"Serves 2" - Does it Fuck.

[MarmiteMakesMeHappy]

Or are me and DH pigs? possibly, yes

About once a week, we have a 'ready meal'. Usually a 'naice' Waitrose/M&S/Charlie Binham type thing - so a Beef Sroganoff, Moussaka type thing.

There's never enough.

I am not sure if it's because we don't do 'starters' and 'pudding' on a Tuesday night, or stuff our faces with bread and olives first, but we are always left feeling a bit hungry and a bit ashamed that we want more.

Even when DD, 11 and I shared a Waitrose meal for 2 the other week, we weren't quite full so maybe I'm the pig

I have come to the conclusion that they probably do serve two, IF YOU'RE A HAMSTER.

Or is it just us?

YANBU op!

2 nights a week the DC have dinner at grandparents, so me and dh have a ready meal once they are in bed.
Me and dh have never found one that serves 2. We have 1 each with a side ( if it's a pasta meal we have garlic bread, if it's moussaka or similar we have veg) and then we have a ready made dessert too.

Serves 2, Ha Ha

Charlie Bingham is a very small emaciated looking man on the picture.

YANBU. Always leaves me hungry too. I don't think it's about losing sight of a healthy portion size either, I don't have a big appetite and am a healthy weight but always find these portion sizes lacking.

I agree. Especially the Charlie Bingham meals. The one person ones are so tiny I just disregard them.

But other posters are right. If you're eating a proper 3-4 times a day it probably is a correct portion size.

We make the curry deals last 3 adults with some usually thrown away but the Charlie Bingham meals with exception to the pies are tiny

I think the Charlie bigham meals are adequate for two, we never have starters at home, nor pudding if it's just me and DH.
You're meant to eat more earlier in the day so we try to keep supper to a lightish meal.

On the flip side, I served a Waitrose ready meal for one this evening (busy day!) to my 3 children and I with one pouch of microwave rice and some veg, and we all had leftovers!

This article about portion size is quite depressing informative

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/25/problem-portions-eating-too-much-food-control-cutting-down

It's not just you.

My theory is that they determine that based on the calorific value of the whole dish. Since ready made meals are so full of sugar and other empty calories (i.e. not enough good fats and protein to fill you up), the calorific value is high for not much food.

Also as a society, a think we're a bit broken in terms of portion control. I'm just as bad.

Delia's one for that crap.

Her lemon drizzle does not serve 6 people. 6 mice maybe.

Wine! Can't believe bottles are so small these days.

I once said I was satisfied with half a Gressingham brand peppered poussin - with 2oz of rice and some salad, mind.

I was mocked. Mocked.

I still maintain it is enough for my birdlike appetite.

Tonight we're having 11 Sainsbury's mini crispy duck rolls between us, rice, stirfry of cabbage and one mushroom (medium).

I feel confident that I'll win the battle between 5 and 6 duck rolls because I deploy the pinch and twist manoeuvre technique on the soft bit of the underarm.

There is a triple chocolate marshmallow and creamy custard thing for dessert - I've strung that out over two days and I'll concede defeat because I don't like chocolate that much

Calories in Charlie Bingham are huge - so yes in calorie terms they serve two.

Totally agree you can easily scoff a whole one which is why I am now clinically obese and doing the blood sugar diet

When you weigh out the portions and check calories on the box or something like MFP it's shocking what a portion should be and what we have got used to - and how many hidden calories there are in processed food.

The Charlie Brigham curry we serve two between three people. One rugby playing hollow legged, runs for miles 14yr old. Manual working dh and a smaller portion for me. We did have naan with it as well and it was plenty.

I think the CB ones feed 1 3/4 not quite enough for two but too much for one.

I just made this.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/aug/02/pomodori-al-riso-baked-stuffed-tomatoes-with-potatoes-rachel-roddy-a-kitchen-in-rome

It says "Serves 4" so I halved it. We left half of that half, it was far too much, and we only had salad as a side.

Serving sizes are a mystery.

They are very variable. However, with the rice pouches I learnt my lesson when I served him half a pouch with curry. He reacted as though I had brought a puppy home and stabbed it repeatedly in front of him.

The packet says it serves 2 so the calories per portion are not ridiculously high!

I agree that I think it's based on the calorific value - I find a lot of them inconsistent. For example if you get a serves one curry with rice from sainsbury's and compare it to a serves 2 curry without rice and then add your own, half the "serves two" portion is small compared to the complete "serves 1" meal.

I agree re the pouches of rice too, one between 2 seems far too small but one each is far too much.

What we tend to do now is a serves 2 curry shared, a rice shared but add a side dish of curried veg between us and maybe a chapati to share. We have big appetites but the added side dish just seems to make it into a meal. Or sometimes we do shared curry and rice and add a couple of samosas.

I bought some lamb shanks, serves 2, from Asda. Had to dash out at the last minute after I'd opened it as dh would have been horrified at the thought of having to share one shank! How can one shank ever serve 2....?

What sort of rice pouches are you having that doesn't serve 2? I did one for 4 (3 adults one 5 year old) last week as a carb portion and for 2 of us tonight as a cheats risotto ie where rice is the main bit.... and felt it was too much (still ate it though cos I'm greedy)

1 shank per person. Period.

One each of microwave rice is not too much. It is perfect.

I don't think Charlie Bingham believes those portions are for two either. It is purely a marketing exercise to get the calories per portion down to not scary.

I don't know about the specific brands you're listing but I do find since I started weighing and measuring what I eat for MFP it's eye-opening to see how little food is a serving for most products/items.