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Friday, January 8, 2016

Luvo Quinoa & Vegetable Enchiladas and Chicken Enchiladas Frozen Entrees

January 6, 2016

I won a month of free food from Luvo Inc., including a variety of frozen entrees and burritos. As a sort-of "thank you", I thought I'd review and share each meal I try!

I started my work-week early Monday morning with the very important activity of picking out what I wanted to take with me for lunch. Having a freezer full of tasty selection, I happily grabbed Luvo's frozen Quinoa & Vegetable Enchiladas. Only hours later I was standing in front of our office microwave, with my pouch steaming away inside the machine. I cooked for 8 minutes and heard a loud pop at about minute seven. I ended up letting the dish keep cooking (after a welfare check inside the microwave), and then let it cool a minute before pulling it out to serve my lunch.


Unfortunately, the bag had burst while cooking, so the plate it cooked on was covered in mole sauce and rice. It steamed a little past perfection and didn't plate like a chef, but it still smelled really good. My co-workers laughed at the mess I was putting my fork into, but agreed that it smelled divine. After a quick clean-up of the microwave I sat down and enjoyed my second meal from Luvo.

The enchiladas, while not pretty, were really, really good. The mole sauce on the jasmine rice was rich and full-flavored. And the corn tortillas wrapped around the quinoa and veggies was tender but didn't fall apart. Bite after bite my fork found beans and tomato and even a little cheese.

Quinoa and veggie filling inside the enchilada












It was a healthy meal under 400 calories with only 220 mg sodium (that's only 9% of your daily value - pretty amazing for a frozen meal!) Lots of protein in this dish (and 40% of your daily fiber) so I got through the rest of my work day without the longing for dinner that sometimes comes. Overall, it was a great dish, followed by an even better one the next day!

Tuesday morning I decided to give Luvo's frozen Chicken Enchiladas a try. Their box's promise of "steams perfectly in paper pouch" would be put to the test a second day in a row.  This time: it was a success! I microwaved on high for the recommended 8 minutes and the bag stayed intact. After cooking and cooling for a minute I cut open the pouch and gently plated my entrĂ©e.

The meal looked as good as it tasted! Black beans and brown rice served two perfectly cooked enchiladas. The enchilada-filling was seasoned great and had veggies like bell peppers and also tomatoes mixed in with the chicken. The filling was almost creamy in texture, with some bigger chunks of chicken too. It was delicious. The tortillas shells were really good too, and didn't taste like they'd been frozen only ten minutes earlier.

This dish had almost twice as much sodium as the quinoa enchiladas, and half the fiber, but was still low calorie and tasted great! I'd definitely enjoy eating it again!

Friday, January 1, 2016

Luvo Vegetable Bibimbap frozen entree

12/31/2015

I won a month of free food from Luvo Inc., including a variety of frozen entrees and burritos. As a sort-of "thank you", I thought I'd review and share each meal I try!

Two boxes of food delivered yesterday meant a freezer full of choices today. I picked the Vegetable Bibimbap to try first.

This gluten-free box is loaded with brown jasmine rice and a half cup of vegetables, including chopped zucchini and carrots. The box warns that it "packs some heat" too. I microwaved for 6.5 minutes at home because I was too hungry (and impatient) to cook for 30 minutes in my oven. I'm glad I followed the instructions to place the pouch on a microwave-safe plate because a little juice leaked out of the steam-filled bag while it cooked. Oh, and did it smell good!

I poured the contents into a bowl and dove in with my fork. First bite had me surprised by the flavors! It does have heat - and I LOVE spicy food! Also, the zucchini pieces really did what they box promised: they were "steamed to perfection"; not mushy at all, and very full of flavor! Bamboo shoots and carrots also gave nice texture to the meal. Other vegetables and seasoning include: shitake mushrooms, Napa Valley cabbage kimchi, green onion, kale, chili peppers and garlic.


The meal was light and low-calorie. Only 270 calories, 10 grams of fat, 460 mg of sodium, 39g carbs, and 6g protein. I don't really calorie count, so I have to instead say that I just felt good after eating it. About halfway through eating I added a splash of white vinegar, which also tasted good mixed with the other flavors. There are no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. Only 4g of added sugar, and non-GMO soy and oils.

I was really impressed with my first selection. I went running (2.75 miles) not long after eating and didn't feel too full or weighted down. It wasn't greasy and it tasty fresh. Vegetable Bibimbap would probably be too spicy for my husband to enjoy (he does NOT like spicy!) but it was terrific for me. It was the right amount of food for my afternoon, and it was delicious. Can't wait to try more!