Healthy Choice? Maybe not if you have teeth

Like pretty much everyone these days, my freezer is pretty well stocked.

Going from memory, I have in there: my very own version of stuffed peppers - enough for 4 meals; a few pieces of my sesame chicken; a large container of house-made (one of my  favorite restaurantisms, from back in the day when we went to restaurants) pasta, chicken and broccoli with white wine sauce; and a dinner's worth of peppered chicken and couscous (one of my best recipes, by the way). 

I also have a commercial chicken pot pie, some pie crusts (no, despite my mother's best efforts at teaching me, I'm a disaster when it comes to making my own crust), a container of pesto, and some frozen waffles. Then there's a package and half of tortellini. Also uncooked boneless/skinless chicken breasts (okay, I'm a cooking wuss), and a couple of pounds of ground beef. 

Although I never eat frozen vegetables, I do have some bags of peas, cauliflower, and green beans, bought in panic and preserved for the day when I run out of fresh veggies and can't get to the grocery store. Also a bag of frozen pineapple chunks. (Yet another panic buy.)

I have a half-pint of blueberries, and a small amount of blackberries and raspberries in baggies.. 

A pound of butter. Some rolls. 

And on the sweet side: A couple of my orange-chocolate pound cakes - they freeze very nicely and it's good to have something to pull out and bring as a house gift. Some raspberry brownies my sister Trish made. (Unbelievably delish.) A few pieces of Daddy's Favorite (barmbrack, an Irish tea cake). 

And two-and-a-half quarts of Gifford's of Maine black raspberry with chocolate chips froyo. 

Oh, and some ice.

I did have two loaves of Aunt Peg's Soda Bread - on reserve for my sister Kath and cousin Barbara, since the world shut down on St. Patrick's Day before I could hand them off. Alas, in order to make room for all of the above, I had to defrost those loaves. I gave one to a friend in the building, and was forced to consume to the other all by my lonesome. (Don't you know, there's a war on. I had to do my part.) I promise to bake more soda bread when this is all over.

Oh, and there's some ice in there.

What I don't have in my freezer is any frozen dinners.

Not that I've never had a Lean Cuisine or a Healthy Choice in my past. They are, after all, the height of convenience. But even I - who hates to cook - much prefers making something from scratch and having leftovers.

So I didn't have to check and see if I had a not-so-healthy Healthy Choice chicken bowl in there - and item that has been recalled. All 65 tons of it.

According to a USDA news releas, Conagra Brands, is recalling nearly 131,000 pounds of Healthy Choice Power Bowls Chicken Feta & Farro, which were produced Jan. 23, 2020. (Source: USA Today)

Good thing I didn't have any Healthy Choice in my freezer, because chicken, feta, and farro would have been just the sort of combo that appealed to me.  

"There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products," the release said, noting Conagra learned of the problem after receiving consumer complaints about rocks being in the products.

The rocks were categorized by Conagra as "small" ones, "that likely remained from harvesting ingredients contained in the product."

Well, that's comforting. Unless you don't want to break a tooth and have to see a dentist who may not be interested in getting anywhere near you and your germ vectors.

Years ago, I was having lunch in a restaurant and there was a small rock in my salad. Fortunately, I didn't break a tooth on it. Another time, I thought I found a small rock in a Stoneground Wheat Cracker. Turns out that small rock was a piece of a molar...

Anyway, Conagra is warning consumers not to eat what's in those bowls, and you wouldn't have to warn me twice. And I do have to say that I don't need any further warning not to eat any food whatsoever that comes from an outfit named Conagra. Doesn't exactly say "hmmm, hmmm good" now, does it?

Happy to have a freezer that's full, and happy that - as far as I know - there are no rocks contained within. I know that anything that I made myself is rock-free. I will inspect carefully when I decide to break into the frozen peas or pineapple chunks. Especially the frozen peas, which are Birds Eye - a Conagra brand. And I'll have to be careful when I fish out a Vlasic kosher dill pickle, as that's yet another Conagra brand. No avoiding the big guys, is there???

Bon appetit!