"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?

I feel exactly the same when I open a bottle of wine.

My OH developed type 2 diabetes so we had to attend Diabetic School. First they show you photos of soon to be amputated limbs, then they show you how much pasta is in a portion. The smallness of the bowl has really stayed with me.

The best bit about wine is the line on boxes that say it stays fresh for 6 weeks.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

It's been a bit of a struggle to find out how many grams of cooked rice constitutes a portion - Waitrose say 150g. A rice pouch has 250g. Other sites have said 4 handfuls, a cup, 2 spoonfuls.... take your pick.

I collect vintage dishware and the smaller size of bowls, plates and cups - even in the 1960s let alone the 1920s-40s - is quite striking. What used to constitute a family-size serving bowl is comparable to an individual bowl in modern sets, and the plates and cups nowadays are huge. No wonder people are trending much larger than they used to.

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

This. I am slim with a small appetite (i.e I don't have issues with portion control) and I still find ready meal portions too small

YY to whoever calculated that CB meals are 3 between 4 people. DItto rice pouches.

And double YY to the notion that the portion sizes have to be small to keep the calorie count down.

But mostly YY to whoever pointed out that CB is tiny and therefore know not of what he speaks.

I once served DH half of a Waitrose 'Serves 2' mushroom risotto and he wanted to know why I was giving him a 'snack' so close to dinner time.

Serves 1 = snack
Serves 2 = meal for one
Serves 4 = dare
Serves 8 = challenge

That's what the guidelines seem to mean in this household anyway

Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
plus snacks
Has any of you got pop bellies as well.

We don't generally have ready meals, but I totally feel this with birthday cakes... Serves 12? I DOUBT IT

Are you a healthy weight, OP?

Oh, DH and I share a CB meal with some veg on the side and find it enough, we normally have the macaroni and cheese, or the chicken mushroom risotto.

The calories does add up when you buy those ready meals it is shocking at how much a small portion has got in calories. You are what you eat.

One pouch of microwave rice does me, DH (big, rugby playing) and 2.8 year old DD... How much rice do you all eat?! We tend to have more of the 'main' part of the meal (meat/veg/sauce) and just a small portion of rice.

We had a Charlie Bingham Chicken Tikka Masala and Rice meal tonight. One each.

Feel nicely full now. Totally agree OP. One is never enough for two to share and always leads me reaching for the biscuits at around 9oclock

I bought a portion control plate because I need to control my carbs(PCOS is shit) and I knew I overdid it but I didn't realise how much I and basically everyone I have ever met overdid it by.

Sadly, it probably does serve 2 people OP. I think a lot of us have a skewed version of proper portions.

I do like my little plate although getting other people to use it correctly is a pain, they keep it within the lines but try to make towers to try and bend the rules. I hate having to chuck half of it away.

YANBU! "Serves 4", yeah right, 4 chuffing gerbils maybe. It's definitely to keep the often ridiculous calorie numbers down. We don't have ready meals often and I'm slim and don't have a problem with weight or portion control, but when I'm hungry I'm hungry and I could eat most 'serves 2' ready meals I've come across to myself no problem. As for 'serves 10' birthday cakes, HAHAHA! Not 10 of anybody I know they don't

Captain where did you get your plate from? PCOS is indeed a total bitch! I managed to get my weight down and got pregnant but would love to get into healthier long term habits once DD arrives

I'm currently on a Simply Cook subscription. Some of the recipes (all for two) wouldn't feed a mouse. Some however...we got four helpings out of the Thai curry and the sweet potato wedges just sat on the plate while our eyes wept tears of pure starch.

Captainkanga I got it from amazon I would never normally spend that amount of something like a plate but I needed it and I didn't want a plastic one.

I use it all the time, I love my veggies anyway but this has got me eating a lot more of them!

I was one of those who mocked you Limited, and i still stand by it!

All those meals are calculated on 'average' people and we find they just don't have enough for us. Or in something like the waitrose chinese/curry for 2 it's all filler and only 5 chunks of chicken.

I am going to say something now which will get the MN rage frothing. DH has just eaten 4 chicken thighs, 3 sausages (in a hot dog bun), one burger (in a bun) and salad and chips with houmous. It was amazing!! The all you can eat buffets pull the shutters down when they see him coming!

I once bought a supermarket sharing pudding as a treat and was really proud of myself for eating it over two days. Half of a 'serves two' pudding per day - good portion control!

Then I checked the packaging. It was supposed to serve 6

Mrs Koala - that would be protein for a month for a family of 8 in mumsnet land.

Asda trifle that serves 6 pahahahaa

I have to disagree. I find that serves 2 is about right for us.
I'm always amazed when the bag of rice says 75g of uncooked rice per person, it makes far to much.

I'm still a fat fuck though.