How big are ready meal portions these days?!

[IntoValhalla]

So firstly, I’m being lazy and having a ready meal lasagne because today has been a mad rush and I simply can’t be arsed to cook.
Anyone else really surprised at just how massive the portions are in supermarket ready meals?! I’ve got a lasagne for one and it’s huge
I know it’s not a healthy option by any means - pretty much everything was red on the little “traffic light system” nutritional info label, but I’m surprised that at this size it’s labelled “serves one” and I’m someone with a...let’s say “healthy” appetite!

Roonil No food issues at all. No history of eating disorders or anything like that, I’ve never actively dieted or tried to lose weight in my life - except when I was involved in a sport that required me to fit into weight categories, but during that time my diet was carefully planned by a professional.
My family come from a country where food is a huge part of our day to day culture, so grew up in a house where food and cooking were always a very positive thing

Ready meals are SUPPOSED to be an occasional meal, which wouldn’t be so much of a problem. Occasional as in once every couple of months.

400g of lean, home cooked lasagne is hundreds of calories away from a 400g ready meal lasagne

The fact that more and more people these days are feeding their family by ready meals several times a week-or by jars of domio, because opening a jar over mince is now home cooking!- is a real issue.

bugsy that is exactly what I mean! You make out eat people for some meals but over the course of days, weeks and months you are not eating more than a morbidly obese person. Otherwise you’d be morbidly obese too.

I have a very skinny sister -5ft 10 and weighs 8STONE. I’ve seen her put away enormous meals. Big day to day she’s not eating enormous amounts. She’s just eating what she likes, and because she doesn’t feel deprived she thinks it’s loads. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.

Let's not forget that salad is mainly water after all and in no way would help to satisfy the appetite of me a teenager. You know there are many types of salads right? It doesn't mean just lettuce! Coleslaw, bean salad, couscous salad, tabbouleh...

But it’s plainly not a ‘massive’, ‘huge’ or ‘beast’ of a portion OP.
All words you yourself used, not me.

Passthe that’s an interesting point come to think of it.
I don’t diet, and I don’t deprive myself of the things that I want, but I don’t eat massive amounts of those things day to day. So if I fancy a chocolate bar in the evening (I’m quite partial to a Crunchie!) then I’ll have one, but usually wouldn’t have one everyday.
If we go out for a meal, then I’ll choose what I want from the menu without giving a second thought to the calorie content or how healthy it is (maybe a huge burger), and I’ll enjoy every bit until I’m full, but day to day I make healthier choices for our family meals (like a stir fry or something).

Oops sorry for all my typos

Roonil as I’ve already said - it looked big to me! That doesn’t mean I have some sort of eating disorder

I had a microwave curry the other week, and that didn’t seem a big portion to me - like you I didn’t put all the rice on my plate, but I did eat all the chicken and most of the sauce, with naan for dipping.

Erm, seems you eat a lot of packaged food so a portion won’t seem big to you but I can assure you it IS calorific, the naan more calorific than the rice btw, it is full of fat & salt and it is bad for you and will be affecting your cholesterol and blood pressure if you eat-as detailed on this thread-regularly.

On the contrary OP but I’ll bow out now.

I also hate the feeling of being really full - you know that feeling of uncomfortable, bloaty fullness when you know you’ve eaten too much? That’s definitely made worse by pregnancy, so I guess I have got used to eating smaller portions to avoid that feeling of discomfort?

Yes I hate feeling full too

400g of lean, home cooked lasagne is hundreds of calories away from a 400g ready meal lasagne

Considering OP's ready meal was only 650 calories, I don't think so!

Crazycat I had (half) a ready meal lasagne tonight, and one microwave curry about 2 weeks ago That’s hardly what I’d call “regularly”.
I cook family meals with fresh meat/fish almost every night of the week....except for tonight when the DCs has Birds Eye chicken nuggets and potato smilies!

Lasagne is boak. Why do people always bring up lasagne? Even vegan versions are rank. When I ate meat I had to live on ready meals for months as I had a child in hospital hours from home and had to stay with her. I lost loads of weight because those meals are dinky.

Omg no!!
Lasagne is one of my favourite foods - homemade will always be better than ready meals though! Especially when it’s made with fresh pasta and homemade bechamel sauce 😍

Barnabas, this might not be the thread for you

Yak! I've always been lactose intolerant and am now vegan, can't think of anything I'd less like to eat than some creme-based, dairy-filled dish of vom.

Barnabas DC2 has an anaphylactic dairy allergy, so I make oat-milk-based white sauce and dairy-free Tesco mozzarella on the top! It’s actually the only dish I can handle the vegan cheese on

I've tried vegan versions of it, Intro, just no. It's minging.

Am intrigued by vegan lasagne. What a bizarre meal to try and make vegan! What is it?

You can make it with vegan cheese and bechamel sauce from cashews. I don't bother. I sometimes use lasagne sheets with a tomato/lentil/mushroom/aubergine mix layered in between but that's about it.

Passthe I make a normal tomato/beef mince base, have to use dry lasagne sheets as DC2 is also allergic to egg.
Then I make a becjamel sauce with dairy-free butter (usually Vitalite and a splash of olive oil), flour and oat milk. Once that’s all combined and reducing, I chuck some dairy-free mozerella in and stir until it’s melted. Later it up in the dish as normal and then put more dairy-free “cheese” on the top

Can easily be made properly vegan by just forgoing the beef mince for a vegan meat alternative or vegetable/lentil base instead

No that is tiny. Ide have easily double that amount with garlic bread and salad then ide probably have dessert too.
Oh op you've mad me want a lasagne now but I have no mince in.

The way you eat is what I am aiming for OP. Everything you mention about your eating habits is what Paul mckenna (not sure if that's the right spelling) recommends. I am not over weight but want to lose weight. Only eating until you are satisfied, eat what you want when you want but only when you are actually hungry.