Instant Rice Or Pasta Meals

Discussion in Food & Drink started by DrRipley • Jul 21, 2014.

  1. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    dad-cooks-hamburger-helper.

    knorr-sides-spanish-rice-43479.

    I'm a fan of the instant rice and pasta products, because I think they taste great and don't feel like a compromise at all. Unlike the microwave meals, these at least have a more freshly cooked taste since you do have to cook them and also the taste is very good anyway. I do realize that they are probably a bit packed with preservatives, so I try to limit my intake and just have these once in a while, but I do love experimenting with them and discovering new brands and flavors, so hopefully some of you guys here would have some recommendations to share. My favorite brands have always been Hamburger Helper and one of my recent discoveries is Knorr - the latter being a bit easier to prepare and requires less additional ingredients.
     
  2. forextraspecialstuff

    forextraspecialstuffActive Member

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    I don't care for these and have never made them. I like the convenience factor but they are generally high in sodium and that concerns me. I must be in the minority though because I see plenty of commercials for these types of products and lots of people with them in their shopping carts at the store.
     
  3. Annabell

    AnnabellActive Member

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    Convenience is the spice of life...or something.

    Far too often are we willing to throw healthy, home grown products under the bus because we think they'll take longer, or cost more than these sorts of products.
     
  4. dustysmommy2013

    dustysmommy2013Active Member

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    I occasionally like to buy these and my son would live on Kraft macaroni and cheese if I let him. However, the amount of sodium concerns me too and my husband doesn't enjoy them so that make my decisions easier. They might be convenient but nothing beats a home cooked meal.
     
  5. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I haven't stumbled upon such items in the supermarket yet, but I will consider buying them just to try it out and see if I will like the taste. I usually just buy anything that I see in the convenience store when I'm hungry and there's no food in the house, so this is something that I would try in the future.
     
  6. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I prefer doing the cooking myself. That's what happens when you have too much free time in your hands. I need to fill some of it with work, cooking and other things because I hate being idle. I'd probably like instant rice or pasta if I didn't have as much time as I do now but I doubt that I'd like the taste because after years of cooking for myself I can only enjoy a meal I've cooked from scratch myself.
     
  7. fanaledrinks112

    fanaledrinks112New Member

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    I'm a fan of the instant rice and pasta products, because I think they taste great and don't feel like a compromise at all. Unlike the microwave meals, these at least have a more freshly cooked taste since you do have to cook them and also the taste is very good anyway.
     
  8. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    I like Velveeta Cheesy Skillets meals AKA Liquid Gold, more than Hamburger Helper because the liquid cheese packet tastes more like real cheese than the powder in Hamburger Helper.
    You shouldn't use these to replace all your meals since they have a lot of salt and preservatives, but when you're short on time, convenience meals are handy.
     
  9. JoanMcWench

    JoanMcWenchActive Member

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    Yea, I have a hard time with choosing instant over prolonged. I tend to avoid the time constraints by cooking A LOT when I do have the time to cook. Soon I'm going to try implementing a system where I make entire plates, per meal, keeping them in individual containers for everyone at the house.
     
  10. Nickchick

    NickchickWell-Known Member

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    As I said a while back I've always been a huge fan of Hamburger Helper. I'm not really into most of the ones they have now though. I miss Rice Oriental but once in a while they'll have the Salisbury and that is my favorite. I also like the pizza flavored one.
    I'm not big on the instant rice anymore. Maybe I've tired myself of them. I used to love Herb and Butter for example but I'll eat a few different ones.
     
  11. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    You're right. I've gotten to taste a good amount of these in different flavors since I posted this thread and they all taste way too salty, although still pretty okay by my account. I'm still curious to taste as many flavors as I could, but I think after this I would have had enough of a fix to last me a while and I'll probably just try to make homemade versions after this.

    Still looking for suggestions guys, thanks for all your input so far!