"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've never heard of Charlie Whatshisface either.

The point of ready meals for me is to do as little cooking as possible, so you want it to be an all-in-one filling meal, not having to faff around with veg/side dishes etc. Which is why I always buy myself a two-portion meal when I have one

Charlie Bigham! You flash bugger, OP.

I think you need veg with these things, but it doesn't take a minute to do those or buy them ready-prepared

The physical amount of food is too small, not enough, no way..

I bet they work out the portion size based more on the calories or the salt/fat/sugar content though - and ready meals tend to be far higher in calories, salt and sugar and fat, than the same thing would be if you made it yourself.

Just buy two, one each, instead of this tiny portion bollocks.

I've never heard of Charlie Bingham, but I more than agree with you about the stingey portion sizes. Cheesecake to serve 10 people? Yeah fuck off.

It's Charlie Bigham doncha know... sorry can't help correcting that!

Their food is good but my god it ain't cheap! I usually grab something when it's in the reduced section! Ready meals are small but I just add to them with more potatoes or veg!

CB's pies are good and you get the free dishes with it. (Looked in the cupboard the other day and there were a lot of dishes!)

[Misses point of thread] I miss those curry for £10 bags You can't really get ready meals here...

I also have no idea who Charlie Bigham is (but I haven't lived in UK for 5 years). I take it it's a naice thing?

yabu
just have veg/salad with it if you think the portion is too small.
I'm one of those weirdos who weigh pasta before cooking and then have to serve myself before ds or there won't be any left

BluePitchFork I weigh it too, otherwise we end up with a bucket of pasta! And once it's cooked, it gets eaten...

Veg and salad isn't filling tho.

Reminds me of this

Veg can be very filling, depends what you have! We eat mainly protein plus veg/salad. Never go hungry.

Yes dontevenblink they are ready meals but upmarket and TBH they are very tasty but it makes you want to eat a meal for 2 all for yourself as the portions aren't enormous understatement

Mash potato and cauli cheese is filling, can't think of much else veg that is particularly filling.

Thinks like carrots/sweet potato/butternut squash/parsnip fill me up. I guess it depends on the person though, we're obviously not all the same. I find I stay full for longer if I fill up on protein with a large plate of veg than if I have a large portion of pasta/rice etc with my meal.

Agree re Birthday cakes serves 20 on no planet ever.

Found out this week though (think it was on eat more for less) that the nutritional info on the side of packets is based on an average woman who needs 2000 calories per day. So a man doing a manual job would need a lot more calories.

I like lots of veggies or salad with my meals so am happy with a modest portion of most dishes, except for pasta. 75 g of pasta per person seems far too little.

Sadly just checked the waitrose web site. Looks like the typical serving of a meal-for-two is around 600 Kcal. Add a side salad, veg etc and that sounds like a sensible amount for a dinner?

I am the same worlds - i usually low carb/paleo when not pregnant. But i eat a lot of protein, the veg is just for the vitamins/roughage, i can't say it particularly fills me up.

And this thread demonstrates perfectly why over half the country (me included!) are overweight and a quarter of us are in fact obese. We may not like it and no matter how much you protest, it's a simple biological fact that we nearly all eat too much for our energy expenditure needs and that as a society we have completely and utterly forgotten what an adequate, sufficient portion size of various foods really is.

I hate having to watch what I eat. I love food of all descriptions, and over the years it's been my reward, my solace and even my self punishment. But it's very very simple. Unless I pay attention to how much I eat, I will gain weight. I'm 5' 4", I don't have a choice, and it's a daily struggle.

I think portions on things are silly in general. Everyone has different calorific needs and should eat to that.

I used to work in an office and on birthdays everyone would go to pizza express for lunch. All the people were very different - male/female, petit/tall, active/inactive, young/old etc and yet everyone ate the same sized pizza. It always struck me as odd. One colleague was tiny (4ft11) and quite sedentary and used to eat the same as me (tall, broad, active), she would then wail it wasn't fair as we ate the same but she couldn't lose weight. She seemed to genuinely believe a portion was a portion no matter what.

the fibre in veg is filling.
we use the 'toddler plate' portion control. you know, those plates with 3 compartments.
the small compartments for carbs, proteins, sauce. the big for salad and/or steamed veg.

I always thought the CBigham meals were targeted at wealthy older people.

Who can afford ready meals anyway?

I guess half of MN

Amazed

I think portions on things are silly in general. Everyone has different calorific needs and should eat to that

Agreed. DH is 6 foot 4, 17 stone and plays rugby twice a week plus going to the gym. I'm 5ft5 and have a very petite frame. If I ate the same portions as him I'd be the size of a (short) house.