January for me is a time to rein in the food consumption after stuffing my face a little bit too much over the Christmas period.
I, like many other shoppers are often on the look out for healthier alternatives that still pack a punch in terms of taste. Throughout my life I've had plenty of low calorie ready meals, and they usually taste incredibly bland and dull.
There's nothing worse than vowing to eat healthy at the start of the new year, but being faced with depressing salads and tasteless low calorie meals. That's usually why a 'fakeaway' is a great alternative that still tastes good, for less calories.
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Popular supermarket Iceland has launched a 15-item fakeaway range in collaboration with Myprotein, packed with protein, but low in calories. The ready meals have been out since January 3, and I finally managed to get my hands on some at my local store.
The full range includes:
- Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese 31g Protein/415kcal – £4
- Singapore Noodles 45g Protein/6g Fibre/527kcal – £4.75
- Chicken Tikka & Rice 34g Protein/ 320kcal – £4
- Breakfast Wrap 40g Protein/6g Fibre/508kcal – £4
- Seasoned Skewers 30g Protein/ 149kcal per skewer – £6
- Salt & pepper skewers 30g Protein/ 154kcal per skewer – £6
- Katsu Chicken & Rice 28g Protein/ 531kcal – £4
- Beef Pasta Bolognese 38g Protein/ 421kcal – £4
- Halloumi Breakfast 20g Protein/ 5g Fibre/ 316kcal – £4
- BBQ 3 bean Wrap 27g protein/ 20g fibre/ 619kcal – £3.50
- Meat Feast Pasta 61g Protein/ 7g Fibre/ 633kcal – £4.75
- Peri Peri Chicken & Rice 58g Protein 7g Fibre/ 550kcal – £4.75
- Beef Lasagne 36g Protein 12g Fibre/ 443kcal – £4
- Jerk Chicken & Rice 34g Protein 14g Fibre/ 598kcal – £4.75
I'd seen a lot of hype over the seasoned skewers, particularly the salt & pepper flavour, so I begrudgingly forked out £6 to give them a try. Here's what I found.
The low calorie skewers
I'll be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from frozen chicken skewers, and I was really hoping that I wouldn't be underwhelmed by the size or taste. For £6, I was expecting some pretty big skewers, and I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
The pack contains four seasoned salt & pepper skewers that take 35 minutes to cook in the oven. Described as 'perfect in a wrap or pita with salad or rice', I decided to make my own 'healthy kebab'.
I had most of the stuff in for my kebab wrap including cucumber, tomatoes, mint, yoghurt and salad. The only thing I was missing were onions, but I was hoping that the skewers would offer enough taste anyway.
Aesthetically, the skewers uncooked didn't look like anything special, but they were pretty big. I whacked them in the oven for 35 minutes turning them halfway through and prepared my wrap.
Whilst cooking the skewers smelt absolutely unreal, so I had pretty high hopes for my low calorie lunch. As I took the skewers out of the oven, they looked lovely and golden and quite crispy in some parts.
Getting the chicken off the skewer was actually the hardest part of all, as I found the chicken got stuck to the bamboo stick a fair few times. I popped the chicken into my wrap with salad and mint yoghurt and took a big bite.
It actually took me a good few bites to actually warm to these skewers, purely because the first couple of chews were very dry. I was glad I had some kind of sauce to go with them, because there's nothing worse than a dry bit of meat.
In terms of flavour though, the chicken skewer was absolutely spot on. The salt & pepper seasoning had a subtle kick to them which really added to my homemade kebab, and combined with the cooling yoghurt, it was a real treat.
I consider myself as someone that doesn't get full very easily, but I found myself absolutely stuffed after eating this homemade kebab. That's quite a rare occurrence for me at lunch time, because I usually find myself ravenous an hour after lunch desperate for some crisps or something sweet.
The verdict
Would I say this pack was worth £6? Even though the skewers are pretty big, £6 for four frozen skewers is a little steep. But thinking about it logically, the pack would have you sorted for almost a week in terms of lunch, and the fact that they're frozen is very convenient too.
The skewers were absolutely delicious, but I just wish that they weren't as dry. If you're going to tuck into these skewers I think you'll definitely need some sauce, which is a shame because the actual salt and pepper seasoning is lovely.
I'd definitely purchase these skewers again, despite the cost, purely because they're super handy to have in the freezer, and very filling too. I've purchased a few other ready meals from the range to try out to help me on my calorie counting journey, which is usually a bit of a bore to say the least.
I'm hoping this range will kick things up a notch in terms of my meal plans, and make things a little easier for me. As a whole, I was generally impressed.
You can purchase the Myprotein 4pk Salt and Pepper Chicken Skewers 520g here for £6. At the time of writing they are currently out of stock. Browse the full Myprotein range here.
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