Tag: Green Giant

REVIEW: Green Giant Veggie Rings and Fries

Leonard 10 Comments

Green Giant Veggie Fries and Rings

Have you ever felt neglected or wanted more from your life? Or were you envious of the so-called cool kids and wondered why you weren’t one of them? If the vegetable world is any indicator, just keep the faith as soon the tide may change.

I mean, look at cauliflower. In my youth, it was the white broccoli that no one cared about. Not good enough to be showcased in those divine kid TV dinners, but also in the shadow of regular broccoli. My oh my, how things can change. Cauliflower is now the bell of the vegetable ball! It works as a mashed potato replacement or a base for pizza crust. If breaded and fried, it can even be a chicken wings substitute. WOW! You go, cauliflower! No one will ever doubt you again.

Cauliflower is the star ingredient in three new frozen Green Giant treats, with zucchini taking the reins for one as well. They are shaped like either rings or fries, seemingly so that they can replace your hankering for onion rings or French fries.

The packaging on all shouts that these are CRISPY & CRUNCHY. You will see below that the fries do a better job of achieving this. The fillings are also all very similar, more of a very slightly chunky puree. Akin to a potato mash, but not so heavy, with definitely a lighter hit to your stomach.

Cauliflower Three Cheese with Bacon Rings

Green Giant Veggie Rings Cauliflower Three Cheese with Bacon Bag

These have a nice crunch, but also a subdued flavor. It’s tough to tell that the cheese is there, so I’d like to adjust the description to a one or two cheese flavor. Three is definitely pushing it. I thought it was going to ooze out, but I found only one or two orange pockets of goodness.

Green Giant Veggie Rings Cauliflower Three Cheese with Bacon Closeup

The bacon flavor is a little more prevalent, and I can definitely taste the smokiness throughout. I didn’t see any actual pieces, but bacon is there in the ingredient list. Coupled with the breading, the puree’s creaminess, the smokiness, and the occasional burst of cheese, these were pretty good. Nice complex flavor!

Purchased Price: $2.09
Purchased at: Acme
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 3 rings) 210 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 330 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Cauliflower French Onion Rings

Green Giant Veggie Rings Cauliflower Frnech Onion Bag

These look similar to the one above, but with more herbs speckled throughout the filling. The French onion flavor is there, but it is at a level even less so than the cheese or bacon from the previous one. You definitely have to work for the taste, which is a tad artificial. It makes me long for an actual onion that I could slurp out of its deep fried shell. I was definitely missing onion rings while eating this one.

Green Giant Veggie Rings Cauliflower Frnech Onion Closeup

Purchased Price: $2.09
Purchased at: Acme
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 3 rings) 200 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

Cauliflower Ranch with Bacon Fries

Green Giant Veggie Fries Cauliflower Ranch with Bacon Bag

The fries’ preparation requires double the amount of oven time from the rings, but it makes a huge difference. While they do come out a little on the oily side, it is worth it as they come out super crispy. In fact, with my first few cauliflower fries, I thought I was maybe eating actual French fries for a second!!!

Green Giant Veggie Fries Cauliflower Ranch with Bacon Closeup

The filling stays really creamy, and it is a nice contrast to the crunchy outside. But the flavors for this one are disappointing. I taste zero bacon, but the ranch does make an appearance.

Purchased Price: $2.09
Purchased at: Acme
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 11 fries) 170 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 320 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

Zucchini Garlic and Parmesan Fries

Green Giant Veggie Fries Zucchini Garlic Parmesan Bag

This last iteration uses zucchini as its base instead of cauliflower. It is a nice change of pace as you can really taste the zucchini. In contrast, cauliflower doesn’t have an intense flavor profile.

Green Giant Veggie Fries Zucchini Garlic Parmesan Closeup

These are gloriously crispy like the other ones, and while there is a little bit of garlic, the parmesan is predominant and a bit intense. However, with everything going on, it actually becomes a little too salty, kind of ruining the entire experience.

Purchased Price: $2.09
Purchased at: Acme
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (About 11 fries) 180 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 360 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

French fries and onion rings are safe atop their deep fried throne, but if you are looking to switch it up and get a couple of servings of veggies in there, these are a fantastic choice.

You can probably skip the French onion rings and zucchini fries. Go for the three cheese rings as these are best eaten on their own with their multi-layered flavor. And definitely pick up the bacon ranch fries but make sure you eat them with your favorite condiment.

Amongst all this dining on rings and fries, I hope potatoes and onions don’t get too jealous!

REVIEW: Green Giant Sea Salt Mulitgrain Sweet Potato Chips & Zesty Cheddar Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips

Adam 4 Comments

Green Giant Zesty Cheddar Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips and Green Giant Sea Salt Mulitgrain Sweet Potato Chips

When I think of the most influential food and beverage spokespersons, the Jolly Green Giant falls somewhere between a mild-mannered if not over-the-hill personality like the Quaker Oats guy and…wait..was that the bad guy in Jack and the Beanstalk?

Needless to say, the Jolly Green Giant’s effectiveness in introducing children to the merits of a high-fiber, omnivorous diet have been negligible. I guess he lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. But it’s not all his fault. The Jolly Green Giant just doesn’t have as much to work with.

Even so, you can’t blame it all on frozen peas alone. It’s not like his image inspires confidence. I mean, if the diet he’s pushing means sprouting into a nine-foot tall, green freak of nature whose wardrobe consist only of a toga made out of leafs, then I am never, never eating anything natural again. I tend to think most kids with a vegetable aversion would feel the same.

The new Zesty Cheddar Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips and Sea Salt Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips are the Jolly Green Giant’s attempts to make kids (and adults) eat their veggies. Neither, as of yet, has a taco named in honor of them, and judging from their only ho-hum taste, I think we’re safe from a Green Giant/Taco Bell collaboration for now.

Not that either flavor is horrible. One’s actually pretty good.

Green Giant Sea Salt Mulitgrain Sweet Potato Chips Closeup

First up is the Sea Salt Sweet Potato chips, which have a Sun Chip feel going for them, minus the typical Sun Chips ridges. They have a decent sweet potato flavor – less flavor than Utz’s Sweet Potato Chips but more than Garden of Eatin’s Sweet Potato Tortilla chips — and get a thumbs up for a non-cloying whole grain sweetness. But while the initial flavor is mellow and wholesome, there’s something off-putting on the backend.

At first, after shoving a bunch of the chips in my mouth, I didn’t notice it. But for a few of the apparently more under-seasoned chips there is definitely an almost hempy whole grain aftertaste that’s bitter and a little repulsive. Thankfully it didn’t seem to linger too long, but I can’t see it doing much for parents trying to get their kids to like vegetables. In any case, the chips are undersalted as a batch, and don’t take advantage of the kind of spices that make the luxurious, but useful sweet potatoes the Ferrari of the vegetable world. (By the way, turnips are the Ford Windstar minivan of the vegetable world.)

Green Giant Zesty Cheddar Roased Veggie Tortilla Chips Closeup

The Zesty Cheddar Roasted Vegetable Chips are better. Instead of looking like Sun Chips, these have an almost Doritos-like quality to them, complete with a chemical-lab inspiring orange hue of seasoning powder that, thanks to their lickable quality and my habit of multitasking, has now made its way into every crevasse of my computer’s keyboard.

The price I pay for you people.

The crunch is a bit lighter than Doritos, but the seasoning powder gives the chip a tasty spectrum of sweet, salty, and a complex roasted flavor that reminds me a bit of Garden Salsa Sun Chips. It’s none too piquant, but I didn’t exactly expect that. I did enjoy the caramelized and hearty back notes that seemed to mirror the taste one might get from a long-simmered tortilla soup. The only downside is that long list of ingredients, which contains two separate references to partially hydrogenated oil, still doesn’t add enough of a noticeable cheddar flavor.

Even though the Sweet Potato Chips weren’t horrible and the Roasted Vegetable Chips were pretty good, I can’t see the chips doing much for the Green Giant’s street cred. I mean sure, eating them will dispel the myth that you yourself could end up a nine-foot tall chlorophyll-addict, but the flavors just don’t stack up when compared to Sun Chips or Doritos. So unless the Jolly Green Giant has got a backup plan for ice cream or pizza, then I don’t think the cause of converting kids to vegetables will be advancing very far under his guidance anytime soon.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 ounce – Zesty Cheddar Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips – 140 calories, 60 calories from fat, 7 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 grams polyunsaturated fat, 3.5 grams monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. Multigrain Sweet Potato with Sea Salt – 140 calories, 50 calories from fat, 6 grams of fat, 0.5 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)

Other Green Giant Chip reviews:
I Ate A Pie

Item: Green Giant Sea Salt Mulitgrain Sweet Potato Chips & Zesty Cheddar Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips
Purchased Price: $2.50 (on sale)
Size: 5 oz. bags
Purchased at: Weis Markets
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Sweet Potato Multigrain with Sea Salt)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Zesty Cheddar Roasted Veggie Tortilla)
Pros: 30-40 percent less fat than standard potato chips. Whole grains and vegetables. Multigrain Sweet Potato chips have decent sweet potato flavor. Roasted Veggie chips actually taste like roasted veggies but look like Doritos. Not getting my hopes up to inevitably be let down by a taco flavor inspired by the chips.
Cons: Weird, hempy aftertaste in the Sweet Potato chips. Needs more salt. Roasted Veggies chips lack hearty crunch. Partially hydrogenated oils. Not as good as Doritos or Sun Chips.

REVIEW: Green Giant Healthy Vision Vegetables

Ace 15 Comments

It’s finals time for me this week. Normally this would mean crying in my bath tub and listening to my Hillary Duff CD, but it’s about time that I grew up. It’s time to accept my fate head on.

Never again will I create an elaborate scheme of coughs and finger taps with my classmates in order to cheat. No longer will I go up to my professors and insist that I will do “anything…and I do mean anything” in order to pass a class. I could go on, but I don’t want to further incriminate myself.

As always, I look to shopping to relieve my stress. Obviously, this only causes more stress when the debt collectors constantly harass me via telephone, but it helps me relax for the time being. I decided to look for products that may help me during this tumultuous week. I ended up buying bananas, tuna, Red Bull, and this box of Green Giant Healthy Vision Vegetables. I purchased these items not only because I love banana-tuna sandwiches, but because these are all supposed to help my noggin stay sharp.

The Green Giant’s claim of vision improvement intrigued me the most because I have worn glasses since high school and have become progressively blinder throughout the years. I thought that it would be nice if a small bag of frozen vegetables would help me overcome this, but this is probably a case of wishful thinking. Nevertheless, I opened the box and decided to heat it up as a side dish to some grilled chicken.

I was happy to find that the contents came in a nice bag meant for steam-cooking. The vegetables included are sliced carrots, zucchini, and sliced green beans in a rosemary-butter sauce. This is certainly fancier than the depressing packages of wilted peas and corn that you usually get with frozen vegetables. After a few minutes, the bag looked like it was about to explode, so I took it out of the microwave.

My first bite was pleasant. The vegetables maintained a reasonable amount of texture and the sauce was not overpowering. It certainly made me feel better to eat this between my stacks of frozen dinners and piles of Snickers bars, so the purchase was worth it.

Unfortunately, I did not gain the powers of x-ray vision or the ability to see answers to tests. Oh, if only passing finals were as easily as heating up frozen vegetables. It looks like in order to continue with higher education, I will once again have to make the grade the hard way.

(Nutritional Facts – 1 cup – 45 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 mg of cholesterol, 220mg sodium, 6 grams of carbs, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein, 30% Vitamin A, 2% Vitamin C, and 2% Calcium)

Item: Green Giant Healthy Vision Vegetables
Price: $1.50
Purchased at: Albertsons
Rating: 4 out of 5
Pros: Easy to prepare. Steam-cooking helps keep vegetables moist without being water-logged. Rosemary-butter sauce tastes pretty good.
Cons: Bag looks like it could explode at any moment in the microwave. Vegetables have no discernible effect on vision. Finals week. Crying while listening to Hillary Duff. Making the grade the hard way.