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Grocery Shopping at the Mailbox and a Birds Eye Review

If you haven't figured out from the Foodbuzz ads on the site of my blog, I am affiliated with the company and get to participate in some of their Tastemaker programs. One of the benefits is that I get to try some new products before they hit grocery stores. So when I received this delivery of a cooler box full of frozen goods, you know I was excited:


There is nothing better than free food coming to your doorstep. Why on earth they decided to send frozen food in August to Georgia, I'll never know! But they stayed cold all the way, and I got these four bags of steamfresh sides:



I'll be completely honest here...two of these do NOT appeal to me at all. Somehow they decide to create two things I just don't like--mushrooms and creamed spinach. But the other two, I was seriously excited for. I decided to make a quick and easy dinner using the roasted red potatoes and green beans, in a parmesan olive oil sauce. As a side to a simple baked chicken breast, it was perfect!



Since I'm not always up for making a sauce just for a quick meal, this was a nice way to elevate a meal--and hubs appreciated the extra flavors. I tried another bag for a quick lunch. Instead of making it as a side, I decided to eat the whole thing and make it lunch! I ate the Primavera Risotto for lunch, but it needed a little extra something to make it a meal, so I tossed in some leftover broccoli and chicken. Yum! I loved having risotto for lunch--I would never make it for myself normally because it takes way too long. 


Overall--loved the ones I tried, but I'm still not touching the creamed spinach. Maybe hubs will like it? 

Rank in order: canned vegetables, frozen, fresh?
Fresh all the way! Although I really like frozen bags of veggies when I'm in a hurry, especially edamame and corn. Canned? Not so much. Because of the high sodium, I usually skip all canned veggies except for tomatoes (crushed or sauces). 

Which one ranks higher in your book: mushrooms or creamed spinach? What food do you HATE?
Blech and Yuck. Although I will say that raw spinach = magical. Even sauteed, I love. But creamed? I must have had a bad experience as a child. Mushrooms I'm slowly getting used to. Slowly being the key word here. I won't pick them out anymore, but I definitely won't cook with them intentionally.

*I received these products free thanks to Foodbuzz and Birds Eye Chef's Favorites, but the opinions are entirely my own. *

Comments

  1. ha ha this made me laugh because I love almost all food except mushrooms and spinach! I wouldn't have touched it either.

    Definitely fresh veggies especially this time of year when they are in abundance in Utah. Love it!

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  2. I love the steamable veggies. So quick and easy!

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  3. Serious mushroom love here. How did these products rank nutritionally? I know many frozen products are high in sodium.

    Foods I don't like... eh... not a big fan of fish with lots of little bones... it just becomes too much work for generally mediocre tasting fish.

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  4. FUN! I love goodies in the mailbox - bonus if edible!! I can't believe the stuff stayed COLD.

    FRESH > FROZEN > CANNED

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  5. i'm totally with you; fresh veggies, followed by frozen and I totally avoid caned except for tomatoes!

    i dont mind the taste of mushrooms, but the texture bothers me. creamed spinach isn't so tasty either, but i do love fresh spinach

    (i responded to your comment on my blog)

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  6. Fresh, frozen then canned. I think it is handy to have some canned veggies around for when you are really at a loss for a meal or you want to add veggies to soups and you don't want to have to wait for them to cook.

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  7. I've never actually tried creamed spinach I have it with lemon or vinegar or fresh in a salad that sounds interesting.. I use frozen if necessary but I prefer fresh when I can same goes for beans.

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  8. I'd much rather have fresh, but it's so freaking expensive sometimes, I go for frozen a lot.

    That's so cool that you get to try stuff before it's in stores!

    I really like mushrooms, but creamed spinach, no gracias.

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  9. Fresh then frozen. I get SO MAD when people say they can't afford to eat healthy because frozen veggies are very reasonably priced, are so good and take very little peparation for consumption.

    Stepping off soapbox.

    I do not like mushrooms at all and I love my spinach fresh, not cooked in any fashion (except maybe in a spinach and artichoke dip which is really code for massive ammounts of cheese with a bit of spinach for color. haha).

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  10. definitely fresh veggies, but I do use frozen in a hurry, in a stir fry and in smoothies!

    I would love to try out stuff before its in stores, you must fill me in on how you get to try out all of these cool products!

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  11. I HATE mushrooms!! They scare me.

    Fresh -> canned -> frozen! I don't know why but I never buy frozen. I used canned on occasion (mostly for beans) but make sure I rinse them really well to get all the extra sodium off.

    I don't mind spinach but I've never tried it creamed. It kind of sounds gross. I don't like creamed things all that much so it would probably be gross to me too!

    Um..and my giveaway...enter NOW before I head over to GA.

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  12. I'm a fresh vegetable person all the way! But frozen is close because of the price difference. But, like you, I won't go near canned because they just don't taste right most of the time.

    I'm a giant mushroom fan but I hate creamed spinach! Yuck!

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  13. All of the meal options sound & look tasty! I guess I just really like mushrooms and what not, but I've never had them frozen.

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  14. I'm a big fan of EVERY veggie, but anything creamed, I've never tried. And frankly, I'm scared to do so.
    I like canned beans. So easy to include them in recipes. Just pop the top and away we go!

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  15. I know canned veggies are way higher then sodium but I sure do love them, crazy love them. Could probably eat canned green beans and corn for the rest of my life!

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  16. I have never tried CREAMED SPINACH but I doubt that I would like it! Fresh first, frozen and then canned but we actually eat canned almost twice a week when we are at home because we are too poor:)

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  17. Fresh, frozen, then canned.

    I love mushrooms! I have never had creamed spinach but it sounds gross. I do like fresh spinach though.

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  18. I buy everything fresh except for peas and corn... I'll buy those frozen sometimes. You couldn't pay me to eat canned veggies! And I despise green beans... ick!

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  19. fresh ranks supreme but next in line comes frozen. nuke the frozens in the micro and i'm allll about fast and easy! ;) canned, i'm not a fan of how much salt they add...but there are more and more sodium free or reduced versions out there so power to the cans! haha.

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  20. Yeah totally agree with rankings - Fresh, Frozen, Canned.
    However, I always let fresh stuff go bad, so I'm more of a frozen girl. Anyways cool review - I've never tried that stuff and maybe I should give it a whirl!

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  21. Soo cool that you get to try new products! I'm jealous haha

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  22. I prefer spinach over mushrooms any day. I will only eat mushrooms when they are chopped tiny or sliced thin. There is something in the taste that is too concentrated when it is any bigger sliced than that.

    I prefer frozen. Fresh goes bad too fast in my house, especially when I forget to grab my prepared food in the mornings and instead have to eat out for lunch.

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