Thank you Aqua Star for sending me these products in exchange for review.

All thoughts and opinions expressed are mine.

We're all very aware of how hard it has been to find food at the grocery store, and in my case, healthy food. in my household, we've been eating a lot of quick meals because that's what we've had access to. I'm not proud of it, but when you live in a small town, with extremely limited grocery options, it's not always easy to feed my family healthy meals. My hubby also tends to be a picky eater, and even though he has gotten better about what he'll eat, he's not always on board with our meal options. I struggle to come up with foods that are available and affordable for us to eat, and since I pretty much work seven days a week, I don't always have time to make separate meals for the both of us. One thing that we both agree on is seafood! We are a seafood-loving family, and I can usually get him on board with a seafood dinner!

One brand of seafood that we have enjoyed and really come to trust over the years is Aqua Star Smart Seafood. For one, they are readily available in our stores, the price fits our budget, and we've never been disappointed with anything we've had from them! Aqua Star was kind enough to send us several options to try out, and I have to say, I couldn't have been more thrilled to do so! They sent over Two Contessa Cutting Board Meals, Six Micro Steam Bowls, and Five Micro Steam Meals. These arrived in two separate boxes that each contained a styrofoam cooler, with dry ice and the meals. I was very impressed with how the boxes were packaged and felt pretty confident that had I not been home when they were delivered, that they would have stayed frozen for several hours.

I quickly and excitedly unpacked each cooler to unearth the bountiful array of seafood before me! Even though the meals are frozen, everything inside is fresh and ready to prepare. The Contessa Cutting Board Meals are very similar to popular meal delivery kits, and are easy to prepare from frozen to done in 30 minutes or less! The thought of being able to put a deliciously cooked meal on the table, that is healthy and affordable had me excited to cook dinner again. That's something I hadn't been excited for in a long time. The two options I received for the Contessa Cutting Board Meals were Chipotle Shrimp Street Tacos and Moroccan Style Wild Salmon. I decided on the Shrimp Tacos for that evening and I would save the Salmon for another night!

Each Cutting Board Meal comes in a cardboard box, with a thick cardstock style wrapper around the entire box. Don't discard this, because on the underside of the wrapper are the easy to follow, step-by-step, directions. This is something I learned the hard way, I was so excited that I tossed mine in the trash, and then had to go digging through my trashcan to find it! After a thorough wipe-down, I was ready to get cooking! I put on my handy apron that came with my meals and started to follow the directions, and here's how easy this meal is to make:

Thaw out the sauce packet in a bowl of warm water. DO NOT MICROWAVE!
Heat 1tsp of oil on med-high heat and add shrimp.
Cook shrimp for 6-8 minutes and stir occasionally.
Add chipotle seasoning to cooked shrimp.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a skillet and sautee the spinach, corn, and roasted tomato pack, cook 4-5 min.
Wrap corn tortilla shells in a damp cloth, heat in the microwave for 30 seconds.
Build and serve your tacos.
Enjoy!

These tacos were so yummy, and I couldn't stop dipping things in the sauce that came with it. The seasoning does have a bit of a kick to it, but if you like heat, you're going to enjoy these immensely! Now, the sauce that came with the tacos is to die for, I want to buy a bottle of that sauce to keep on hand and dip everything in it. My hubby really enjoyed the tacos, and he had fun watching how it is to cook. He can not cook to save his life, but he mentioned that even he couldn't mess up these meals! Contessa really hit the nail on the head with this meal, it hit the spot, the only thing missing was a touch of lime, but I know to grab some for the next time we have them!

For lunch the next day, I decided to try out the Lemon Herb Wild Cod-Micro Steam Meal. This meal caught my attention because it has 21g of protein, 420 calories, it's gluten-free, responsibly sourced, and certified sustainable. I really appreciate a company that practices sustainability when it comes to sourcing their products. It's definitely something that I wish more companies would do. Okay, back to my lunch, lol! The lemon herb cod is served with green beans, roasted potatoes, and a wonderful serving of lemon herb butter! This meal goes straight from your freezer and to your plate in around 6 minutes! At first glance, I was already impressed with how fresh the meal looked through the package. There was absolutely no freezer burn, the green beans looked as if they had been picked that same day, and the potatoes from what I could tell had zero rotten spots on them.

Six quick and tantalizing minutes later, my meal was ready to be served. I decided that since this meal looked so fancy, that I would plate it up and not eat it out of the tray like I normally would. I wanted to pretend that I was dining at a 5-star restaurant! This meal could have very easily passed for a meal from an up-scale seafood restaurant, pair this with a glass of white wine, and no one would be able to tell the difference. The cod tastes so incredibly fresh, perfectly seasoned, and flaky. It wasn't overcooked or fishy tasting in the least! I don't know how Aqua Star managed to get the potatoes to the right amount of doneness, soft but crispy, but they did. The green beans are so fresh, with just the right amount of crunch! There's so much food within this meal, that I ended up having leftovers, which heated up very easily. This meal was so good, that I was scraping the lemon herb butter sauce off the bottom of the container, determined to get every last drop of sauce I could!

Finally, the next day I ended up having the Salmon Teriyaki Micro Steam Bowl. This bowl had salmon, brown rice, carrots, onions, and edamame with a ginger teriyaki sauce. With a simple peel of the wrapper and four quick minutes in the microwave, and you've got a nutritious meal. I love Teriyaki, and this bowl was a huge hit with me! The salmon was fresh and not fishy tasting and the rice was perfectly cooked. All the elements of this meal mixed so well together and it was incredibly delicious and filling.

While I am a bit skeptical to take these meals to work with me, I've been enjoying them on the days that I work from home, or as a quick dinner when I have to work late. I love that I don't have to put thought into meals for my family and that I can quickly make us a healthy meal that doesn't break our budget. Aqua Star has so many different types of meals for families to enjoy, that you're bound to find several options for yours. If you're looking for a way to keep your family fed, with the mounting cost of groceries, why not try out Aqua Star and see for yourself.

Want It? Get It!

If your stomach is telling you it's time to try some of these delicious meals, check out all that Aqua Star has to offer here. Use their store locater to see where their products are available or shop for them on Amazon Fresh, where you can have it delivered right to your door! While you're at it, check out Aqua Star on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

How Often Do You Eat Seafood In Your Family?

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