Healthy Choice Portabella Parmesan Risotto (dinner 10.4.10)

The other day while looking in the frozen food section at the grocery store, I spotted some new Healthy Choice products. Apparently they have a new line of Steaming Entrees that are made with bigger, more vibrant, quality ingredients. Now as you know, I'm not really one to buy these kinds of frozen meals. Most of the time they're so processed and made with such "junk" that they're almost nutrition-less. Normally I'd just stick with Amy's or some other organic brand when it comes to frozen meals. At least then I know I'm getting organic, wholesome nutrition. However, these were on sale so I picked one up and checked it out. It was Portabella Parmesan Risotto, which Healthy Choice described as "Portabella mushrooms with garden peas, red peppers, onions on whole grain rice, with Parmesan sauce." Besides the troubled grammar, the description actually sounded good. I then looked at the ingredients. I had expected to see a long list of unfamiliar ingredients, but instead the list was short and I could actually identify what each was..no more hidden ingredients! The nutritional information also wasn't bad. At only 220 calories, with only 4 grams of fat, I decided to give it a chance.
Being that I didn't feel like cooking tonight, I thought it'd be an appropriate time to try my new purchase. I pulled one out of the freezer, threw it in the microwave, and in 5 minutes dinner was ready. If it weren't for the term "don't judge a book by it's cover", I probably wouldn't have even tried this dish. We all know frozen meals usually look grose before their cooked, but even after being cooked this one didn't look too tasty. Since I know a lot of not-so-pretty, yummy dishes, I set it's looks aside and took a bite. My first thought was that it had a very overwhelming "mushroomy" taste. I guess that's excusable being that it's Portabella Parmesan Risotto, but then again, I didn't taste any Parmesan. During the first couple of bites, I didn't really like the meal, but as I continued to eat I think I warmed up to it's odd flavor because I eventually finished the entire thing. I will say however, that on numerous occasions I'd bite into a peppercorn which was not only unexpectedly crunchy, but really spicy and flat out unappetizing. I also wish there would have been more of a Parmesan flavor to balance it out. I think I would've enjoyed this risotto more as a side dish along with something mild, like grilled chicken or fish, but not so much as a meal itself. I probably won't buy this product again, although I am curious to try the other entrees in this new line of product.