Green Giant steamers quick way to get your veggies
Vegetable side dishes are minutes away with the new Valley Fresh Steamers from Green Giant.
Food panel members liked the flavors inside the new microwave steamer bags, giving highest marks to the roasted red potatoes and green beans in rosemary butter sauce, and cheesy rice and broccoli. Both received three-and-a-half-star ratings on a five-star scale.
“Tender beans, good potatoes – this works! Very handy microwave prep,” Andy Hoye said.
The frozen vegetables are interspersed with small frozen pellets of sauce, which melt when the vegetables are cooked in the microwave. Cooks just tear a notch to vent the bags.
“Very nice roasted potatoes and green beans. Nice rosemary flavor,” Marcia Oranen said.
Tasters also liked the cheesy rice and broccoli side dish. Nancy Robinson said it was her favorite of the three dishes tested by the food panel.
“Nice cheesy rice flavor with broccoli, very nice flavor. Kids would like this,” she said.
Jenny Whittaker liked the way the broccoli cooked in the microwave bag.
“Good color to the broccoli and the texture is good. The sauce is cheesy and buttery,” she said.
Not everyone was a fan.
“Rosemary, potatoes and green beans, oh my! Not good, and why?” said Skip Hubbard.
Gabe Kohler said he would probably pass on the cheesy rice dish: “It is very salty and covered in fake cheese.”
The lowest marks were saved for the Asian Style Medley. Although tasters liked the flavor of the sauce, they were disappointed to find so many broccoli stems and water chestnuts in the mix. Tasters gave it two and a half stars.
“All this really is are broccoli stems and water chestnuts, and it’s not a great preparation of either,” Tina Johnson said.
“The orange flavor is the best part of this veggie combo. Broccoli is soft. Water chestnuts are the only texture in this dish,” Whittaker said.
“OK for frozen and the sauce is nice. Too many broccoli stems, not enough florets,” said Hoye.
The Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers also come in several other flavors, including broccoli in cheese sauce; broccoli, carrots and cauliflower in cheese sauce; and corn in butter sauce.
Valley Fresh Steamers, Roasted Red Potatoes, Green Beans and Rosemary Butter Sauce
Price: $2.39 per 12-ounce bag
Nutrition per serving: 80 calories, 1 gram fat (.5 grams saturated, 11 percent fat calories), 12 grams protein, 16 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 330 milligrams sodium.
Taste: • • • 1/2
Value: • • •
Comments:
“Good natural flavors come through.” – Larry Inman
“Nice potatoes, good sauce… a very good combination.” – Nancy Robinson
“Frozen green beans with little pieces of potato – a nice side dish.” – Jenny Whittaker
“The rosemary flavor that is encased in the mysterious sauce on these vegetables is good, but unidentifiable.” – Gabe Kohler
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers, Asian Style Medley
Price: $2.39 per 12-ounce bag
Nutrition per serving: 150 calories, 2.5 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 27 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 670 milligrams sodium.
Taste: • • 1/2
Value: • • •
Comments:
“Nice flavor… not bad at all.” – Nancy Robinson
“Flavor OK, but appearance is ghastly. Gray broccoli is never appealing.” – Marcia Oranen
“Orange taste is a little overpowering, but still pretty good.” – Larry Inman
“Yuck.” – Skip Hubbard
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers, Cheesy Rice and Broccoli
Price: $2.39 per 12-ounce bag
Nutrition per serving: 50 calories, 1.5 grams fat (.5 gram saturated, 54 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 135 milligrams sodium.
Taste: • • • 1/2
Value: • • •
Comments:
“Great texture and taste. This certainly is a winner.” – Skip Hubbard
“Good, rice is perfect and broccoli is crunchy and tasty.” – Larry Inman
“Cheesy rice and actual green broccoli. It tasted good and it’s a great way to get your kids to eat broccoli.” – Marcia Oranen