SteamFresh, SodiumFull

The other night we tried Bird’s Eye “Steamfresh Meals for Two” Asian Style Vegetables for dinner. I’m a huuuuuuuge fan of Bird’s Eye bags of veggies that you steam, so I was pretty psyched to try their meals. 7 minutes in the microwave and it was done, and ready to go on our plates – unbelievable!

SteamFresh Asian Style Chicken Vegetable Medley

The taste was pretty good – the veggies and chicken were perfectly cooked and the sauce was pretty light. I also sautéed some extra veggies we had on hand to add to it, so when all was said and done it was really filling.

Sizzle, Sizzle, Sizzle

However, I committed a rookie error. Forgot to look at the nutrition label BEFORE I bought. I know, I know – I can’t believe it either. (I had a coupon!!!) Or maybe I just looked at the cals and threw it in the cart – I can’t recall. Either way: I should know better.

Ready for this? Calories: 290 per serving. Fantastic. Sodium? 1290 mg. ::::insert sound of me gagging, clutching my throat and falling to the floor:::: Ok, so the bag says that’s only 54% of your daily recommended amount (ONLY!), but the sneaky thing about that percentage is that’s based on 2400 mg … the tolerable amount. Really the amount of sodium you need in a day is a mere 1200-1400 mg. So that tasty little treat of Asian style veggies and noodles? Knocks out your daily needs right there.

Final Product: Lo Mein with a Side of Sodium

And don’t even think of adding any soy sauce! Ack!

Since cooking the real deal stir-fry only takes maybe 5 minutes more, I’ll stick to that. Sorry, Bird’s Eye – I’ll be loyal to your veggie bags, but you can forget about me ever buying those steamer meals again. I love my perfectly normal blood pressure way too much for that!