By now you guys know that I just can't resist a frozen-food case! I recently popped into Spec's (their olive bar -- Sweet Jesus, their olive bar) and I couldn't help myself. After a few minutes perusing the selection, I noticed a brand called "evol." That touted -- among other things -- "scratch made deliciousness" and "natural" (asterisk!) products.

I liked the look of the Grilled Chicken and Roasted Veggies Flatbread, and threw in a Chicken Enchilada bowl for good measure. These are precisely the kinds of foods I love to keep on hand for days when I just want to power through lunch at my desk, multitasking so I can end the day a bit early.

I started with the Chicken Enchilada bowl, which in addition to being "scratch made" and "natural" also promised to be gluten-free, with 22 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. I went with the microwave instructions -- this is Fast Times, after all -- and zapped the bowl for four minutes. The front of the box describes the Chicken Enchilada bowl thusly:

"Tender braised white meat chicken, pinto beans, cilantro lime rice, cheddar cheese and roasted corn layered between authentic corn tortillas -- all topped with an insanely tasty green enchilada sauce."

Well, at least some of this is true.

I don't know why I'm always so hopeful and/or willing to believe that a "natural" line of frozen foods is going to be a huge improvement over the standard stuff, but I continue in that naive belief. And, as usual, I was pretty disappointed. There's nothing wrong with this chicken enchilada bowl, and in truth it is pretty good -- it's just not mind-blowingly amazing. The chicken was almost undetectable, so I can't really say if it was better or worse than any other chicken I tried; the seasoning was good -- spicy without being too salty; the portion size was spot-on, and I felt full but not stuffed; and the cheese was above average for frozen fare. But "insanely tasty green enchilada sauce"? No. That was not happening, and I ended up throwing on a little hot sauce from my own fridge.