A tasty burrito bowl can often make a fantastic lunch. At only 250-260 calories, the Smart Made Mexican-Style Chicken Bowl is looking to scratch that itch without breaking the calorie bank. But is this a high-quality meal or just a mediocre attempt at nabbing a share of that ever-lucrative dieter demographic?
Honestly, we were impressed. This isn’t a perfect meal, but it’s certainly a great-tasting one considering the low calorie count. It does come out of the microwave smelling a little strange, though we think this is probably due to the plastic dish it’s served in. It doesn’t affect the taste at all.
The chicken comes in large chunks, as opposed to the tiny bits many other frozen food brands try to pass off as acceptable protein portions. (Look at Eat!’s Chicken Potato Curry to see what we mean about stingy chicken portions.) This chicken also tastes very good. You can see that it’s lined with grill marks (whether those are real or artificial is anyone’s guess) and it has a nice seasoning. It’s also rich and juicy. This really is some of the better chicken we’ve had in a frozen meal.
The chicken rests atop a bed of rice and veggies. The brown rice is nothing special, but that’s not much of an issue since there isn’t much of it. The vegetable portions are actually pretty generous. The corn is especially flavorful, and the green bell peppers come in large cuts. The majority of the veggie flavor comes from these two things, but there are also a few bits of tomato and poblano peppers in the mix, as well as some black beans.
All of this is topped with a green chili lime sauce and monterey jack cheese. We actually could have done without the sauce, as it really just leaves a watery layer at the bottom of the dish that makes the rest of the ingredients a little soggy. It doesn’t add enough to the flavor to justify this.
Now, we’re not sure if this has 250 or 260 calories, as the box lists both (250 on the front and 260 in the nutrition info on the back). We’re going to assume the higher number is the accurate one, though they’re only 10 calories apart, so it’s probably not a huge issue. We do hope the folks at Smart Made fix this typo though.
The Smart Made Mexican-Style Chicken Bowl is a pretty satisfying dish considering how few calories it contains. While it’s not the best Mexican bowl we’ve ever tried, it will do in a pinch and it won’t throw you off your strict diet.
If you want to learn more about the nutrition or ingredients in this frozen meal, check out our package scans below.
