Lunch 101

So I have been trying to find a yummy lunch alternative to my stand by Amy's Cheese Enchiladas. They really are tasty. But variety is the spice of life, right??
I have been trying to branch out. I do some of my grocery getting at Harry's Farmers Market and they have a wonderful variety of organic and vegetarian delights. I have been trying to not eat the same thing everyday for 2 weeks solid, thus burning myself out....
Here we have what looks like to be yummy veggie Lasagna.....
Amy's Garden Vegetable Lasagna

The picture on the box looks great....Into the cart. I took it to work last week and wanted to beat Amy for this. What I thought I learned: Read the Box!!!!
If I had I would have seen:
Gluten free tender rice noodles layered with creamy ricotta blended with a mixture of organic vegetables (spinach, zucchini, broccoli, carrots and peas) and covered with a fresh tasting tomato sauce.
1. I am of Italian heritage. I should have known better and this was a disgrace. And "Fresh tasting sauce"?
2. What, gluten free? Rice noodles? For the love, why?
3. Zucchini
4. Peas
Really, this was a mess. No way I could eat it. It really is wrong to not have an honest pasta noodle in what is alleged as an Italian dish.

After deciding Amy knew nothing about Italian dishes I picked up a spinach and broccoli manicotti. The picture looked great. I liked what was listed on the box, spinach and broccoli. There was no mention of gluten free so I thought I was in the clear....
Wrong! I have no clue what they did to this filling. Really, it is not right.
1. Filling is not suppose to be ground into unidentified bits
2. Said filling should not be neon green.
3. NO CHEESE?!? No, this is not American or Italian. It is just wrong.
4. Tofu is not cheese, nor should they try and mislead me to believe it is with such a pretty picture.
It was so bad I picked out the noodles and ate them for lunch. The filling smelled revolting. Like broccoli if it were treated as poorly as Veg*All if you know what I mean.

This really is on me for not reading and just going by the picture.
So then I got back to basics, after spending $4.99 on each of the above mentioned cartons of hippy nonscene I went to Publix: Where Shopping is a Pleasure.
I really like my Publix. Always clean and friendly, a good variety of stuff, wide aisles and good lighting.

I took a cue from a friend at work and picked up a Michelina's 5 Cheese Lasagna. Wow!
1. No tofu!
2. Real cheese and plenty of it!!
3. The picture was good, but the lunch was even better.
4. Real pasta.
5. Less than $1.50

And the blurb about it is true:
Cheese lovers rejoice! Here’s a lasagna you can really sink your teeth into — guilt free. Michelina’s version features thick pasta layered with a blend of five different dairy-fresh cheeses and Italian herbs, smothered her favorite, tomato-rich Marinara. All this and only 220 calories per serving and just 5 grams of fat. Smile and say “formaggio!”

Formaggio, indeed. Good job Michelina!



What I have learned here is simple:
1. Do not believe the picture under any circumstance.
2. Read the ingredients, all of them. Do not rely solely on the big words
3. I obviously like processed food....