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans does get much of its flavor from the sour cream in the recipe. For this reason, it is is good choice for vegetarians, but not for vegans.
Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans: Taste
I used to enjoy the Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans more before I tried the South Beach Living version. It’s not the addition of chicken that makes the South Beach Living Mexican dish taste better, it is the spices and the spiciness.
The Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans has a pleasant but mild taste, similar to the Lean Cuisine Chicken Enchilada Suiza and it contains many of the same ingredients (except the chicken).
Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans: Nutrition
Nutritionally, it is more like a big snack than a complete meal, especially in comparison to the South Beach Living Chicken Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans. The 10.375 ounce frozen entree from Lean Cuisine contains 290 calories, six grams of fat, 20 percent DV of fiber, 8 percent Vitamin A, 20 percent Calcium, and six percent Vitamin C.
South Beach Living Chicken Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans
The South Beach Living frozen Mexican food is both healthier and tastier than the Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans.
Lean Cuisine vs. South Beach Living
Lean Cuisine vs. South Beach: Protein Content
The simple addition of chicken to the South Beach Living version of the Mexican entree more than doubles the grams of protein. For the same price, you can get more protein, and fill up faster and remain satiated longer.
Unless you are a vegetarian, the South Beach Living version is better for adding lean protein to your diet.
The Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans has 10 grams of protein vs. the 22 grams in the South Beach dish.
Lean Cuisine vs. South Beach: Healthier Carbohydrates
The South Beach Living version of this classic Mexican dish contains a healthier source of carbohydrates, in the form of brown rice. The Lean Cuisine Mexican rice version contains “enriched long grain rice.
Part of the difference between brown rice and white rice can be seen in the sugar grams of these diet foods. The Lean Cuisine version has 49 grams of carbohydrates, with 10 of those grams coming from sugars.
In the South Beach Living version, there are 35 grams of total carbohydrates with only three sugar grams. For anyone watching their glycemic index and their sugar intake, those seven grams are an important difference.
Sources
Lean Cuisine, a product of Nestle, http://www.leancuisine.com
South Beach Living, a product of Kraft Foods, http://
Taste test of South Beach Living Chicken Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans
Taste test of Lean Cuisine Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans
