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AIBU?

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Original poster

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

328 replies

Ostryga · 04/01/2023 16:49

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 😂

OP posts:
TumbleJots · 04/01/2023 17:46

I think that sounds miserable. 500 g for two here, there might be a lunch sized portion for one of the next day.

I'm agog that some pp can get 10 portions out of 500g! Ye gods! I'd like to see a picture of that portion-I could probably see it if I use a magnifying glass.

Overthebow · 04/01/2023 17:46

Ostryga · 04/01/2023 17:29

10?! Surely that is mostly pasta and a spoon of sauce on top?

A 500g pack makes 2 portions of ragu here 😂

Show quote history

Two portions? I eat a lot (I’m not skinny) and a 509g pack does at least 4 meals here. 500g between two would be huge portions!

Pearsandclocks · 04/01/2023 17:47

Yes it’s plenty. I use 500g and do a chilli for 2 of us but that does two meals. I freeze the other half.

Pothoswithasparkle · 04/01/2023 17:48

rookiemere · 04/01/2023 17:42

We gave up on Hello Fresh for the reason the meat portions were too small. Admittedly we are greedy mashers, but one chicken breast between two just didn't cut the mustard for us.

That only works from halal butchers, especially kurdish run where the breast is always size of a HH breast implant😂

Sgtmajormummy · 04/01/2023 17:49

Sorry, my maths was wrong. 133% veg portion and 66% meat portion.
Blush

minionsrule · 04/01/2023 17:50

I thought the same about the diced chicken portions when I first used HF, turns out it was fine.
In fact I've just made one of their mince meals for me and DS, either 210 or 240g, when you break it up its fine

Plumbear2 · 04/01/2023 17:50

I use 500g it feeds 2 adults and 2 full size teens. Yes it's enough for 2.

Emmamoo89 · 04/01/2023 17:51

I cancelled hello fresh as the portion sizes were too small to what you paid for

MilkyYay · 04/01/2023 17:51

I use a 500g pack of mince for 2 adults and 4 younger kids (2 of whom are small eaters)

Oblomov22 · 04/01/2023 17:52

Oh dear. Wouldn't be enough for me. I buy 2 x 1kg packs for any spag Bol/chilli I make. For 4 of us, then bag up the rest for another time.

MilkyYay · 04/01/2023 17:52

But hello fresh and all these meal deal things are never good value. You are paying for brand, inefficient portion sizes, delivery, marketing and recipes as well as just food

crazycrypty · 04/01/2023 17:53

You get 250g for 2 people with Gousto.

Getting a delivery service has definitely made me realise that my portion sizes used to be enormous.

Talia99 · 04/01/2023 17:53

Last time I did cottage pie, a standard pack of mince (which I think is 450) did 6 or 7 servings so 240 for 2 should be plenty.

WombatChocolate · 04/01/2023 17:55

These things are quite useful for helping us re-focus on portion size. It’s New Year and most of us could do with losing a pound or two..T hose of us who say our DH is a ‘hearty eater’ wouldn’t go wrong to offer a slightly smaller portion either sometimes….to be honest, they probably wouldn’t even notice.

Plus, most people say they are interested in the environment and understand beef is a big impacted, more than other meats, so a slightly smaller portion ir bulked up portion, would be high on people’s priorities, you’d think.

Sorry if it all sounds a bit worthy. The thing is, it’s a good thing to re-assess occasionally and just because we’ve always done something doesn’t mean we always have to. The reality is no one will be hungry… When we’ve had a good plateful and fancy seconds we all have to learn that can’t be an everyday thing.

It’s an interesting one when one family member usually cooks for the rest (and often the woman) - it can mean men don’t take respinsibibbblity for their portion size, but just eat what’s given them. And women generally don’t like to underserve so often overfeed their men. It’s done as a loving thought but actually doesn’t do them a favour really and then these massive protons. Feel like the norm and people don’t realise they’re eating whats recommended for two.

creamcoffee · 04/01/2023 17:55

it is ore than enough,
i read 70 gm of meat per person is an adequate amount

ExhaustedFlamingo · 04/01/2023 17:55

Goldpanther · 04/01/2023 17:13

I'm with you OP, it is a small amount.

I use a 500g pack of mince for two people.

I understand the argument to save money and bulk up meals with lentils/veg, but you can eat what you want!

Yep, we do too. In fairness, 500g is probably a little bit too much but 250g between two of us is way too little.

I add plenty of veg but I don't want to bulk it out with lentils. I often cook a vegetarian meal but if I'm having a ragu or cottage pie etc, I'd like to taste the mince not just have a tiny bit of it.

This thread is interesting - there was another one on portion sizes for mince a while ago and it went the opposite way. Everyone here seems to think 240g is enough but the previous thread very much said the opposite!

Gousto, Hello Fresh etc are notorious for providing very small portions - it's one of the common complaints. So I'm not surprised you find it tiny OP.

I'm not here for an argument with anyone - if you happily cook with less, good for you. Genuinely. But we definitely need more for a meal that fills us up!

RudolfsLeftToe · 04/01/2023 17:55

This is why I cancelled Hello Fresh, the meals were never big enough, but in their defence I only really eat one main meal a day so I want it to be massive Grin

creamcoffee · 04/01/2023 17:55

more than enough!

FleasNavidad · 04/01/2023 17:56

"It's pointless asking such Qs on here as people compete to say they eat the least. It's not representative of real life."

Don't be silly. A 500g pack of mince for a family of 4 is not competitive under eating.

WombatChocolate · 04/01/2023 17:57

I agree that whether the amount of food is value for money, and whether the portion sizes are accurate are 2 different issues. helloFresh isn’t A cheap way to eat, so people hope for big portions to make it feel better value or to stretch it to feed more than the advertised people it’s meant to be for.

maddy68 · 04/01/2023 17:57

Of course that's enough

Thisgroupneverceasestoamazeme · 04/01/2023 17:58

I found with Gousto and Hello Fresh the portions felt small but I suspect they’re probably a ‘normal’ size, I just like bigger portions. We’d still be hungry afterwards. Apparently portions tend to be bigger for the meat free options. I use the batch lady method now and those portions tend to be ‘just right’ so I’m satisfied, haven’t over eaten on the leftovers or felt wasteful by binning them.

I’ve said portions a lot here.

FleasNavidad · 04/01/2023 18:00

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/lamb-recipes/super-shepherd-s-pie/ 500g, serves 6

realfood.tesco.com/recipes/classic-cottage-pie.html 500g, serves 4

www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/easy-spaghetti-bolognese/ 300g, serves 4

240g should be plenty for 2 people.

WombatChocolate · 04/01/2023 18:00

When people say ‘we’d still be hungry’ - would you really, if you’d also had the potatoes and veg too? Possibly a pudding too?

It might well be that some people like to eat a lot of meat, but that’s not quite the same thing as being hungry after a meal with a slightly smaller meat portion in it.

LuciferRising · 04/01/2023 18:02

I'm a vegetarian but always add about 4 - 5 vegetables and lentils to create a better balanced meal. So I would get plenty of meals from a 500g pack of mince.