Earthbound Farm Organic PowerMeals

Sunday is my day to hit the grocery store.  I may go once or twice during the week for an item or two, but I aim to do our weekly shopping all on Sunday.  I ended up having to go to a different grocery store this past week.   Not only do they not keep things in the same place, despite the fact that it is the same chain, but they don’t seem to carry all of the same products, either.  I am very particular about salad.  I normally buy Earthbound Farm Organic spring mix, spinach or the half spring mix/half spinach in the 1 lb. clamshell.  See, I told you I was particular.  The salads that the grocery store had on Sunday all expired the following day.  Now, I like my salad, but there is no way I could eat a pound in a day.  As I was looking for an alternative, I came across a couple of new products from Earthbound Farm Organic: PowerMeals.

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Of course I immediately picked one up and turned it over to scour the ingredient list.  In addition to the salad greens, the meal also includes quinoa, dried blueberries, sunflower seeds & dressing.  Imagine my surprise when I saw “Gluten-Free” right there in front of my face!  They MSRP was $4.69, but they were on sale for $3.00/each.  I picked up 2 of the Blueberry Quinoa Protein Balance PowerMeals.  There are 2 other PowerMeals in the line, but only the Tomatillo Black Bean Protein Energy PowerMeal is gluten-free.  The third variety clearly says “wheat” in the title “Cranberry Wheat Protein Boost PowerMeal”

I couldn’t wait to have my blueberry quinoa protein balance meal yesterday for lunch.  Each clamshell contains one serving or 6.5 ounces.  There are 360 calories (if you use all of the dressing, which is a lot), 9g protein and 6g fiber.  The fat content reads high at 22 grams, but again, that is if you use all of the dressing.  If you leave off the dressing, the fat content is only 8 grams.

Ingredients: Blueberry Quinoa Protein Balance PowerMeal™
SALAD: Organic Baby Spinach.
GRAIN PACKET: Water, Organic Quinoa, Organic Cornstarch, Contains 2% or less of: Organic
Canola Oil, Sea Salt.
TOPPING: Organic Dry Roasted Sunflower Kernels, Organic Dried Wild Blueberries (Organic
Wild Blueberries, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Organic Sunflower Oil).
DRESSING: Organic Balsamic Vinegar (Organic Grape Must, Organic Wine Vinegar, Organic
Caramel, Sulfites), Cold-Pressed Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Organic Expeller-Pressed
Soy Oil, Salt, Organic Soy Lecithin (Soy), Xanthan Gum.

I found that I only needed a drizzle of the included dressing.  It was thin enough, being a vinaigrette, to spread around without overwhelming the salad.  The spinach was fresh, the quinoa had a great flavor to it and the blueberries & sunflower seeds added the perfect finishing touch to this salad!  I really enjoyed it and while the MSRP is high at $4.69/each, it is roughly in line pricewise with salads you would order at a fast food restaurant or make at a supermarket salad bar.  This is really a perfect on-the-go lunch for busy days when you just don’t have time to pack lunch or you are travelling and need a safe meal to eat.  I have not tried the Tomatillo Black Bean Protein Energy PowerMeal yet, but would be interested to hear from anyone that has.

Earthbound Farm Organic products can be found in grocery stores across the US.  Click here to find the location closest to you.