Sainsbury's range of Super Naturals (tm) are "bursting with tasty ingredients, no artificial additives". I've tried the range recently in my never-ending quest for the perfect micro lunch. I'm one of those folks who is really sick of the options for lunch near my office. We even have a delightful sandwich wagon man who comes around -- the only problem being that while he's lovely, his sandwiches are dry versions of very dry, tired old things. 
My company supplies a kitchen/canteen area fully stocked with stove/oven, microwave, and full-size fridge, but I rarely have the energy or time to prepare anything fresh. Nor do I ever seem to be able to carve the extra time out of my evenings to pack something nice up for the following day. So, my quest for micro meals is what I am left with.
Of course, I'm demanding. I want something hot, quick, nutritious, non-calorific, and not full of E-numbers.
The Super Naturals (tm) range includes Chicken & Prawn Paella, Jerk Chicken with sweet potato and sweetcorn mash, Smoked Salmon Salad, Lemon & Basil Chicken, Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta, Gnocchi Roasted Vegetables, Chilli Ginger Salmon, Caribbean Prawn Curry, Beef In Red Wine, and Spaghetti and Meatballs, all at £2.99 for about 400 grams. (They are on special 4 for 3 offer this week.)
So, Piri piri Chicken, or "Garlic, chilli & paprika marinated chicken with char-grilled red peppers, baby
Of course, I'm demanding. I want something hot, quick, nutritious, non-calorific, and not full of E-numbers.
The Super Naturals (tm) range includes Chicken & Prawn Paella, Jerk Chicken with sweet potato and sweetcorn mash, Smoked Salmon Salad, Lemon & Basil Chicken, Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta, Gnocchi Roasted Vegetables, Chilli Ginger Salmon, Caribbean Prawn Curry, Beef In Red Wine, and Spaghetti and Meatballs, all at £2.99 for about 400 grams. (They are on special 4 for 3 offer this week.)
So, Piri piri Chicken, or "Garlic, chilli & paprika marinated chicken with char-grilled red peppers, baby
spinach, caramelised onion and basmati rice with a tomato and chilli sauce", to be exact. Nothing scarier than rapeseed oil, cornflour or garlic puree in the ingredients list. The pack weighs in at only 382 calories, and gets the "green light" in the new UK nutritional coding, with fat (9 grams) and salt (.48 gram) below 20% of the GDA. So good if the rest of your daily intake is balanced, and actually quite good as far as ready meals go. I found the portion perfect for lunch, but a hungry man would need two to get the calories to see him through until dinner.
But the taste, what about the taste?
Like everyone, I eat with my eyes as well as my taste buds, and the meal is acceptably recognisable as real food on the plate (not some kind of reconstructed mini version of real food, as many micro meals can be).
The first bite was full of the promised chilli and tomato flavours of the sauce, and top points for the fresh spinach and parsley which were still intact after a quick 4 minutes in the nuclear oven. The rice was a bit too damp, but still had bite and texture, and the chicken -- well, it was a bit dry but not beyond the realms of acceptability.
Would I buy it again? Yes, it definitely ticked enough boxes for me to try other varieties, and buy the Piri piri Chicken again.
Do you have any recommendations for healthy lunches that are portable and taste good? If so, let's hear from you!
Gannet rating: 6/10*
*Note the rating is relevant to the playing field, eg ready meals. Not as compared to, say, dinner at Barrafina.
Sainsbury's Online Groceries
But the taste, what about the taste?
The first bite was full of the promised chilli and tomato flavours of the sauce, and top points for the fresh spinach and parsley which were still intact after a quick 4 minutes in the nuclear oven. The rice was a bit too damp, but still had bite and texture, and the chicken -- well, it was a bit dry but not beyond the realms of acceptability.
Would I buy it again? Yes, it definitely ticked enough boxes for me to try other varieties, and buy the Piri piri Chicken again.
Do you have any recommendations for healthy lunches that are portable and taste good? If so, let's hear from you!
Gannet rating: 6/10*
*Note the rating is relevant to the playing field, eg ready meals. Not as compared to, say, dinner at Barrafina.
Sainsbury's Online Groceries
