I'm curious, what's an example?

All the frozen dinners at my supermarket are a protein (beef, chicken, turkey) with a starch (noodles, mashed potatoes) and maybe frozen veggies. Often with sauce/gravy. All totally normal.

I'm struggling to imagine a strange/unpleasant side dish.

And of all vegetables these freeze and microwave pretty well!

Also, freezing and then microwaving is literally indistinguishable from steaming fresh over hot water in a pot.

The whole point of freezing is that no flavor or nutrients are lost, only texture because cell walls burst -- but then you lose the crunchy texture because cell walls burst equivalently when steaming anyways, which is why freezing+microwaving works so well. Nothing is lost at all.

I occasionally steam veg, but more often Blanche and then do something else with them, not something that works as well with frozen.

Also, losing texture isn't a small thing.

I'm not suggesting you microwave your shumai dumplings or your egg custard.

But for your standard fibrous veggies like peas, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, lima beans, etc.?

Yes, frozen plus microwaved vs. steamed yields identical results, provided you stir in the microwave every minute to avoid building up hot spots. It's just physics.

I tried kale in the microwave once (with a bit of water and covered in cling film (seran(?) wrap)) and it was awful.

To me at least 'stir in the microwave every minute to avoid building up hot spots' just isn't easier, I only use mine for defrosting/reheating things (I live alone so there's always multiple portions left over).