Luvo healthy frozen dinner review

"Disclaimer: I received Luvo entrees to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!"
 
From time to time, I do supplement my cooking with frozen meals for those days when you just aren’t inspired to cook or are in a hurry.  I recently was given some samples from Luvo.  If you aren’t familiar with them, they make frozen meals that are wholesome and nutritious, locally sourced where possible, with less sugar and sodium.

I received the following

• Red Wine Braised beef with polenta and vegetables
  
• Farmer’s market frittata with sweet potato mango hash
• Chicken Chile Verde
• Steel cut oatmeal with quinoa and mixed fruits
• Orange mango chicken
  

Normally, I feel like frozen dinners don’t quite fill me up. I need to have a small salad or something on the side. I have a big appetite, what can I say??

It was my first time trying Luvo – it is priced higher than the mainstream frozen meals like lean cuisine, healthy choice, etc.  But you can totally tell that the quality of ingredients is several notches above the average entrees.

My first meal was the Red Wine Braised Beef & Polenta. I had it on a weeknight for dinner and was amazed at how beautifully it came out onto my plate!   It not only looked stunning, it was really good! The meat was tender (and I’m fussy), I loved the polenta, and even the Brussel sprouts which are normally disgusting microwaved turned out good. And it felt like enough food. I would buy this.

Nutritional facts – 250 calories, 8 g fat, 17 g protein

Next was the Farmers Market Frittata. I’m a breakfast junkie and I eat a hot meal every morning.  I was excited to try this.  I was really surprised by the creaminess and savory factor of the ricotta cheese. It really took it up a level.  The peppers were a bit much for me, I thought there were too many of them for me. I did not notice the mango flavor at all, but I liked the sweet potatoes. I would buy this again.

Nutritional facts – 250 calories, 10 g fat, 12 g protein

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The Chicken Chile Verde entrée came with polenta and black beans, 2 things I really enjoy.  I thought that it had similar flavors to the breakfast frittata.  The pepper mix under the chicken was just like the other pepper mixture, but it was good.

Nutritional facts – 300 calories, 11g fat, 25 g protein

I had the Steel Cut Oats for breakfast one morning. I am not a fan of sweet oatmeal. I always buy plain and add my own peanut butter and sometimes banana to it.  I liked the mixed grains (steel cut oats and quinoa) but did not really care for the steamed fruit.  This is not one I would buy for myself.

Nutritional facts – 260 calories, 6 g fat, 6 g protein

The Orange mango chicken had nice sized pieces of chicken for a frozen entrée.  The chunks of mango and the orange sauce gave the chicken good flavor.  The whole grains, kale and broccoli were a good mix and complimented the overall dish. I would eat this again.

Nutritional facts – 280 calories, 5 g fat, 17 g protein

 
Luvo uses 100% recycled paperboard with 50% post-consumer waste. The meal comes in a pouch of unbleached paper made from 20% pre-consumer waste. The meal steams in the bag, and then you pour it out onto you plate. They call their pouch “steamazing”. The meals come out beautifully. 
 
Luvo isn’t available everywhere, but where I live, I had my choice of over a dozen local supermarkets that carry it.

I see several other entrees that I'd like to try, the vegetarian ones, so I will keep an eye out for those.I'm not sure if they run sales very often, but it is worth it to give Luvo a try, if you're looking for "easy" and still want "delicious". 

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