1 | Cory Carrier

April 2nd, 2009 at 4:49 pm

There are only two ways that I will eat asparagus.

1) Take the raw Asparagus and wrap it in Sliced Turkey and Provolone Cheese, serve cold. They’re awesome.

2) Put the Asparagus on a baking sheet, douse in Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and bake until slightly crispy.

Love the show, Greg.

-@krippl

2 | Mina

April 2nd, 2009 at 5:03 pm

Wow. 41/2 stars? I have to go out and try this. I was always so hesitant about HC meals, but I love pumpkin ravioli. Thanks for the review!

Oh, and I love asparagus, especially oven roasted with a little salt, pepper and olive oil. Who cares if it makes my pee smell? Meat makes it smell worse!

3 | MFM

April 2nd, 2009 at 5:05 pm

Asparagus does not make everyone’s pee smell – just those who are chemically predisposed. Guess we know where you stand.

I do like asparagus and I often choose Healthy Choice or Weight Watchers for lunch. Thanks for reviewing this. I’m going to look for it tomorrow.

4 | dion

April 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm

great review-i might have to try the new healthy choice meals!
there on sale this week for 2$
i love asparagus going in but not so much the smell going out to answer your question!

5 | Stefanie

April 2nd, 2009 at 6:21 pm

Fascinating tidbit about asparagus pee: asparagus-smelling pee is a genetic variation, kind of like the ability to roll your tongue, so some people get weird-smelling pee when they eat asparagus and some people don’t. Adding to the craziness, the ability to smell asparagus pee is also a genetic variation!

So, concerning asparagus-smelling pee, there are four distinct categories of humans:
1) Those who produce asparagus pee and can smell it
2) Those who produce asparagus pee and cannot smell it
3) Those who do not produce asparagus pee but could smell it if they did
4) Those who do not produce asparagus pee, could not smell it, and have ABSOLUTELY no idea why we’re talking about asparagus pee because they didn’t know it existed until right now.

Sometimes being a science nerd TOTALLY pays off. This is one of those times.

6 | Bear Silber

April 3rd, 2009 at 3:42 am

Yeah………I can’t eat asparagus for that very reason!! Love it but it doesn’t love me in return….genetic or not.

Didn’t realize that you were into Rachel Ray (with the EVOO reference)

Butternut Squash:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Cucurbita
Species: C. moschata

Pumpkin – is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae (which also includes gourds)

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Cucurbitales
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Genus: Cucurbita

^Long answer. Short answer…yes they are both gourds.

7 | Ashley

April 3rd, 2009 at 3:45 am

Just thought I’d mention that those white chunks in your meal that you thought looked like pear were, in fact, apple. The big orange chunks were your squash and the pumpkin was only in the ravioli. Check the ingredients list.

I’ve never actually had asparagus since my parents never cared for it growing up. I have no idea if I like it or not…

8 | Gregory Ng: The Frozen Food Master

April 3rd, 2009 at 5:13 am

Ashley, Yeah, I discovered that after my review. Thanks for pointing that out.

9 | Royce

April 3rd, 2009 at 9:12 am

Greg I love when you get excited about something. It makes me want to go out and try it right away – that’s what I did for the Margaritaville Calypso Coconut Shrimp and it was amaaaaazingly tasty.

Question for Stefanie above – does that same pee-smell genetic situation hold true for other pee smells? Cause it totally happens to me with coffee and other things as well….

10 | Burley Tranz

April 3rd, 2009 at 11:45 am

I do not like asparagus. I will not eat it from a can. I will not eat it in my van.

11 | Meg

April 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 pm

Oooooo, I have been eyeballing that frozen food meal for weeks. I love the Lean Cuisine version, but I will DEFINITELY try this! Thanks for thinking of us “chicks”. Maybe make Fri “chick food review”

12 | kay

April 3rd, 2009 at 4:24 pm

I don’t even know whatchoo talkin about pee smell. I grow and eat asparagus to abandon and neva care. jus me

13 | Stefanie

April 3rd, 2009 at 7:43 pm

Kay, you must either not produce asparagus pee or not be able to smell it. Or both! The world may never know.

Royce, I only learned about asparagus pee but the same may be true for coffee pee. I think those are the only two products I’ve noticed creating weird pee smells but maybe those are just the only two I can create/detect!

And Greg, I second Meg’s suggestion that you do “Chick Food Fridays.” You should be sure to wear your wife’s bathrobe like you did in the pancake fro-down. That was magic.

14 | Kerry

April 4th, 2009 at 9:43 am

Lots of great and significant discussion going on here! Speaking of asparagus:

Wrap it in bacon and bake or grill. Awesome!

15 | Amy Elliott

April 4th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

I like asparagus ok. I used to love it, don’t know what changed. It can be a little pungent, and the pee smell is kind of off-putting for me and asparagus. Because your review is so positive, and because I love squash ravioli, I will totally buy this one and eat it, but I wouldn’t otherwise get asparagus to eat on its own….

16 | Alexander

April 5th, 2009 at 9:40 am

I hate asparagus.

17 | Monica

April 8th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

I had this today for lunch, and I was impressed with the creative mix of flavors. For a frozen entree, this DOES have the freshest-tasting veggies, and the ravioli is fairly hearty. I have to say, I didn’t expect the pumpkin spice I associate with Thanksgiving pie or the tart tanginess of the Granny Smiths. Overall, though, I’d eat this again any day.

18 | Stephanie

April 14th, 2009 at 6:32 am

Try the new Healthy Choice pot stickers! Absolutely delicious. There are chinese noodles and actual sliced green onions. Very spicy. It’s my new favorite!