To think 240g of mince isn’t enough for 2 people?

[Ostryga]

Got a hello fresh delivery today and one of the recipes (classic cottage pie) was delivered with the smallest amount of mince I’ve ever seen. It is palm sized! Now I know theres other veggies and potatoes in it, but is this not slightly ridiculous? It’s about 4 mouthfuls of meat!

Am I just exceptionally greedy 😂

I was quoting my personal experience. It suits me and I magine most HF customers (otherwise they'd not buy them).

I also imagine HF have used nutritionists to calculate the suitable 'average' portion size that would suit most customers.

That's plenty for 2 meals for 2. A sauce made with home-grown tomatoes, peas and herbs, served over a plate of buttered mash or sweet potatoes, greens of your choice (I love Swiss chard or spinach), with a topping of grated parmesan.

Protein portion size is calculated on what an adult needs for nutritional purposes, to keep the body running well. So for example my DH and I (similar in weight as he is on the lower side of healthy BMI and I am on the higher side) both have equal protein intake, which fulfils all our protein needs. He eats more food overall than me, because he is a physically active man and needs a higher overall calorie intake, so he will have more carbs with his meals. I tend to have a much higher intake of vegetables - I eat mostly low carb for health reasons, so I eat more veg than he does. I am physically actIve, but being a woman my calorie needs are still lower than his. If we had to make do with a lot less meat, we could still be confident that our protein needs are being met as long as we have the ideal portion size for an adult. Like I previously said, we love meat so we actually eat a lot more of it than we need to, but if we had to cut right back it wouldn’t be a problem nutritionally for either of us to have 125-150g protein for our main meal of the day.

You could Chuck a run of green lentils in if you need to bulk it up a bit in future?

(He also eats more fruit than I do, because I have to watch my blood glucose levels)

So do people share standard sized steak?

Most of us eat a bit too much and its widely known that portion sizes are generally too big.

It’s something all of us should be willing to consider and re-visit every couple of years, rather than assuming that the plateful we have is right or necessary.

Especially with dishes like cottage pie, people might cook an extra large dishful and do some batch cooking. Perhaps it’s not a meal that is generally cooked as a 2 portion meal, so when you see the ingredients or the finished version for just 2, it looks small. That’s because the one people cook when they buy their own ingredients tends to be bigger.

And I say again, that I think in most families where 1 person dies the bulk of the cooking,it’s usually the woman. The man can be quite passive in his portions and just eat what he’s given/what is available. That 4 portion cottage pie using 500g if mince can be put out for a family of 3 and everyone has a good plateful and then a decent second helping that they don’t need…..just because it’s there. And suddenly that is the normal portion and portion size for the family. And women in particular don’t like to offer the man a small portion or underfed, so often have the idea the man must need a huge portion. Well actually, most of us could eat a bigger portion than we need. If you passively just eat what’s it in front of you, like lots do, it’s easy to overeat.

I agree with a PP upthread, that in the past, recipe books allowed about 110g meat per head….that was for people doing largely active manual jobs. Of course there were lots of other parts of the meal too. We don’t need heaps and heaps of protein. But over time, plates have grown and people eat more. It’s just something we should all consider rather than assuming what we eat now is perfect ir the only right option.

@Pothoswithasparkle Definitely no sharing of steak!! But again, if our financial situation changed drastically and it came down to having a big piece of inferior steak or half a wonderful smaller piece from the farm shop where we get all our meat, I’d much rather have half a very good steak. So in that case, yes, we’d share. And it’d still be plenty of protein for each of us.

(That sounds like a stealth boast but it’s not meant to be! - just adding the context that if we had to do without the meat we can afford now, we’d be more likely to add more vegetarian meals into our repertoire rather than piling our plates quite generously with meat the way we’re used to).

Re the steak, I guess that as with everything, there are times when you’ll have more meat. Steak isn’t necessarily a weekday meal for most, but a bit of a treat.

In my mind, I’d try to manage portion sizes in the week much more.

If Hello Fresh sometimes send 1 large chicken breast to be used in a recipe for 2, they might also send 1 steak, if it’s to be cut up and used - that sounds okay. But again, it’s about our expectation and what we’re used to, and often the right sized portion can look a bit small.
We definitely notice it more too when we’re paying a premium like Hello Fresh….most like to feel they are getting a good meal and good value and part if that is about amount….probably more sensitive to size if portions with that kind of thing than a normal home cooked meal??

That’s enough of mince for 2 people.

IIRC, official protein recommendation per adult per day is approx 45g female / 55g male. Protein is available in many plant foods as well as meat/fish/eggs. Most people far exceed the recommended amount.

Off on a tangent here, but I'm appalled people cook cottage pie for two in today's energy pressed world. What a waste of time and labour. If ever a dish called out for batch cooking it is this.

Enjoy your energy bills. 😞

This is why I only ever buy the hello fresh meals with potato so I can bulk it out.

People do what’s best for them. Different people have different priorities. I walked everywhere for most of my life, even when I had two small children, and at the moment I don’t run a car. I have flown twice in the last 20 years. I’m not profligate with energy nor resources; I can afford my bills. I don’t waste any food either - I use every scrap including the last of the wilting veg/lettuce, every time, and tiny bits of leftovers. And so on, and so forth.

As it happens I do batch cook but not everyone likes that or can get their head around it. And actually it’s quite possible that people might divide a kg of mince (for example) and make one small cottage pie, one big lot of meatballs and one ragu/lasagne/whatever. Just because they only mentioned the 250g of mince that they made into a cottage pie for two doesn’t actually mean they only cooked that. But even if they did, that’s their prerogative.

Oooooooh new one on food threads.
Killing NHS and killing energy pressed word (whatever that means).
😂

Damn you and your 2 portions of cottage pie. Eat a sandwich

Given that I use 500g of meat to make a meal for a family of four, and still end up with leftovers, that is plenty op. If it's not enough, bulk it out with vegetables.

The issue these days is that in restaurants, advertisements, takeaways, ready meals etc is that portion sizes have got way too big, influenced by US portion sizes. Plates have got bigger so a normal amount of food looks tiny because its on a massive plate.

It means lots of people have a massively distorted view of what is a 'normal' size portion .

500g here makes a meal for 2-3 with leftovers
I do pack things out with a lot of veg though and as dieting always go very low fat mince

I have a healthy appetite but there’s no way my greedy DP, me and 1 child could eat 500g in one sitting without leftovers. Too much meat based protein if you’re also eating meat at other meals.

That’s a tiny amount. Depending if building muscle or very overweight etc. (but assuming not) it’s closer to 1g per pound in weight so a 10st person would be looking at 140g protein.

Learn to read and lay off the wine dear.

Just quoting the recommendations!

Don't think it's wise to specify by body weight given two-thirds of people in the UK are overweight or obese.

Worth emphasising that it refers to protein the nutrient, not portion size. So if 100g mince contributes say 20g protein(?), then for those who want 250g mince per person, that's their daily 50g protein just from one ingredient in one meal of the day. Add up all the other ingredients, and all the other meals, and it's easy to overshoot requirements. Not sure why we over-emphasise protein in healthy nutrition. 🤷‍♀️

Re sharing steak.. I’ll buy one decent sirloin or similar, cook and rest well, then slice and share with teen ds (he’ll eat slightly more than me). That might be served with rosemary risotto or chips, peas, mushrooms, etc. I’d also use one piece between two to make fajitas or stroganoff. It’s what I can afford and it’s always enough. (Ds could eat a whole one to himself - I couldn’t - but it’s still enough with all the sides).

This is the mince equivalent of the Mumsnet chicken, isn’t it?

Do you measure every ingredient and all macros for meal?
Saturated fats/fats overal, carbs?
I am always wondering if people check all macros or just some or none when they are NOT on diet