Fantastic Frozen Foods (Part 2)

Ever since I stumbled upon Evol products at Target, I noticed they are popping up at every grocery store!  Each store has a different variety of products, and I have only tried a few, but so far everything has been delicious!  

Evol's food philosophy is to make frozen, convinient foods with REAL ingredients.  Their products contain no animal hormones or antibiotics, no artificial flavors or colors and no GMO's!  

I also love their huge variety of products:  breakfast sandwiches, burritos, quesadillas, street tacos, dinners and 18 gluten-free items!  

So far I've tried:

• Quesadillas- both chicken and steak were delicious, easy to microwave or heat up in a pan.  They also come with two guacamole pouches that can easily be defrosted!  
• Bean and cheddar burrito- this burrito was ok, but lacked flavor.  Not sure I would get it again.  
• Butternut Squash and Sage Ravioli-  these were very tasty and a great option for lunch 
• Truffle Parmesean Mac & Cheese- I was very hesitant to buy this because of the fat content but I just HAD to try it!  It was amazing of course, and I can only imagine how fattening the gluten-free bacon mac & cheese is! 

I'm very interested to try the breakfast sandwiches and some of the other dinners.  I'll follow up with another review shortly!  

I used to eat Smart Ones quesadillas all the time, but now I am way "smarter".  I tried to compare the Smart Ones quesadilla to an Evol quesadilla, but oddly Smart Ones does not list their ingredients online (shocker!).  They only talk about how low the calories and fat are- this is a trick!   Why aren't their ingredients listed online?  Because they are bad for you!  Luckily, Lean Cuisine had their ingredients posted.  Let's check these out, shall we? 

 

This is for the Lean Cuisine BBQ Chicken Quesadillas:

TORTILLA (BLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, SUGAR, SODIUM BICARBONATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE (A PRESERVATIVE), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CALCIUM PROPIONATE (A PRESERVATIVE), FUMARIC ACID, SODIUM METABISULFITE (DOUGH CONDITIONER)), REDUCED FAT MOZZARELLA CHEESE (CULTURED MILK AND NON-FAT MILK, MODIFIED CORN STARCH*, SALT, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, ENZYME (*INGREDIENT NOT IN REGULAR MOZZARELLA CHEESE)), CORN, LIGHT PASTEURIZED PROCESS CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED MILK, WATER, POTASSIUM CITRATE, SALT, SODIUM CITRATE, WHEY*, SORBIC ACID, CREAM, APO CAROTENAL AND BETA CAROTENE COLOR, ENZYMES, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID (*INGREDIENT NOT IN REGULAR PASTEURIZED PROCESS CHEDDAR CHEESE)), COOKED WHITE MEAT CHICKEN (WHITE MEAT CHICKEN, WATER, SEASONING (SALT, FLAVORINGS, MALTODEXTRIN, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, SUGAR, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, FLAVOR {MALTODEXTRIN, SMOKE FLAVOR}, SPICES, CARAMEL COLOR, AND CITRIC ACID), ISOLATED SOY PROTEIN, MODIFIED RICE STARCH, CHICKEN FLAVOR (DEHYDRATED CHICKEN BROTH, CHICKEN POWDER, FLAVOR, SALT), SODIUM PHOSPHATES), WATER, WHITE RICE, ONIONS, TOMATOES, TOMATO PASTE, SEASONING (BROWN SUGAR, DRIED MOLASSES (REFINERY SYRUP, CANE MILL MOLASSES), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, CARAMEL COLOR, SPICES, DRIED ONION, DRIED GARLIC, SMOKE FLAVOR SALT, NATURAL FLAVORS), VINEGAR, BACON (BACON CURED WITH WATER, SALT, SUGAR, DEXTROSE AND/OR SODIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ERYTHORBATE, SODIUM NITRITE), 2% OR LESS OF CORN STARCH, SOYBEAN OIL

OMG...that is in one little quesadilla??? I can't even count how many ingredients are in there!  

Let's check out the Evol Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla:

Ok, so this also has a lot of ingredients, but at least we know what all of these things are!  And don't forget their products don't have GMO's like I'm sure Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones do.  Remember, just because something is low in fat and calories doesn't mean it's good for you.  

Great job, Evol!  Of course, it is always better to make your own meals, but these frozen options are great if you don't have time!