Not Enough of a Good Thing

You've been there.  I've been there.  We've all been there.  Looking through the freezer case for the perfect snack.  Up and down the aisle, carefully inspecting everything as you weigh your options.  Pull a box out, check the nutrition info, read the ingredients, inspect any cooking directions, and then put it back and move on.

Choosing a frozen snack is no easy task.  You have to find the right balance between tasty and HNNNGGGGG.  The last thing anyone wants is to end up with a heart attack, but at the same time, it's got to taste good enough to be worth the money.  So you inspect, and inspect some more, and finally make your decision.  Quickly, you hurry to the register before you change your mind.  Once home with your prize, you open it up and follow any directions on the box.  And then what?

It's good.  Oh yeah, it's delicious.  Only problem: it's too small.  This happens all too often.

Such is the case with the box of M&M's cookie ice cream sandwiches I got at the store last Thursday.  I just got into the box now, and my exact emotion upon finishing one was "damn, that was good, but it was over before I knew it".  Just when I was getting into it and my taste buds were going crazy, I finished it.  It's like premature ejaculation.  There's no other way to describe it.  The ice cream sandwich is done for the night, but I'm still awake and left wanting more.

Part of me thinks they design it that way on purpose, so that you end up purchasing their product more often.  The other part of me thinks they design it that way on purpose, so that they can try to make something that's clearly not nutritious look more nutritious than it really is.  I dunno about you, but I don't want substitutes or reduced sizes on anything.  If I'm going to eat something, I want the real thing in a satisfying size.  This is why I don't buy reduced fat cheese.  Sure, the regular stuff might not be the best thing in the world for me to eat, but I know that.  It's supposed to be delicious.  Sometimes we have to make nutritional sacrifices to obtain deliciousness.

On that note, one thing that's very delicious that I pulled at random from the freezer case last week is California Pizza Kitchen flatbread melts.  Prepared as directed they're done in a couple of minutes and are actually satisfying.  The only problem I have with them is that they only have microwave directions.  I'd much prefer some stovetop directions, as it's impossible to get anything golden brown like the pictures on the box using a microwave.  I tried it, but the bottom began to burn before the cheese had started melting, and the chicken was still frozen.  Maybe I need to thaw one out first and pre-fold it before beginning the warming process.  I had a compromise, basically getting it golden brown on the griddle and then microwaving it to warm everything else up and re-soften the bread so it would fold.

Maybe I expect too much out of my frozen tasties.  I dunno.