HEB Classic - Spicy Szechuan Chicken (6.5/10)

Summary

• Price: ~$3.00
• Overall: 6.5/10.   A slightly above average, but not great, meal.  If you're craving a step above the mall food court or Panda Express, then you have a winner here.
• Healthfulness: 6/10.  It does have a decent protein portion, but that's about the only thing going for it.  Compared with a Amy's or Central Market meal, this meal doesn't cut the mustard. 
• Portion Size/Filling:  7/10.  On the small end of frozen entrees (280 calories), but a decent portion size for a large snack or light meal.
• Flavor: 7/10 (Spiciness: 3/10).   At first I didn't like it.  The sweet, orange sauce reminded me of the food court Chinese food at the mall.  But it grew on me after a while as the spiciness kicked in.  The addition of sesame seeds was a nice touch. 
• Texture: 6/10.  The most abundant item in the dish was the noodles and they were a let down.  They had a kind of jelly texture which again was very food court-ish.  On the plus side, the chicken was decent quality and the snap peas were somewhat crisp.

Beer Pairing - Bud Light, Coors Light

Numbers

• Calories: 280
• Fat: 5g (0g Trans Fat)
• Carbs: 42g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 15g
• Sodium: 820mg

Details

Healthfulness:  The HEB store brand is usually the mid-tier or low-tier compared to the Central Market generic brand.  This is no exception.  Although the protein content is good, the carbs are too high, the fat content is too low and there is basically no fiber.  The ingredient list reads like a bottle of Coke and the dish is full of sodium, presumably from the artificial flavoring.  This is not the worst I've seen, so still gets a 6 out of 10.  (6 out of 10)

Portion Size/Filling:  The portion is average for the smaller frozen entrees (280 calories;  about the same as a 6" Subway turkey sandwich).  Due to the lack of fat and fiber, though, the full feeling doesn't last more than 2 hours.  In fact, the high carb content can lead to sleepiness after 2 hours if you're not actively burning off all those sugars.  Not a good choice if you're planning on going into a long, boring meeting within a couple of hours.  High carbs are ok if you're planning to work out an hour later.  (7 out of 10, more like a large, healthy snack than a meal)

Flavor:  The flavor was a sweet and sour flavor, kind of like what all the orange-sauced dishes taste like at the mall food court.  After the mild spiciness kicked in, my taste buds were sufficiently numbed to not taste the sweetness.  I did like the sesame seeds, a minor positive.  This meal was not inedible by any means, just not equivalent to a decent Chinese restaurant.  (7 out of 10 for overall flavor. 3 out of 10 for spiciness.)

Texture:  The texture was a let down.  The dish was mainly noodles, so if they don't get that right, then it's all downhill from there.  The noodles were a little too gooey and gelatinous for my taste, maybe because of the viscous orange sauce.  The chicken and snap peas were the bright spots.  The other vegetables were only mainly for show.  (6 out of 10)