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 😂

Yes but they don't give you any veg either!

Yeah! And even when I was on diet and losing weight, they seemed small.

Whenever I look at the meat portions on our Hello Fresh I wonder if they've started sizing down - yet when it's cooked it's always plenty.

It might look small, if you're used to serving more than a standard sized meat portion per person but the meals are generally good sized.

We had a Gousto chicken dish and when it came, I thought it was nowhere near enough for two - DP is a big eater, but when it was cooked, it was fine.

I also had teriyaki tofu and what was supposed to serve two, did three decent sized portions.

Was a portion control eye opener for me. Always have a week or two of hello fresh to her me back on track whent portions start to get out of control again

Snap!

I always thought it was pathetically small when I opened it, but soon realised it was just my understanding of portions that was skewed. I wasn't trying to lose weight, but found excess lbs melting off when I cut down my portion sizes to something more reasonable, so I'd clearly been overdoing it for far too long.

It's a perfect portion for a balanced meal that has a potato topping, and that should contain two other vegetables on the side.

Depends what you're cooking... we have spaghetti bolognaise tonight and a 500g pack of mince has done 2 x adult portions and 4 x child portions - roughly I think it's 125g (4.5oz) per adult portion and 60gish (2oz) per toddler portion. Toddler won't eat it all but it makes the maths easier!

On the flip side, DH complains that a 250g pack isn't enough to make a 'proper' burger so we use a 500g pack to make 2 adult burgers and 2 child ones. So more like 175g (6oz) per adult burger and 75g (2.5oz) per toddler one.

For cottage pie, when there are other bits, I'd think it was about right.

That sounds about right to me, I usually make four meals from 500g.

4ish per person is a portion is it not?

I used a 500g pack for ragu for 2 of us last night (and a small portion for toddler) we didn't eat it all but not much left!

Good grief ignore the dodgy typing

@SnowyKitty I never under cater either and no one ever leaves my home hungry (in fact they usually roll out the door 😆).

I absolutely am not into competitive under eating, I hasten to add! My answer is based on sound nutritional/dietary knowledge. But as I said, most people eat much more so it seems like very little.

We eat much more meat than we strictly need to as we both love meat - We often eat a generous pork belly roast between us, for example, and generally have as much as we fancy when it comes to meat. But I do stretch mince meals with lots of extras and sides, because eating a huge pile of mince isn't that important to us. We also prefer pasta dishes the way the I had them when I lived in Italy. They generally don't drown their dishes in sauces, nor do they have huge amounts of protein.

Oh no it was 400g. But still. I don't think 120g each would be enough for us!

I stopped using hello fresh because of the tiny portions, it was fine for me but not for my partner who eats a lot but stays slim.
I joke a meal for two is half a meal for him, it’s deeply unfair.
It depends on your appetite I suppose, but I was told when I signed up that the portions were so big I’d have leftovers - no chance!
I also signed up thinking I could do it alongside slimming world to give me some inspiration, unfortunately a lot of it is high fat and calorie and I found it hard to choose suitable meals.
Just out of interest are you finding it worth subscribing other than the mince? I was wondering whether it might cut the cost of the weekly food shop and reduce waste for a friend of mine, she hates cooking with a passion and it’s just her and two kids so she doesn’t need big portions. I haven’t used it for a long time so I was reluctant to recommend based on my past experiences, It’d be nice to get another opinion before I suggest it, thank you.

I tend to use about 300g for two...and I have minimal portion control (as evidenced by the massive arse).

Saying that for something like a cottage pie, I'd use at least a 500g pack and freeze the filling or make a big pie that covers lunches. But I don't have cute individual ramekins, so am limited by dishes.

Somethings are a shock when you measure out a correct portion...I was mildly devastated by the correct pasta measure...

Dangerous suggestion....make it with a side of chips?

YABU, we usually but 500g packs for the 4 of us, that's 125g each, virtually the same as yours.

240g of mince between two doesn't seem a lot but I often cook a bolognaise for two kids and me and DH with 500g and that's enough for us (with pasta).

I think it sounds about right for something like a cottage pie.

I find 600g meat like mince or chicken does 6-8 portions in a sauce for Bolognese, lasagne, shepherds pie, curry, casserole etc. So around 75-100g per person.

Whereas if I’m just grilling or frying a piece of meat, or making burgers or something with veg alongside I’d say 5-600g for 4 portions, so 125-150 each.

I think my portion are on the ‘generous’ side but I would get 4 or 5 meals out of a 500g pack of mince

Hello Fresh meat does seem to expand tardis like when you open the packet.

I have more of an issue when they send things like a single spring onion or two mushrooms

We use 375g for 5 of us for spaghetti bolognese and it's perfect. We do have one with a smaller appetite, though.

OP this is mumsnet. You must surely know that that is a HUGE amount for 2 people. You could batch cook with that amount for the whole week.

Honestly 😂😂

I must be greedy then 😂

I cook a 400/500g pack for spag bol and split it for myself across 2 meals 🤣🤣

Before shrinkage its 4 oz, which is not an adult portion.

It's pointless asking such Qs on here as people compete to say they eat the least. It's not representative of real life.
There was similar question a few months back and someone had a 400g pack of mince and when I left the thread it had got up to that being enough for 17 portions. You just can't take it seriously like much on here.

Agree plenty - I use a 250g pack of mince for eg a spag bol will do 2 adults and DS9 here, with perhaps a little for leftovers (usually not.)