Quick and Healthy Foods

We taste tested a variety of food products on the market and brought to you our readers the items that passed with flying colors.

Quaker Oatmeal
Quaker Oatmeal has always made delicious, quick, and healthy products but they have now gone a step further. They have developed Oatmeal to Go and Weight Control Instant Oatmeal. Oatmeal to Go comes in flavors such as Raspberry Streusel and Banana Bread. They are just as filling as traditional oatmeal. You can eat them right out of the box or for a special treat microwave them for 10 seconds and have them warm. Weight Control Instant Oatmeal has less sugar that regular instant oatmeal as well as more fiber and protein. It comes in two flavors- Cinnamon and Banana bread. TheCelebrityCafe.com staff has fought over them!

Uncle Bens
Uncle Ben takes care of his family and we like it! Since whole grains are necessary for a complete diet, Uncle provides them is a good tasting fashion. We have used the 'Whole Grain Instant Brown Rice' on camping trips. Fast and easy to make and, after empty, the box can be used to start the campfire. When at home and its my turn to make the dinner, I put a little olive oil in the pan, add vegetables and place a little chicken on top to steam/ a good meal but without the extra points that can make a personal dessert special. Avoid the extra pot and go for the Chicken Whole Grain. It comes in its own pouch and it's microwavable. Go for the points, add the rice/the girls love it and the men think of it as comfort food.

Weight Watcher's Smoothies and Yogurt
Weight Watcher's created smoothies and yogurt, which at one point each, are a great healthy snack or quick breakfast before heading to the gym. The smoothies come in great classic flavors such as strawberry, strawberry banana and mixed berries. We sampled the Key Lime Pie and Strawberry Banana flavors and they were smooth and tasty.

Tom Douglas Rub with Love
Make your dinner a little lovelier tonight with food rubs from Tom Douglas. All natural and containing no MSG, these rubs come in many varieties including one for steak, salmon, and chicken. On the package is a recipe using each rub, ensuring an easy meal. My personal favorite was the Steak Rub. Delicious and not too salty, the Rub with Love line added the right amount of flavor to enhance the steak.

Sacla Sauces
Want to make an authentic Italian Meal that would impress anyone? Sacla Italia has a variety of sauces that you only need to heat and serve. They are imported from Italy and come in tasty types like Classic Basil Pesto, Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic, and Olive and Tomato. Even the 100% Italians on our staff said that these sauces tasted like homemade- just don't tell their mammas.

Gourmet Garden Herbs and Spices
This is definitely one of my favorite food products ever. Gourmet Garden began producing their herbs and spices in New Zealand and I am very happy they have made their way to the States. Gourmet Garden takes fresh herbs and puts them in a plastic squeeze tube so you can have fresh herbs whenever you like. They make a variety of herbs and spices like parsley, dill, oregano and Italian herb which is a blend of Oregano, Basil, Marjoram, Thyme, Parsley and Rosemary. I have tried many of their herbs and you can't tell that they come from a tube as opposed to your produce market.

Fairfield Farms Kitchens Moosewood Organic and Organic Classics
Fairfield Farms Kitchens creates a variety of organic products under both the Moosewood and Organic Classics labels. Moosewood Organic Soups and Entrees are quick, easy, and delicious. Organic and vegetarian, the soups and entrees are made from authentic recipes. TheCelebrityCafe.com loves the soups especially, which come in flavors such as Savannah Sweet Potato Bisque, Creamy Potato & Corm Chowder, Heart Mushroom Barley Soup and Tibetan Curried Lentil. The soups are creamy, with fresh and juicy vegetables. The entrees, which can be thrown in the microwave for a few minutes, come in varieties such as Macaroni & Three Cheese, Farfalle & Spinach Pesto Sauce, and Southwest Cornbread and Red Beans. The entrees do not taste as if they were frozen and only include the finest ingredients.

Organic Classics includes delicious soups such as French Onion and Seafood Chowder as well as tasty entrees such as Confetti Rice Pilaf and Chicken with Honey BBQ Sauce and Meatloaf and Gravy with Vegetable Medley. Beside quick lunch and dinner entrees they also make delicious and quick toaster muffins in great flavors like Blueberry and Maple Oat.

South Beach Diet
South Beach Diet frozen Microwave Pizzas are ready in three minutes and will settle anyone on the SBD's pizza craving. On a fiber-rich crust, they have 320 calories or less per serving. All pizzas are excellent sources of protein in the delicious harvest wheat crusts made with whole grains. Available in 4 flavors: Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pizza, Deluxe Pizza, Pepperoni Pizza, and Four Cheese Pizza. If you need an even faster meal, South Beach Diet Meal Replacement Bars in delicious flavors such as Chocolate Crisp and Caramel Peanut Crisp are great alternatives.

Grace's Kitchen
Grace's Kitchen has perfected a wonderful idea- a frozen entr?e that you cook, not microwave, that tastes like you slaved in the kitchen. The entrees usually feed two- all you need to add is a nice salad and a dessert for a complete and filling meal. All the ingredients come in separate pouches and the box details exactly how to prepare the meal. A complete novice can pull this off, there are even plating directions and suggestions for wine pairing! We sampled the Spice-Rubbed Pork Loin and the Chipotle Bean Cakes with Corn Chowder and they were very flavorful.

Gorton's Shrimp Temptations
Gorton's has always provided delicious frozen seafood over the years so there was no surprise that their new Shrimp Temptations were a hit with our staff. We sampled the Lemon Butter and Scampi and they were well flavored. What a great way to get more seafood into your diet.

Birdseye Steam & Serve and Herb Garden Collection
We all know we have to eat our vegetables- we sometimes don't have the time to prepare them or make them taste more appetizing. Birdseye has developed Steam & Serve and Herb Garden Collections. Steam & Serve Vegetables are a collection of chef-inspired fruit and vegetable blends like Lemon Pepper Vegetables and Spring Vegetables in Citrus Sauce. The Herb Garden Collection includes Petite Peas & Mushrooms with Chives and Green Beans with Thyme. These Birdseye new products will definitely make even the pickiest eater like vegetables.

Pelican's Choice
Pelican's Choice Gourmet Albacore is of the highest quality albacore, and it is obvious in each bite. Dolphin-safe, this tuna is naturally processed: no bleaching, fillers, or preservatives. The natural Omega-3 oils are retained for healthier tuna. The cans of albacore are available in six delicious flavors for every different taste: All-Natural, Original, Dill, Garlic, Jalape