Shop now: Iceland Foods and Mumsnet's new range of ready meals for families

As parents, we want our children to enjoy delicious meals that are packed with the nutrients they need for their development and overall wellbeing.

But spending hours in the kitchen preparing three meals a day just isn’t realistic for every family. And on busy days, we need quick, convenient options to ensure everyone is fed and happy on time.

This is why we hope our Little Explorers range with Iceland will prove a game changer for parents. Here at Mumsnet HQ, we’ve teamed up with the supermarket to develop a tasty new range of ready meals for little ones.

Featuring kids’ classics, such as Mac and Cheese and Chicken Tikka and Rice, the recipes have been taste-tested by Alder Hey Children’s Hospital staff and the charity’s child ambassadors, who gave the range the thumbs up for flavour, quality, and family appeal.  Winner winner, a healthy and easy family dinner!

What is the Little Explorers Range?

Our exciting new range of ready meals have been taste-tested by Alder Hey Children's Hospital staff and the charity’s child ambassadors.

The meals on offer are five tasty classics, including:

• Fantastic Fish Pie

• Classic Cottage Pie

• Super Spaghetti Bolognese

• Tremendous Chicken Tikka and Rice

• and Marvellous Mac and Cheese

Every dish contains one of your child’s five a day and has a high vegetable content to ensure goodness with every bite. There’s also no added sugar, emulsifiers, artificial ingredients or preservatives, and everything is low in salt.

Available now, the range marks Mumsnet’s first branded food product and will be available to buy online and in store at Iceland, as well as the Food Warehouse stores.

Why parents will love the new range

Mumsnet is lucky to have such an incredible community of parents who offer honest and unfiltered insights into what families really want from their food - especially when it comes to their children.

We recently conducted a survey to discover the top priorities for kids’ food and found that Mumsnetters want high nutritional content, healthy ingredients, easy cooking and storing convenience, a kid-approved great taste and a brand that's trusted by parents.

We took all this information and applied it to the Little Explorer’s range. The meals are priced at £2 and frozen for convenient storage. When you’re ready toap cook, just pop into the oven from frozen for 45 minutes or into the microwave from frozen for six minutes. 

With a high vegetable content and no preservatives, artificial ingredients or added sugar, our meals are packed with nutrition. But we’ve worked hard to ensure that every meal is big on flavour, so your kids will always clean their plates and leave the table satisfied.

Plus, Iceland is a brand you can trust. They’re committed to helping their customers eat well on a budget and already sell a wide array of healthy frozen options. They also strive to comply with Public Health England and aim to reduce the fat, salt and sugar content from their own label food. 

Iceland is a trusted choice with our Mumsnetters. “As well as the great range and price of their frozen food, their fresh food is really good quality and tinned/packet stuff is cheap,” a reviewer shared recently.

What meals are included in the Little Explorers range?

There are five new delicious meals to choose from in the Little Explorers range

Marvellous Mac and Cheese, £2

This healthy take on the indulgent classic uses cauliflower, butternut squash and cheddar cheese sauce.

Tremendous Chicken Tikka and Rice, £2

Enjoy tender chunks of chicken breast cooked in mild spices, coconut and yoghurt sauce, and peas and red pepper. Served with yellow long grain rice, it’s sure to go down a treat.

Super Spaghetti Bolognese, £2

Tuck into cooked spaghetti with a hearty beef and tomato sauce. 

Each has been taste tested and approved by children

Classic Cottage Pie, £2

Onions, carrots and lentils are cooked in a beef sauce and layered with potato and butternut squash. 

Fantastic Fish Pie, £2

With Alaska pollock slow-cooked in a creamy sauce and served with peas and carrots and a potato and butternut squash mix, this warming dish is sure to get the thumbs up.

What Mumsnet’s testers say

Ahead of launching, we conducted a product test with the help of Mumsnet users and their families. 

Our Mumsnet testers found plenty to love about these child-friendly frozen meals. The portion sizes were consistently praised as a “good size, especially for our youngest [who’s three]”. 

Parents particularly appreciated the nutritional content, noting “I liked that the product contained lots of veg”. The convenience factor was also highlighted, with testers describing them as “easy to store, cook and serve.” Even parents of picky eaters found success, with one reporting “my child is quite fussy however he ate the whole meal.”

The Mac & Cheese emerged as a particular favourite, with several children enjoying its "familiar flavours/textures." Testers also appreciated that "it tasted fresh" and many found the meals overall represented good value, being "reasonably priced." 

Most notably, parents were impressed with how these compare to alternatives, noting they were "just as good if not better than other ready meals due to the high nutritional value." 

Our testers especially valued the child-friendly portion sizes and appreciated the inclusion of vegetables, making these meals a convenient option for busy families.

Where can you buy the new range and how much does it cost? 

The ready meals are available now exclusively from Iceland online and in-store. You can also buy them from Food Warehouse stores. Every meal is priced at £2.

What makes the Little Explorers range different from other ready meals?

As well as being packed with delicious flavour, the ready meals are filled with nutrition. They all contain one of your child’s five a day and don’t have any added preservatives, additives or added sugar. Plus, they’re low in salt. 

How have you worked with Alder Hey?

Our new range of ready meals have been taste-tested by Alder Hey Children's Hospital staff and the charity's child ambassadors - which is one of Europe’s biggest and busiest hospitals and an established UK leader in paediatric care - to make sure each meal tastes good. Plus, a percentage of sales from the range will also go directly to the hospital.

Are the meals suitable for all children, including picky eaters?

Yes! Our range features popular classics, including Mac & Cheese and Spaghetti Bolognese. 

They’re all packed with veg but also bursting with flavour, so even picky eaters will be eager to tuck in.

How does freezing help maintain the nutritional quality of the meals?

When it comes to food, we may have been told fresh is best. But freezing is a natural process and doesn't require pumping food with preservatives to lengthen its lifespan. 

Freezing also retains the vitamins and flavours, and it can crack down on a ton of food waste.

Each meal is packed to the brim with nutrition and flavour

So can we tempt you to try? With nutrition and flavour cooked into every bite, we’re hoping our new Little Explorers range is set to become a fixture in your freezer. 

About Iceland Foods

Iceland Foods is recognised as the UK’s leader in frozen food and operates over 950 stores across the country, including The Food Warehouse locations, together with a multi-award-winning online shopping service. 

It prides itself on being a convenient and friendly place to do the family’s weekly shop, as well as meet everyone’s daily top-up shopping needs for fresh, chilled, frozen food and groceries. For more than 20 years Iceland has also offered a unique, free home delivery service for in-store purchases.

About The Food Warehouse

Founded in 2014, The Food Warehouse is part of Iceland Foods, which operates over 950 stores across Britain, including The Food Warehouse locations. All 190 Food Warehouse stores are large format stores with a car park, providing the value and convenience of a wholesale store without the hassle of membership.

About the author

Kat Romero is a writer and journalist with over a decade’s experience in the industry. Hailing from London, she has become experienced in scouring the market to find the latest and best products, services and events that are worth your purchase. As a mother herself, she knows all too well how hard it can be to find healthy, nutritional meals that her child will actually enjoy. So, you can trust that she’s fully invested in making sure you receive the best recommendations.

Away from her desk, Kat can be found consuming far too much coffee and spending her weekends with her toddler and partner - soaking up the sights of London and sampling anything new and exciting that has opened up within walking distance.

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