Hain European Recipes Country Garden Vegetables with Delicate Seasoning

Hain Pure Foods, a division of the very large natural foods-and-products conglomerate Hain Celestial Group, has come out with a line of "European Recipes" microwavable vegetable bowls. I tried the "Country Garden with a Delicate Seasoning" version, which features cauliflower and broccoli florets and something they call parisian carrots which are like small, very round baby carrots that look like they were somehow made with a melon baller. (Sorry, there's no picture or product info on the web site, but here's the logo to help you identify it in the store.)

Let's start with the packaging, which is a small plastic bowl wrapped in a cardboard sleeve. The package touts the benefits of their proprietary self-steaming microwavable bowl, which they claim retains more nutrients than any other cooking method. Presumably the bowl is recyclable--I've sent off an email to the company to find out and will update this when I have the answer.

All you do to cook the veggies is pop them in the microwave for 3 or 4 minutes, vent the steam by piercing the plastic covering, and serve.

This cooking method did seem to do a decent job of helping the veggies maintain some crispness. I also liked how mild, buttery sauce didn't overwhelm the taste of the vegetables. My one complaint taste-wise was that there was quite a bit of water (or perhaps watery sauce) left in the bottom of the bowl. Remove the vegetables from the bowl as soon as possible to avoid having them turn into a soggy mess.

Would I eat them again? I suppose I can see eating one of these when the husband's out of town and I'm too beat after wrestling the kids into bed to face washing and chopping a fresh alternative. I'd be more likely to do so if the veggies were organic. Also, the package notes that this is a "product of Belgium" so it won't do if you're looking for something with a minimal environmental footprint. I also don't generally eat sauce with my vegetables, but for those who like that sort of thing, you may want to give this product a whirl. The convenience, at least, can't be beat.

About Hain Pure Foods: The company is a division of Hain Celestial Group, which owns well-known brands such as Arrowhead Mills, Celestial Seasonings, Earth's Best, Rice Dream, and many others. Hain Pure Foods offers all-natural products including crackers, cookies, oils and condiments, as well as functional snacks for adults including calcium-fortified rice cakes and carrot chips. The original company was started back in 1926 and was a pioneer in the natural foods market.

Hain Pure Foods European Recipes Country Garden with a Delicate Seasoning Ingredients: Cauliflower florets, parisian carrots, broccoli florets, sauce (water, butter flavored vegetable oil [vegetable oil {canola, sunflower}. canola lecithin, butter flavor], salt, thickener [modified corn starch, guar gum, xantham gum], spice).

May 10, 2006

Hain European Recipes Country Garden Vegetables with Delicate Seasoning