One of the really fun things about being a Walmart Moms is the opportunities we get to try and review new products! This time Walmart gave us each the chance to try some new calorie conscious microwave fish meals.
Growing up I wasn’t a big seafood person, which is the next thing to blasphemy when you live in the state of Maine. I would eat shrimp and the occasional mild white fish such as whiting. That was about it. I wouldn’t go near a lobster, crab, mussel, clam, salmon, sardine or scallop.
As I’ve matured my tastes have expanded. I realized that what I didn’t like was the really fishy tasting fish. I also realized that truly fresh fish usually doesn’t taste fishy. And although I still won’t touch most things that are slimy and come in a shell-I’ve come to appreciate scallops, crab, lobster and salmon.
So I was very interested to try the really wide variety of Deelitefuls seafood meals that I was sent: Cod Mediterranean Medley, Tilapia Mango Tango, Salmon Florentine Alfredo, Shrimp Bowtie Scampi, and Swai Caribbean BBQ. Each meal retails for around $5.48, has between 160-250 calories, and have no preservatives.
What a selection!
The first thin.g I noticed was that one of the fish meals included was Swai. I had never HEARD of Swai before, but a quick google search educated me-according to Wikipedia Swai is also known as Iridescent shark and it’s a type of Asian catfish.
Shrimp is one of my favorite seafoods.
But on to my review. I decided to start with the Shrimp Bowtie Scampi meal, since it’s one of my favorite seafoods. The bag said that this was a different kind of microwave meal. It bakes the fish “en papillote” ~ a french technique where you bake inside of a paper packet, sealing in the juices inside for fat free and tasty food. Sounds good to me.
Yup. Two in there.
Each package said “Two Meals Inside”. . .but I assumed it really meant 2 servings. I was happy to see when I opened the bag that there were two individual serving packages inside. I liked that I could use one for a meal now, and then save the other~still frozen~for later.
Weight Watcher's Info.
Another great thing-they have the Weight Watchers points (the new points) on the package for each meal.
Nice graphic nutritional info.
Each package also has a graphic with the food pyramid and information on the daily percentage of grains, vegetables and meats in each.
All ready to "bake" in the microwave.
So I took one package of Shrimp Bowtie Scampi out and put it on a microwave safe plate.
First peek in the bag-looks pretty good.
I microwaved it for the 4 minutes and 45 seconds printed on the front of the package. The bag puffed up while cooking from the steam-a bit like a bag of microwave popcorn. . . but without the noise. I took it out and sliced it open along the lines indicated on the bag.
Woops, a few are underdone.
And then I saw that some of the shrimp were underdone. I went back to double check the package and re-read the directions on the back. It turns out that the time listed on the package is for a typical microwave, and if you have a less powerful one (which I do) then you may need additional time. No big deal-I just poured it into a bowl and microwaved it for another minute and a half or so and viola~done!
That's better!
The shrimp was a little peppery, but tasty. I thought that it was a decent meal and a nice lunch sized portion–about the equivalent of a lunch entree from the frozen food section–but if I were serving it for dinner I’d want to bulk the meal up with a few additional side dishes.
This is two meals worth of Caribbean BBQ Swai
I tried the Carribean BBQ Swai as well. The fish was tasty and mild-which I enjoyed. The Caribbean BBQ sauce was a sweet spicy sauce with chunks of pineapple, corn and potatoes in it. Although I could tell it was very flavorful, I just don’t enjoy the flavor of sweet things mixed with my savories (sweet & sour pork? Yuck.) so I didn’t enjoy this one. I think that someone who does like those type of flavor combinations (plus a little bit of kick) would enjoy the Caribbean BBQ Swai.
The Salmon Florentine Alfredo~again both portions.
The Salmon Florentine Alfredo was the final variety I tried. It did take me some additional time to ensure the salmon was cooked through. The dish had plenty of the lemony sauce and pasta and was quite tasty.
Although as you all know I rarely buy frozen meals, I think that the Delitefuls meals are a good option for folks interested in weight loss, looking for quick and healthy lunch options, or for singles/couples who enjoy fish but who don’t cook.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored review I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with the product for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
My husband does the grocery shopping and brought home three varieties of these Delightfuls frozen meals because we are both weight conscious. Tonight we tried the Swai Carribean BBQ and, I must say, we were extremely disappointed. The portions were too small for a dinner meal and, other than an overpowering spicy kick in the sauce, everything else tasted bland. I couldn’t find a pineapple, much less taste one. The potatoes had good texture, but absolutely no flavor.
We’ll try the other two flavors of Delightfuls that my husband has already purchased, but I can’t say that I’m looking forward to them. Unless they are significantly better than Swai meal, we won’t be buying any of them again.
My wife bought the cod. One small piece in the bag appeared to be cod, but the other piece was an unidentifiable something or other that was totally inedible, and had to be thrown out. Nice packaging, but completely misleading I’m afraid. never again!
Sorry you had such a terrible experience! I’ll pass your input along to the folks who sent me the product to try.
I just tried the Swai Caribbean BBQ. Not good at all, very disappointed with it. The fish was only about 2 1/2″ long. Could only find 4 very small pineapple pieces. The potatos, when grouped, was larger than the fish was. And way too spicy. For $5.99 you would think it would taste better. Would not buy another one.
We’ve tried the Shrimp Scampi meals at home. I bought two bags thinking they would be a hit. I was wrong. Absolutely GROSS. The shrimp was not deveined. Aside from that, the flavor was terrible. All you can taste is garlic and pepper. Not to mention that the portion size was not even enough for my 11yo daughter, who was grossed out by the shrimp anyway. For the price I paid I should’ve had a decently prepared meal. Even Long John Silver’s cleans their shrimp. I guess that’s what I get for trying to shortcut seafood. We will not be purchasing anything more from this brand.
I’m so sorry you were disappointed. I am forwarding your comments to my contact at Walmart.
I love the Shrimp Bowtie Scampi and the Mango Tango. I just a salad and have a quick meal. They have no preservatives, low fat and unlike most frozen entree meals, low in sodium. Unfortunately, I think my Walmart has stopped carrying them. I really hate when you find a product that you really like they stop selling it.
Kelly-I’ll pass on your comments to Walmart.
I picked up a few bags of these at our local Walmart (Dunnellon, FL). The Swai Caribbean BBQ was $2 and the Shrimp Bowtie Scampi was $2.50 — at that price, I thought I’d give them a try.
I had never heard of the brand so, before using them, I did a search and found this blog.
I found the review fairly negative, as well as the comments. A bit put off by this, I decided to try to do something with them so, perhaps, we would actually enjoy our meal. I thought I’d turn the Swai Caribbean BBQ into a Caribbean gumbo. Not sure about the flavors of the meal, I simply chopped then seared a couple of mild sausages, added in 1 small potato, 1 sliced carrot, a diced celery stalk, a little red onion, a little bell pepper, 1 can of diced tomatoes, a couple handfuls of fresh spinach, a few peas, garlic, salt and pepper. Once my base was cooked, I added both servings to the pot and allowed it to thaw (and cook–the fish is raw, which I think is fantastic as you are not as likely to overcook it).
I was delighted by the flavor the product brought to the dish. There was not very much spiciness, but there was a clear sweetness which I recognized as pineapple. So, I added about a 1/4 cup of mango juice, some chili pepper and a little cayenne (for heat) — it was fantastic!!!
I served it over dirty rice (made with sausage, ham and a few spices). We liked it so much, I am planning to buy more. Seriously, at $2, it is about the same cost as a seasoning package and has the best flavor. I am going to try it just like it is out of the bag too. I have a feeling it would be delicious over jasmine rice and served with an eggroll. Next week. (-:
All in all, it just proves to me once again that you have to try things for yourself.
Karen-Thanks for sharing your experiences! I forwarded your comments on to the company, just like I did the negative ones. Taste is such a funny and personal thing-what one person loves might leave another totally cold. I’m glad you tried it yourself and enjoyed them!
I’ve tried the shrimp scampi first and it was almost flavorless, I added more garlic, sea salt, shredded parm to make it taste decent. The Salmon alfredo florentine was completely nasty. All I took was one bite and had to spit it out cause it was so gross and threw the other bag of it away also. The salmon tasted old, and you never eat frozen spinach unless it has been rinsed after being thawed as it always has a freezer taste if you don’t.
I cook low fat whole grain pasta dishes with cream sauces that are probably 1/3 the calories of traditional styles using fat free milk with very little butter and people love it and can’t believe it is so low fat and low calorie.
The Chef’s at Fishin’ Forever need to eat these after they have been frozen a few months so they can see how bad they are.
I also test food products 4-6 times a year from survey panels, but have never received anything that bad.
Brian-I’ll forward your input back to the company.
I absolutely love these meals. I stumbled upon them a few months ago. I have tried MANY frozen dinners and these are by far the most healthy and tasty I have had. As far as the meal itself, people have to realize that the meal may seem small, but is actually the portion you need. A serving size of meat is about the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand.
and was told that I can’t even request them to reorder them like you can in other grocery stores. I am beginning to see downfalls in Wal-Mart everyday. I like the convinence of shopping at one store but I like being able to get healthy foods more.
Recently our local Wal-Mart Super Center in Henderson, Ky put these on sale for $1.97! I stocked up of course. I went back this week and our store no longer carries them