Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice Café Steamers
The show Top Chef on BravoTV is one of my favorite television shows. Recently, I have seen numerous ads on TV for the Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice cafe steamers and was curious as to how they were. I’ve had Healthy Choice café steamers before and they were good . . . would the Top Chef inspiration and influence make them that much better? Costco had a coupon in their February mailer for these frozen dinner entrees so it made it even more tempting to get some and try them out.
Microwaving the Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice cafe steamer entree
To give a little background on the Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice options, Healthy Choice has been a sponsor of Top Chef and in between television seasons Healthy Choice and BravoTV hosted a competition between four former Top Chef contestants and fan favorites:
- Casey Thompson
- Sara Nguyen
- Ryan Scott
- Tre Wilcox
The winner of the Top Chef styled competition would get to help Healthy Choice launch the new Top Chef inspired line of café steamers. In the end, the winner was Ryan Scott who edged out Casey Thompson.
The steamer tray right out of the microwave and the plastic cover removed - all ingredients looking hot and delicious
I’m not sure of the specific market segmentation details for frozen foods / TV dinners but I am sure I probably fall into one of their consumer segments. In my grocery runs, I tend to get more fresh fruits, vegetables and meat to make my own food. However, I will mosey into the frozen foods section occasionally to peruse what’s new and/or on sale and stock up on a few things for those occasions that I’m too lazy, lacking ingredients, or lacking the time to make a proper meal.
To prepare the Healthy Choice entree, you remove the tray from the box, pop it in the microwave, and heat the tray (this is all done with the plastic covering still left on). Once the microwaving is done, the steamed ingredients are placed into the accompanying sauce in the larger outer tray while the inner steaming tray itself is discarded. The ingredients and sauce are mixed together and the final mixed product is then ready for consumption.
The steaming tray is removed and steamed items are then placed into the accompanying sauce in the bottom tray
Similar to other frozen dinner entrees, I found that the portion sizes are pretty small compared to what you might get in a restaurant. But, that may be a reflection of how large portion sizes at restaurants in the United States have become, or how voracious my appetite! Realistically, it is probably the way that frozen dinners limit the caloric intake. Don’t get me wrong though, the café steamer portion size wasn’t skimpy but I could probably eat two steamers in one sitting pretty easily.
The Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice café steamer final product after mixing the steamed ingredients in the accompanying sauce
So, how do the Top Chef inspired Café Steamers compare to the other Café Steamers in Healthy Choice’s lineup? Well, I did think the ingredients used were of very good quality. Being that the preparation method was steaming in the microwave , the ingredients looked very appetizing once microwaved retaining their bright fresh colors. The steamed broccoli also retained a little crispy texture as opposed to having that soggy texture that can easily occur with vegetables prepared from other frozen entrees. The color of the final mixed together product seemed a little more yellow than I would have thought it would be (I expected more of a reddish tint since it was marinara sauce), but the taste was really good and I did enjoy my entree. I don’t know that I would say right off the bat that the Top Chef inspired steamer was necessarily much much tastier than a regular Healthy Choice steamer but I do think it was a bit better and definitely one of the better TV dinners that I have had. I’ll admit though that I wasn’t completely scientific in my testing since I didn’t have a regular steamer in the same sitting as the Top Chef inspired one. I guess I have a few more replicates to go in order to get an adequate sample size, not to mention some other flavors to try :).
Overall, I enjoyed the Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice café steamer and if I’m at the grocery store again and looking for some dinner entrees in the frozen foods section, I’ll be sure to look at the Healthy Choice options again. Without a coupon discount, I might think twice compared to some other options, but if I’m not penny-pinching and deciding based on quality, taste, and presentation, then the Top Chef inspired Healthy Choice options it is.
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FYI, I have not been hired to promote the Healthy Choice Café Steamer meals so l am not writing this entry or advertising on their behalf. As with all of my posts, I’m just sharing my thoughts and opinions. Cheers!
Noodle Theory
Looking for a quick bite for dinner in Rockridge, CA on Sunday night (February 26, 2012), a group of us decided to go to Noodle Theory. Everybody in the group had been there before so we knew we would be having some yummy noodles on a brisk night. Much like many other restaurants in the area, seating is limited due to the small size of the restaurant. Thus, rather than wait for a large enough table spot to open up, the five of us opted to take the bar/ledge spots.
While we considered the menu options, we got to munch on edamame topped with sesame seeds and sauce. After some discussion, my wife (Connie) and I selected the Grilled Niman Ranch Spicy Loin of Pork Ramen and the Grilled Niman Ranch Beef Udon respectively. Connie had recently undergone a tonsillectomy so her diet was still very limited to softer foods that were not very spicy. Connie’s spicy pork loin selection, served in a peanut lime cilantro broth, wasn’t exactly aligned with her prescribed diet but she was attempting to diversify her diet from the apple sauce, juice boxes, and bland soft foods that I had made over the last few days. In case her dish was too spicy, I chose the beef udon dish as a backup although I had a feeling that it may also be a little too spicy too since the beef udon was served in a coconut lime curry broth. There were other choices on the menu that probably would have been better aligned for Connie’s diet as a backup for her but the coconut curry was calling out to me.
Noodle Theory's edamame appetizer
Our dishes came out after a short wait and were as delicious as we expected. The broths all packed a lot of flavor. The meats were tender and the noodles in both dishes were nicely made and soft enough so Connie could eat them. However, our suspicions on the spiciness were confirmed as both dishes were just a touch too spicy for Connie’s recovering palate. On any other day, Connie would not have had any issues with the spices in the dishes and would have easily polished off her portion but instead I got to be the lucky recipient of the spicy pork, peanuts, and eventually her leftovers :).
Noodle Theory's grilled Niman Ranch beef udon in coconut lime curry broth (with some additional pieces of grilled Niman Ranch spicy pork loin and peanuts)
On a previous trip to Noodle Theory, I had tried the Slow Roasted Niman Ranch Pork Belly Ramen served in a savory pork miso broth. Comparisons between dishes are always a little like comparing apples and oranges since the ingredients are different. Hence rather than compare, I’ll provide my preference list for the 3 dishes that I’ve tried at Noodle Theory, which would be:
- Slow Roasted Niman Ranch Pork Belly Ramen
- Grilled Niman Ranch Spicy Loin of Pork Ramen
- Grilled Niman Ranch Beef Udon
Looking at my list and attempting to rationalize my choices, I think the reasons for my ranking preference are due to the meats and noodles in the dishes. The pork belly is just so soft and melts in your mouth, whereas the loin and beef require more chewing effort. Similarly, ramen is softer and easier to work with than the larger udon noodles. For me, I guess I would typically consider the protein the more differentiating factor so formulaically, protein > noodles. I don’t necessarily have a preference for the actual meat type (pork vs beef) but I think the cut can make quite a difference (eg belly vs loin). Also, the weighting gets fuzzy if I’m not feeling a big preference for one type of meat vs one type of noodles vs one type of broth.
Next time you’re in Rockridge and feeling like some noodles, check out Noodle Theory. All of the dishes pack a lot of flavor so you really cannot go wrong – it just really depends on what you’re feeling!
Noodle Theory
6099 Claremont Ave
Oakland, CA 94620
(510) 595-6988
Foodie Forays 