Bertolli’s Weeknight Meal Special Challenge

We got an opportunity to try out Bertolli’s newest product, their Meal Soups.  We have, for some time now, loved Bertolli products.  We have tried frozen meals, sauces, and olive oils, and we are always pleased with whatever we get.  So the chance to try out something new was a pretty exciting prospect.  One problem…all of the meal soups contain meat and Beth and I are right in the middle of our diet challenge for the start of the new year.  What that means more than anything else is that I cannot specifically tell you what the soup tastes like.  I can tell you, however, that, after seeing and smelling the results, both of us were just about ready to trash everything we had done for the past month and dive into that bowl of soup!

We picked up the Tomato Florentine and Tortellini with Chicken, thinking that our kids like pasta, chicken, and tomato soup.  It stood to reason that they would enjoy a soup that included all three.  You see, one of the biggest troubles that we’ve had with this diet is that we cannot reasonably expect our kids to be eating the way that we are right now.  We get them to try way more than anyone would ever think of introducing to kiddos this little, but they just aren’t always on board.  So cooking a meal that is healthy for us and another that is healthy for them and fills up everyone’s bellies can be pretty tough.

That’s where this meal soup fit in.  It took 10-15 minutes from freezer to done and really took the guesswork out of making sure that everyone was fed.  The girls ate everything all up and were even sopping up some of the soup with their bread.  Admittedly, the price was a little high for our budget at over $8 for two servings.  I’m used to making this sort of thing myself at a much cheaper price.  However, when I consider that I did not have to make that huge pot of something that I can’t eat and that my kids went to bed with full tummies…well, the price seems pretty cheap.  Really, I was paying for my time and for my trouble and, if you think about it, to get a soup like that at a restaurant, would easily cost you $10 for just one serving.  That’s quite the bargain in the grand scheme of things.

To make the night a little special, we set the table up nicely (it’s good to do this regularly so that the kids learn about good manners at the table) and gave everyone real cups (another thing to do on a regular basis for “training” purposes).  To speed things up even just a little bit, I would suggest covering your pot from the outset.  Sealing that heat in helps the water come to a boil that much faster.  You do have to watch it, though, and turn it down as soon as it comes to a boil.  Otherwise, it could easily boil over and make a huge mess.  That’s definitely not good for a special night!  Here are some pictures of our meal and our good eating girls (notice that Matthew is missing…his dinner’s have become hit or miss lately).

Could you use some help feeding your little ones while you continue to work on your New Year’s resolutions?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

You can find Bertolli on Facebook, Twitter, and their website.

I was compensated by Bertolli to participate in the Weeknight Meal Special Challenge.