MTR's Diet Delite Spiced Cereals With Vegetables

Sometimes it's tough to eat a well balanced meal when you're too busy working and catching up with life. That's why it's nice to have "Ready To Eat" entrees handy. You just heat them up and enjoy. Which leaves more time for other stuff like RELAXATION. These days it's easy to find these types of meals; they're available everywhere. They're becoming quite popular even in India where now lots of people are turning to Quick and Easy products to make cooking easier and faster. There's also a variety of brands to choose from at our local Indian store: Deep Foods, Tandoor Chef, MTR, Gits, Rasoi Magic and etc. Some are tasty and some are just BLAH!
The last time we went grocery shopping, we picked up some. One of them was MTR's Diet Delite: Spiced Cereals with Vegetables.

Here's why we were drawn to this product:
- Whole wheat and lentils cooked with aromatic spices
- Low on fat, high on fiber and taste
- Made with 100% Natural Ingredients
- Suitable for vegetarians and mildly spicy

Everything stated above was clearly a win-win for us and so we bought it. I was delighted to see some of my favorite Indian dishes made even easier to eat since all you have to do is heat it up. I was excited to try a different kind of Pongal.

This does not look like the picture on box.

All my excitement went down the drain when I emptied the contents into a microwaveable bowl and heated it up. It was just a bowl of mush with some signs of vegetables and spices. It wasn't very aromatic and it surely wasn't tasty. We ended up cooking something to make up for the bad taste in our mouths.

We do not recommend buying this product. It's not worth it.

As the famous proverb goes: There are plenty of other "Ready To Eat" vegetarian meals on the market and we're sure we will find them.

Tandoor Chef Frozen Entrees

Sometimes it's tough to prepare meals for the work week when your schedule doesn't allow it; even on the weekends. It's nice to be able to grab frozen meals like Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, and SmartOnes from time to time to enjoy a day off from cooking. However, a lot of these choices are more appealing for non-vegetarians and we feel that there aren't a lot of variety for vegetarians. That's why we were delighted to find that Tandoor Chef had a variety of meals for us that were healthy and tasty. YAY!!

Among the box of goodies we received from Deep Foods (such as frozen samosas and vegetarian patties), there were also four frozen entrees by Tandoor Chef (one of their brands).

Kofta Curry with Channa Masala & Spinach Basmati Pilaf 

Vegetable Korma with Dal Rajasthani & Cumin-Infused Basmati Rice

At first when we read through the list of the nutrition facts, we noticed that sodium count seemed a bit on the higher side. However, when we tasted the meals, we didn't feel that it was salty. On a positive note, these meals have a good amount of protein (10g), fiber (8-9g) low fat, made with olive oil, and they are a well balanced meal for a vegetarian diet as compared to the original recipes (made with lots of ghee or oil). 

Palak Paneer with Dal Makhani & Turmeric-Infused  Basmati Rice

Mutter Paneer with Dal Palak & Cumin-Infused Basmati Rice

I felt that the above two meals were more satisfying in terms of nutrition (Paneer - Indian cheese). They have almost twice as much protein with 17g each and they are packed with 8g of fiber (same as the first two). The only drawback is that these two meals have a bit more sodium in them and I think it's because of the paneer. It's hard to flavor the dense cheese without adding more spices. They were all pretty flavorful except the kofta curry which was a bit spicy. 

Overall, we enjoyed trying out these meals for our lunches and found that they were a good replacement for a meal here and there. I liked the fact that the pictures on the box aren't misleading. A lot of times, I find that the other frozen meals' pictures show ample portions of vegetables/meat, but when I open up the box, it's quite disappointing. However, with the Indian entrees, what you see is what you get. You do not feel cheated about anything. An important fact to point out is that although these are Indian meals, they were produced in the USA from fresh ingredients (as per label on the box). 

Now whenever you want to take a breather from cooking during the work week, try one of these meals. You can feel happy you're eating the REAL DEAL!!