Lunch Ladies: Morningstar Farms | DallasNews.com: Lunch Ladies

Lunch Ladies: Morningstar Farms

06:23 PM CDT on Monday, July 2, 2007

By KIMBERLY DURNAN and GRETCHEN PERRENOT / Staff Writers

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The Lunch Ladies dish every other week about healthy dining options for the office.
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Sometimes even vegetarians crave "junk food." At least that's what we've gathered from the company that makes vegetarian chicken nuggets, buffalo wings and corn dogs. Overall these items tasted and looked impressively like their meat counterparts, making it easy for the "starter vegetarian" to ease into this kind of diet. But even if you don't want to eat these in your everyday diet, you might consider serving them at your Texas hold 'em poker night. We bet no one will even suspect that they're veggie! You can also try using these products in the inventive recipes that Morningstar lists on their Web site.
Web site: www.seeveggiesdifferently.com

Coming soon: Amy's single-serve pizzas

Corn Dogs

DallasNews.com

Corn Dogs

Primary ingredients: Water, enriched wheat flour, yellow corn meal, wheat gluten, sugar, soybean oil, yellow corn flower*
Price: $2.99
Portion size: 1 corn dog
Description: Looked like a regular corn dog.
Kimberly: You wouldn't even need a blind taste test to fool people into believing this was a real corn dog.
Gretchen: I'm a kid at heart and love to eat like a kid, too. Give me pizza, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and anything that I can dip in ketchup! I loved these corn dogs and even thought they seemed a little "greasy" like a State Fair corny dog would.
Score: 5 out of 5 lunch bags
PER SERVING: Cal 150 (6% fat); Fat 4 g (.5 g sat); Fiber 3 g; Chol 0 mg; Sodium 500 mg; Carb 26 g; Calcium 0%; Protein 7 g

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GRETCHEN'S CORNER

I first discovered the Morningstar Farms veggie Buffalo Wings a couple of months ago when I was having the weirdest buffalo-wing craving. I ate either the Morningstar brand or my own version of the wings (with real chicken) for lunch or dinner (and sometimes both) for seven days a week. It was especially odd because I don't normally even like hot wings! Maybe I was having sympathy cravings for my pregnant friend. If you ever find yourself with a hot-wing craving, try my healthier version:

Buffalo Chicken Bites

16 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Ian's Whole Wheat Style Panko Bread Crumbs
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Ken's Steakhouse Buffalo Wing Sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat uncooked chicken with wing sauce and marinate for at least 30 minutes. Mix both types of breadcrumbs together on a plate or in a bag. Add chicken (shaking off excess marinade) and toss to coat. Arrange on cookie sheet sprayed with oil. Bake for 20-35 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Note: The outside of the chicken might look pink because the sauce kinda stains it. Use a light Ranch dressing or equals parts Ranch and fat free sour cream for a dip.

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KIMBERLY'S CORNER

I want to participate in a few triathlons this year, and bought some magazines for inspiration. But I'm not sure it's the right kind of inspiration. In the June issue of Inside Triathlon the magazine bills it "The Sex Issue." On the cover is a topless triathlete (a woman of course), who is covering her breasts with her hands and wearing bikini bottoms. The June issue of Triathlete is the swimsuit edition with mostly women triathletes and a reality TV bachelor wearing swimsuits that wouldn't hold up in a competitive swim. Both magazines seem a little smarmy. Does the sport of triathlon really need to be sexed up? It's a niche interest, and those buying the magazine want information on training, gear and races. Secondly, the people on the cover look awfully plain and frankly uncomfortable compared with those on other magazines covers. Professional models would probably work better. And by all means, include some men.

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Lipton sent us some bottles of iced tea, and I sampled them all. The unsweetened version tasted like typical tea with no sugar, but for a bottled version it did taste surprisingly fresh. The White Tea with tangerine was slightly sweetened and tasted clean. The Iced Tea with lemon was a little tart but was not overly sweet. My favorite was the Green Tea with honey which tasted like sun-kissed homemade goodness.

LETTERS TO THE LADIES

First, I love your feature and can't wait to see what comes next! I wanted to tell you about a new frozen meal I have been eating lately: "Eat Right" from Tom Thumb. They are just like Lean Cuisine, but I think a whole lot better! I think you two should try them and write up a review. The pineapple chicken is unbelievable. Anyway, keep doing what your doing, cause you ladies rock! – Todd

The Ladies' response: Thanks for the e-mail and the tip. Pineapple chicken sounds good. We'll give it a try! – Kimberly

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Re: Lean Cuisine with double veggies

The Butternut Squash Ravioli is usually available at the Super Wal-Mart at Springcreek and Central in Plano. I also recommend the Vegetable Eggroll in a ginger and orange sauce. They have a good selection there and are cheaper than the grocery stores; $2.50 or less. – Gloria

The Ladies' response: You're right – Super Wal-Mart has great prices. I've also found good prices at Super Target. I haven't tried the Vegetable Eggroll and admit I've been reluctant to buy it, but will take your recommendation! – Gretchen

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Re: Lean Cuisine with double veggies

What Albertsons carry the Lean Spa Cuisine Classics? I went to the one at Forest and Cox, and they had never heard of them. – Kathy

The Ladies' response: I found them at the Albertsons at 4349 W. Northwest Highway, the Albertsons at 3524 McKinney Ave., and the Kroger at 5665 E. Mockingbird – all in Dallas. You should look where all the other Lean Cuisine meals are, and look for the turquoise border on the box that all the Spa Cuisine meals have. – Gretchen

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Re: Tabatchnick soups

Thought I would send a note on getting the soup out of the bag after microwaving. I have not tried this soup, so I don't know if this would work, but how about clipping a corner off of the bottom of the bag to make a spout?

I do this with my stock when I boil a chicken. I put the stock in a Ziploc bag and put the bag in a bowl. I put the bowl in the refrigerator. After the fat has risen to the top of the bag, I clip off a bottom corner and the fat-free stock flows out, leaving the fat in the bag to be disposed of with the bag. So, that's my little hint for the day. I love your column. – Patti

The Ladies' response: That's a great idea! Although it has to be a big corner to get all the chunks through the spout. – Kimberly

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Re: Jimmy John's

I did some extra searching and found this site: http://writingsucks.blogs.com/menumonde/jimmy_johns/index.html
Not sure if you wanted to compare your Weight Watchers results with this. It seems a little bit more reasonable, considering the turkey tom has more Points than the slim turkey on this site. – Katie

The Ladies' response: That site is right, but it lists the nutritional value for the sandwich with the ingredients listed on the menu. The Lunch Ladies omitted the mayo from the Turkey Tom, therefore it was lower in calories and fat (and therefore, Weight Watchers Points) than what that site lists. The Jimmy John's Web site allows you to add and remove ingredients to sandwiches to figure the nutritional information.

•Turkey Tom (as is) – 554.8 calories, 26 fat and 1.18 fiber

•Turkey Tom (without mayo) – 326 calories, 0.9 grams of fat, and grams 1.2 fiber

•Slim Tom – 406 calories, 0.6 grams of fat, and 0 grams of fiber

–Gretchen

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