Ethnic Gourmet Frozen Dinners

Unlike my co-blogger Linette, I live alone and sometimes cooking a dinner for myself from scratch is just more than I want to deal with. However, I still want to avoid high-fat fast food, carbohydrate-rich delivery foods like pizza, and the expense of eating out. What’s a girl to do?

I’ve tried scores of frozen dinners. I generally go for the organic or the ones that use natural ingredients. Some are tasteless; others have “odd” consistencies; some are just boring.

One of the standouts in the healthy frozen food category that frankly needs some work are the dinners made by Ethnic Gourmet. These microwaveable single-serving dinners feature the dishes of India and Thailand (and they’ve just started to branch out into Greek and Malaysia cuisine). Choices include Chicken Pad Thai, Chicken Biryani, and Vegetable Korma. I’m a big fan of the Chicken Tikka Masal, which is spicy and flavorful and comes with seasoned long-grain brown rice.

Calorie counts are similar to Lean Cuisine or Smart Choice dinners with less sodium added. All are made without artificial flavors, colors, or ingredients or any preservatives. You can generally find them in the organic food section or at stores like Whole Foods. Most Ethnic Gourmet dinners retail for around $3.50 per package.

^{(photo courtesy of Ethnic Gourmet)}