I used to purchase these Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals to eat once in a while when I was on the Weight Watchers weight loss plan, for a quick and easy meal idea without too much effort or thought. Just microwave it like any other microwave meal, track it (the points plus values are right there on the outside of the box), eat it and move on with your day. The Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans was one of my absolute favorites. I would always stock up on this variety whenever there was a sale and coupons to match up on Smart Ones. This dish is very flavorful and satisfying even without any meat (which I often find to be unpleasant and questionable in microwave dishes, and therefore prefer the ones - like this one - without meat). No other weird or questionable chunks in this, just rice and beans with vegetables and a yummy sauciness. I'd definitely recommend this variety of Smart Ones if you're looking for a quick and tasty microwave meal, but not too frequently, as these things do have a lot of sodium, and are still processed foods - no matter how you look at it :)

Joelaina

USA

Mmmmmmm....  what more can I say about "**Smart Ones Santa Fe Style Rice & Beans".**  Yummy to the bottom.  So good I often find myself licking the last of the rice from the dish.  Seriously. Sometimes I undercook it a bit (warm, but not completely cooked) and it even tastes good 'al dente'. I'm not sure what AnnaBannana meant by spicy, My tongue is a spice weenie for sure and I didn't find this spicy in the least bit, but I did find it very flavorful.

DonnyJ

Renton, WA

The next WeightWatchers product I tried was *Smart Ones Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans *which consisted of a Mexican rice and bean mixture topped with a lovely sour cream sauce and shredded cheddar cheese.  It looked promising but so had *[Smart Ones Traditional Lasagna][1] * which had turned out to be a disappointment the day before.  Now with a resigned expression, I took my first bite and **Zing, Bang, WOW**!  This entree was so spicy and delicious that I plowed through it in less than ten minutes.  I was so enthusiastic that I almost ate a hole right through the bottom of the dish! **STATS:** There is one generous serving which contains 310 calories with 70 calories from fat.  There are seven grams total fat, three grams saturated fat, zero trans fat, one gram polyunsaturated fat, two grams monounsaturated fat, 15 mg. cholesterol, 660 mg. sodium, 51 grams total carbs, four grams dietary fiber, six grams sugars, and ten grams protein.  There are also 20% (D.V.) Vitamin A, 8% Vitamin C, 20% Calcium, and 6% Iron. **TASTE TIP:** Instructions were to stop halfway through the heating process and mix everything together but I preferred to leave the sauce sitting on top of the rice which to me enhances the enjoyment of contrasting flavors and textures.  What I **did** do was to stop the heating halfway, peel the plastic film back a little, and stud the top with more of those black olives I've been working my way through.  By the time the dish was heated thoroughly, the olives had cooked too and were a wonderful addition.  Whatever extra calories they added were worth it.  After the heating was completed, I let the dish cool down for a few minutes as food seems to possess more flavor when it is not too hot.  This was another dish that went beautifully with [Simply Limeade][2] .   [1]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Smart-Ones-Traditional-Lasagna-with-Meat-Sauce-review-340f6 [2]: http://www.viewpoints.com/Simply-Limeade-review-a50e3

AnnaBanana

Oak Park, IL