In my last post, I mentioned using Birds Eye Creamed Spinach in an easy one-skillet recipe. It’s not the first time I’ve tried Birds Eye vegetables, though I do usually buy the Pictsweet brand, but I hadn’t tried the Chef’s Favorite Steamfresh Creamed Spinach before.
Oh my gosh… I am totally addicted now. This stuff is amazing! It’s super low carb, cooks right in the bag in about five minutes (in the microwave), and they really got the taste and texture down to an art! 😉
I was able to enjoy three full meals from one bag. I had used a few heaping spoonfuls in my one-skillet scramble, and put the rest away for later.
Yesterday I managed to skip breakfast – unless you count the six cups of coffee, lol – so I had a super early lunch. Or maybe brunch. Whatever you want to call it. By then I was seriously hungry, and in no mood to cook, so I opened the freezer to see what I could whip up in a few quick minutes.
I opted for the Gorton’s Grilled Tilapia I had picked up on my super fast grocery trip last week. I honestly didn’t have high expectations for it. I mean, it’s “freezer food fish.” It took five minutes in the microwave – and after about three minutes I added in some of my leftover creamed spinach:
Perfect combination! And the Tilapia was surprisingly tasty! Very tender, well seasoned, and a perfect compliment to my new favorite from Birds Eye. Vegetables and fish both are typically better fresh I’m sure, but it’s hard to beat fast when you’re hungry and want to eat healthy. 😉
This made for an inexpensive good-sized five minute meal, and it was fabulous!
I only had a few spoonfuls of the creamed spinach left, so I decided to use it on my dinner as well. I made a huge (more than half pound) hamburger steak, then decided to top it with the creamed spinach and flip it over and fry it into the hamburger steak:
This thing was HUGE. The picture doesn’t do it justice, lol. And I dipped it in mayonnaise, which may sound odd to you, but hey – it was really good. Plus I needed a little more fat in my diet for the day:
The fat is important on a low carb diet, by the way. I discovered last year that eating low carb AND low fat made my weight loss stall. It’s something to do with the science of the low carb diet.
Later I snacked on nuts, cheese and sliced deli turkey – and a Breyers CarbSmart ice cream bar – before bed, while I finished up a good movie. I’ve lost SIX pounds since I started back eating low carb over the last week.
Yay! 😀
Back to the creamed spinach, though – while I’ve always been a big fan of the Pictsweet brand, I’ll definitely be eyeballing more of the Birds Eye vegetables on future trips to the grocery store. I love the no-mess cook-in-the-bag idea, and was REALLY impressed with the flavor and texture…
You are motivating me to head to the grocery story today. I’ve never had creamed spinach before π Looks good on your meals!
I’d never had it before I started eating low carb either, but I really started liking tender baby spinach leaves and chopped steamed spinach in my eggs. This creamed spinach is really fabulous on it’s own though! And I love that it cooks IN the bag in 5 minutes. No mess!
You really ARE a southern girl aren’t you? They have creamed spinach in a lot of restaurants in and around Richmond (VA) but I have never succumbed… maybe I’ll give this one a try! Thanks for the review!
I haven’t noticed it on many menus in my area. Or while traveling, for that matter. I may have missed over it thinking I wouldn’t like it though (lol) – will definitely be keeping an eye out for it from now on! And this Birds Eye creamed spinach is now going to be a staple at my house. π
That grilled tilapia looks delicious – for breakfast,brunch, lunch OR dinner! lol I was headed to the store today anyway for a few other things, I’ll definitely have to look for it while I’m there.
It was REALLY good. Super tasty! I also got the grilled salmon, and had that today, but didn’t like it near as much. I’ll definitely be getting the Tilapia again!
Same here, never heard of it but now I am interested. I don’t work long hours like you do out of the home, but live alone,work from home, and when I am hungry do not feel like fixing a big meal. I certainly will look at this next time I am at the grocery store. Oh, and since I am going out of town this week and plan on bringing my food, I may just opt for this! Thanks for sharing!
I don’t work long hours either, I just don’t care to spend so much time in the kitchen cooking every day, LOL. I have *much* better things to do, and would rather be eating than cooking. π Ha!
I think I read somewhere already that you took it on your trip and enjoyed it? So glad to hear that! I really loved it… *cheers*
Thanks for the tip on Birdseye creamed spinich–I’ll try it. I’ve had the same problem with stalling due to lack of fat, and I’m a big fan of mayonaise so dip a lot of things in it-burrger patties, fish, asparagus
Thanks,
Cath
It’s SO good! I would love to hear what you think of it when you’ve had a chance to try it. π
Just an update since this was linked from your recent post, my daughter’s and I are now addicted to the steam in bag creamed spinach! A bit pricey but so yummy and so convinient! Some nights it is scramble eggs and then add a 1/2 bag of the spinach into the eggs. Thanks for passing along your thoughts on low carbing. I always enjoy reading them.
Thank you Nancy! So glad you enjoyed the creamed spinach. It’s become one of my favorites too. π
Lynn,
Thanks so much for this site. I was checking it out while I was making my grocery store shopping list and came across the grilled tilapia by Mortons. I was a little skeptical at first, but I cooked them up and they came out smelling and tasting amazing! I’m always looking for quick and easy meals for a low carb diet and this is perfect. I usually get off track when I don’t have something easy to make. The creamed spinach was also great.
I’m so glad you found it helpful, Tara! These are two of my favorite freezer foods. π I just had the Tilapia again this week. YUM! By the way, the Gorton’s salmon is not as good. I don’t like it at all in fact. But the Tilapia has become a staple in my freezer. π
Thank you so much for this site. I just stumbled upon it looking for family friendly low carb eating and I feel like I have found my people! I get so bogged down in the technical side of the low carb science and to the other extreme, bogged down with crazy ingredients recipes (no, I don’t want to experiment with jicama root at 6 PM when my family is hungry!?!) We tried the creamed spinach and Gorton’s talapia as shown above and it was a hit with the whole family (2 adults, 2 teens). Please keep the great LC blogging!
I’m so glad to hear that, Susie! I’m big on keeping it simple. π I think you’ll REALLY enjoy this post on that topic: http://www.travelinglowcarb.com/4945/simple-low-carb-diet/ π *cheers*
Dang it…I’m trying to find that Birdseye creamed spinach because the recipe I’m using for Creamy spinach and corn enchiladas calls for it, but I can’t find ANY frozen creamed spinach in our rural Arkansas town. Guess I’ll have to try to find a copycat recipe.