Review: LC Homestyles Beef Chili with Beans by Amy Dungan

One of the things low-carbers often bemoan is the lack of convenience items that fit on the plan. Sure there are a few foods like nuts, beef jerky (which you have to watch ingredients on) and the like, but filling low-carb meals you can just toss in the microwave are few and far between. I can remember in 2002 and 2003 when such items were fairly easy to find. There were frozen dinners, boxed meals, bagged snacks… you name it. Some were tasty, but many just didn’t live up to low-carb standards and quickly went the way of the Dodo Bird. I think manufacturers have been leery to jump on that bandwagon again. But a company called Homestyle Fresh, LLC has done just that.

With my usually crazy schedule I tend to occasionally work through lunch and only remember that I need to eat after the hunger demon has reared its ugly head. My next step is generally to rummage through my cabinets or fridge looking for anything to make it stop. It’s not a pretty picture either. I try to keep protein bars, nuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs and other low-carb options available for just those times, but sometimes you want a meal, ya know? So yesterday I had one of these episodes and decided to give LC Homestyles Beef Chili with Beans a try.

One box contains one nice serving size in a microwaveable tray, and in about 90 seconds you have a hot meal ready to go. If the microwave isn’t your thing, there are also instructions for making it on the stove top.

I chose to use the microwave and the first thing I noticed was the smell while it was cooking. It smelled really good. I realized that could have been the hunger talking, but I knew my taste buds wouldn’t fail me. If it was awful, they’d tell me. In less than two minutes I was pouring the hot chili into a bowl and sitting at the table. I was hooked after the first bite. It tastes just like any higher-carb chili brand you can name. Actually, I’d say it’s better. Not only does it taste good (you’d never know the beans are black soybeans) but it also has chunks of diced beef in there. Granted I’m not a huge fan of soy anything, but there isn’t enough soy in there to make me shun this item. It certainly qualifies as comfort food – especially during the cold winter months. I know I’ll want several boxes of this chili in my pantry.

Overall I’m very impressed with LC Homestyles Beef Chili with Beans. I was full for quite a while thanks to the chili’s 11 grams of fat and 26 grams of protein. And at 4 net carbs it’s a good fit for pretty much any low-carb plan. I’m hoping to see more from this company in the way of low-carb convenience foods.

Nutritional info per serving:

• Total Calories 250
• Calories From Fat 100
• Total Fat 11g
• Saturated Fat 4g
• Trans Fat 0g
• Cholesterol 55mg
• Sodium 1160mg
• Total Carbohydrates 10g*
• Dietary Fiber 6g*
• Sugars 3g (sugars come from the ingredients – NO ADDED SUGAR)
• Protein 26g

*Net carbs as listed by the manufacturer on the package = 4g per serving.

Ingredients: Water, tomato puree (unpeeled ground tomatoes, extra heavy puree and salt), ground beef, diced beef (beef, salt), black soybeans, green pepper, textured vegetable(soy protein concentrate, caramel color), contains 2% or less of the following ingredients: chili powder (chili pepper, spices, salt), salt, natural flavor, isolated oat product, spice, guar gum, cayenne pepper.

I give this product a full 5 stars. Beat that, bland tasteless rice cakes!

Disclosure: I was provided this product free of charge in order to review it. It in no way affected my opinion of the product.

© 2010 by Amy Dungan. Article and photograph used by kind permission of the author. Send Amy your comments to Amy Dungan.