Lean Cuisine Butternut Squash Ravioli Review

Well this was suppose to be posted Monday night and here it is Wednesday night, but it's been a long tiring first of the week. I've been keeping the grand babies a few days a week for the last while and the days and hours sometimes change. Sometimes they change and I don't realize it until the last minute. Lindsay has baby brain and I just don't have one, which can make things difficult.

Monday was an expected day, but Tuesday was not. It was not only an unexpected day, but a very early one at that, which meant staying up late blogging was not a good idea. It would also be a long day. 

Monday started off pretty good. I actually got my baby proofing done, coffee made and breakfast eaten before the girls arrived. Go me!!!

I had a large cup of half caf. with raw sugar and non-dairy creamer along with one of Lynda's cinnamon rolls from Sunday.

BTW These were very good, even cold. I didn't take the time to heat it. It was perfect with my coffee. I was thinking I should have brought home two for myself instead of just one.

I had a veggie patch veggie dog on a bun with vegetarian chili, mustard, and slaw, along with a bit of potato salad and baked beans.

My dog seemed so much sloppier the second day, but it was still pretty good.

I new better than to eat anything else for a while after eating my lunch. I decided to let things digest a bit before indulging in my sweet snack, a Russell Stover Coconut Cream Egg covered in dark chocolate.

It was also slightly smaller than the cinnamon roll, I scarfed down after lunch on Sunday. I was miserably full after eating all that plus a cinnamon roll.

I had a Lean Cuisine meal for dinner. I tried their Butternut Squash Ravioli. Some of you may know that normally, I am not a squash person. I usually do not care for squash. I am not sure exactly why, but sometimes it's the taste and sometimes it's the texture. I had never tried butternut squash. My DH who is not a big vegetable eater (btw), convinced me that I should try it, because, he said it was not like other squash and that it had more of a sweet potato type texture and taste. He also tried to convince me once that I liked egg plant, but that didn't work out, so lets just say, I was skeptical.

Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 1 (9.9 ounces)
Servings Per Package: 1

Amount Per Serving:

Calories 260
Calories From Fat 60

%Daily Value*
Total Fat (g)     7     11 %         Cholesterol (mg)     20     7 %
 Saturated Fat (g)     2     0         Sodium (mg)     550     23 %
 Trans Fat (g)     0             Potassium (mg)     420     12 %
 Polyunsaturated Fat (g)     3             Total Carbohydrate (g)     40     13 %
 Monounsaturated Fat (g)     1             Dietary Fiber (g)     5     20 %
 Protein (g)     9             Sugars (g)     11    

Diet Exchanges 2 1/2 Starch,2 Vegetable,1/2 Skim Milk,1 Fat

*
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

    Calories:     2,000     2,500
Total Fat     Less Than     65g     80g
Sat Fat     Less Than     20g     25g
Cholesterol     Less Than     300mg     300mg
Sodium     Less Than     2,400mg     2,400mg
Potassium     Less Than     3,500mg     3,500mg
Total Carbohydrate     300g     375g
Dietary Fiber     25g     30g

Vegetable Servings** 2
**The USDA Food Guide Pyramid suggest 3-5 one-half cup servings of vegtables a day.
Weight Watchers® PointsPlus™ *** 7
***Not endorsed by Weight Watchers®. PointsPlus™ calculated by Nestlé.

I was surprised to find that I liked it, but I did feel the need to add a little salt and I also preferred the bites of ravioli with a few of the vegetables. Luckily they had included enough vegetables that I could have a few with every bite.

I am giving this dish 4 stars since I am not very fond of squash and even I found it fairly enjoyable. I also really liked the selection of vegetables that they included and especially the walnuts.

The next photo was suppose to be part of my dinner. I'd gotten a fresh butternut squash and had planned to cook it for DH and also give it a try myself. It would have never gotten this far if it had not been for DH. I absolutely could not cut this thing in half. I tried using my sharpest knife and that didn't work. I tried using my electric knife and that didn't work. I nearly burnt the motor up trying to cut it. Lucas gave it a try and he couldn't manage to cut it either. Finally Dale came and he was able to do it. I am not sure how, but it was not easy. I thought we would have to bring in the chainsaw. This alone has turned me against eating butternut squash that I have to prepare.

It took an hour and a half for it to bake in the oven at a suggested temp of 350 degrees. DH had suggested I season it with the same seasoning I use for my spicy sweet potatoes, and so I did. I am not sure what the difference is between this squash and the squash in the ravioli, other than the seasoning, but I did not care for the baked squash. I suppose I may prefer a more savory version, with other vegetables, but at least it looked good. I will have to say I also wasn't happy with the mess it made of my pan.

I am open to suggestions. What is your favorite way to eat butternut squash? Any tips on cutting these things? I think maybe cutting the seedless portion into slices might have made cook time shorter, but I'm not sure it would have been any easier to cut.

Well, that's it for tonight. I'll try to get in another post sometime tomorrow. Have a great night/day!!!