Steamfresh veggies save on time and cleanup

Birds Eye Steamfresh Meals for Two. Asian Style Chicken Vegetable Medley, Sweet and Spicy Chicken, Shrimp Alfredo, Grilled Chicken in Roasted Garlic Sauce, Grilled Chicken Marinara, and Shrimp Pasta Primavera. $7.49 per 24-ounce bag.

Bonnie: Birds Eye continues to heat up the supermarket freezer compartment with steamed foods. It began with bags of to-be-steamed veggies, then individual vegetable portions, then starches, and now Steamfresh Meals for Two with meat, veggies and a starch, which cook in just 10 minutes.

Birds Eye designed these meals with a clean label in mind, meaning — according to a Birds Eye spokesperson — they don't include any ingredients that Whole Foods supermarkets ban. (Kudos to Whole Foods for making such a list, and kudos to Birds Eye for following it.)

As for nutrition, these are a bit high in sodium (ranging from 770 to 1,230 milligrams per serving) to eat frequently. And at 24 grams, or about 40 percent of the recommended daily limit, the fat in the Shrimp Pasta Primavera is pretty high. But the other meals are reasonable. My favorite-tasting meals are the Asian Style Chicken Vegetable Medley (290 calories, 6 grams of fat, a whopping 10 milligrams of fiber) and the Sweet and Spicy Chicken (370 calories, 10 grams of fat and 4 grams of fiber).

Carolyn: Once upon a time, frozen meals cooked in a stovetop skillet were all the rage. Now they're steamed in the microwave. Timed right, this process leaves the vegetables nicely al dente and the meat moist and tender. It will also save you time and cleanup if you dish the food directly out of the steamer bag onto your plate, as I do (rather than into the intermediary serving dish Birds Eye suggests).

It's too bad Birds Eye has mostly used this fine process in the service of flavor varieties that are as conventional and boring as Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. The Sweet and Spicy Chicken, with its olives, raisins and fiery spices, is the one deliciously unusual exception I can recommend.

Pillsbury Savorings Flaky Pastry Bites. Cheese & Spinach, Mozzarella & Pepperoni, and Buffalo Style Chicken. $3.89 per 8.5-ounce package containing 12 appetizers.

Bonnie: Just in time for the holidays, Pillsbury is introducing bite-sized frozen appetizers. Think crescent rolls wrapped around various fillings. These small-sized bites are ready for you to pop into the oven.

Nutritionally, four small bites contain (on average) about 245 calories, 15 grams of total fat (of which 7 are saturated) and 500 milligrams of sodium.