Do you eat ready meals regularly?

[RedRosette2023]

Following from another thread - I heard a statistic the other day that said up to 90% of people regularly consume ready meals. As in, in a plastic container and from the microwave or oven.

I sense that MN is quite middle class so likely not representative of the whole of the country. But I was surprised by that statistic.

I genuinely can’t remember the last time I ate a ready meal. I occasionally gave eldest DC an Ella tray when they were weaning, a meal I could keep in my changing bag and have handy in case we were out over tea time. My youngest refused any pouches etc so he has never had one. He’s always just eaten what we’ve eaten and taught me baby food is totally unnecessary, albeit convenient at times.

I am coeliac so it’s possible my habits have been formed due to necessity - I would struggle to pick up a ready meal I can eat with ease. M&S do some and I think GF ones slightly more available now but I just don’t buy them.

I’m also not a SAHM Mum, I work a pressured job four days, my DH works away mostly during the week, I use hello fresh etc 3-4 days. But I always find time for a meal. My ready meal is something batch cooked out the freezer.

No judgment - just genuinely interested.

Sorry above tag should have been for @peachicecream

Here’s the graph

Cooking for one is a real pain, buying stuff in small enough quantities etc.

I don’t buy in small quantities. DH does eat veggies and fish especially more now that he’s working out about 5x a week. My diet is very boring but I enjoy it and make regular quantiles so I can pop leftovers in the fridge for later. Today is my shopping day where I buy our fruit and veg and any extra bits I need for the next 7 days. I check ALDIs and Lidls Fruit and Veg for the week the night before and will walk there if there’s something I want (Aldi’s where I’m getting the bulk of my veg this time) and then walk to the outdoor market in town and buy from my usual fruit and veg stall. I go there about every Friday.

My oldest is autistic and luckily has a varied list of fruit he will eat, but will want to eat particular ones over and over so have to switch them out or he’d eat the lot within two days including regular meals, the youngest eats most things but has his favourite fruits, DH prefers veg over fruit but since he drives (I don’t) he will pick up what he wants that I can’t get from the market.

We have had an influx of fresh food markets and food shops in the past few years added to the town centre so there is a lot of choice and my nearest shops Co-OP, and M&S Food, within walking distance so it’s easy to grab something right before or after the school run if I need to top up. I know we’re very lucky in that respect.

We don’t, but I really enjoy cooking. If I’m exhausted and really short on time because of work etc, we tend to do pasta or similar for speed. I’ve never really got the draw of microwave meals or oven ready meals, they often take as long to cook as a quick simple meal (pasta with homemade sauce). However, obviously I don’t make the pasta from scratch when being quick, so I imagine some would class that as pre-made? I’ve just bought a slow cooker, which I’m excited about. Hoping that’ll give more options on busy days too.

I used to work late shifts in an area with no catering facilities so ate a ready meal once a week then. I’m sure I’ll get struck down for this but I also used to have Cook meals semi-regularly and don’t consider them UPF or even bad for you - the ingredients on the back are pretty much precisely what you’d use at home

Frequently.

Not sure why social class should come into it but I'm middle class.

Very rarely. On occasion if I'm working really late and no time to get us fed quickly before son's bedtime but this is maybe a couple of times a year.

I know I’ll get flamed but we don’t really eat takeaways either. Maybe once a quarter. We have a chip shop in the village and will occasionally walk down in the nice weather. We’re quite rural so a takeaway isn’t all that convenient. Nobody delivers except a chinese that was closed down recently for a rat infestation and that’s put us off!

Me and DH lived in the city centre pre kids and we were surrounded by every cuisine going and it was really GOOD food, tapas, Korean, Italian, literally any type of dish about a 3 min walk plus they all delivered. We ate a lot then. If DH got in first and couldn’t be bothered to cook he’d say “shall we get a takeaway” not it’s not really convenient and young children less inclined to wait while it’s delivered/collected. We obviously also had a lot more disposable income with two FT salaries and no childcare bills.

This is why I said in my OP that much is habit - as I recognise it’s circumstance too.

Because lower social economic status is associated with poorer diets.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.623158/full

So those who are less affluent have less choice over what they eat and more likely to eat an unhealthy diet.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

Had one last night. It had a tortilla wrap, kale, sweet potato, 2 types of beans, rice, red pepper, sweet corn, tomatoes, oat milk and various herbs and spices. Quite high salt but once a week I’m comfortable enough with that. Tonight we’ll have shop bought pizza (quite a low salt and lower calorie one) with hummus, I do make as much food from scratch as I can but it’s hard when I’m out of the house from 6.30am-6pm and have a toddler and near impossible when DH and I are both unwell like now, plus DD is very fussy and a lot of the things I used to make she just won’t touch.

We have loads of the Cook meals in freezer. They're bloody expensive but help when working all day and knackered.
I used to live on microwave meals as a kid. Also had them all the time for lunches at work when younger. Not so much now.
The kids hardly ever had a ready meal when little, i cooked every thing for weaning from scratch and froze it.
I love cooking but often the choice is have an hour to chill or batch cook and I'll choose the former.

It used to be rarely but since I've not been well we probably use them a couple of times a week. I have found some that are quite tasty. I tend only to buy only those that aren't full of processed foods and unrecognisable ingredients we always have fresh veg or salad as a side.

We used to, occasionally, I def did more when younger but now I know what utter shite they are def not. I did have a few in the freezer for when the young adult DCs want something quick but not anymore for the youngest as he and I have acid reflux so we need to be careful on what we eat. Even dh is on board (eldest who is due back from uni soon will not appreciate my new healthy freezer contents but I may batch cook before she comes back so she has healthy quick choices).
I used to like Cook though which we had occasionally- they are better tasting than supermarket RMs but aren’t quick as they’re not microwaveable.

When I used to work full time and some of my shifts didn't fit around mealtimes I did. I also have them when Im to ill to cook.

I once went round to someone's house for dinner who made a big thing about always making from scratch. My goodness was it awful- bland tasteless veggie 'mush' on rice that still had bite. An M&S ready meal would have seemed an absolute treat compared to it and Cook was a different league altogether. I fully admit now there's only two of us at home I use a fair few- I do add veg or salad and I don't buy cheap and nasty ones but nor do we have takeaways because the ones here simply aren't great and I don't use deliveroo because meals are often cold when they get here- so I tend to use high end ready meals rather than takeaways-

Never. The closest I get is a shop bought pizza, maybe once a month.

I count shop bought pizza as a ready meal tbh.

@PumpkinsAndCoconuts of course you do; please reward yourself with a congratulatory pat on the back from us all.

I once went round to someone's house for dinner who made a big thing about always making from scratch. My goodness was it awful- bland tasteless veggie 'mush' on rice that still had bite.

Is your point we should all eat ready meals because your mate once cooked a shit dinner? Not sure I get the relevance.

I would have a frozen tray type ready meal almost never (once in the last 5 years or so), however things like frozen pizza, fish fingers, nuggets, burgers, quorn sausages and pre made pies we have quite regularly. Also frozen chips, hash browns, potato waffles etc. pre made soups (more rarely tinned soups), baked beans. I try to cook most dinners using fresh ingredients for at least some of the meal but there are always times when you need something quick and filling. Most people would have highly processed foods like cheese, cured meats and bacon, smoked salmon or jerky in their fridge or cupboards. Jars of pesto and other sauces. Pre made pastas/noodles and breads. Tinned chopped tomatoes There is a bit of class snobbery about the term ‘ready meal.’ I don’t think it is possible to work full time, have an active social life, keep a clean house, maintain hobbies and a sex life and also cook every single meal from absolute scratch. We all I would hazard use some ‘ready’ things in most of our meals.

😂

I have the ones from Allplants, Field Doctor, Pow Food and Mindful Chef.

I use ready meals quite a bit at the moment especially if you include ready-made pizza, chilled soups and pre-packed salads! I dislike cooking immensely. I do like Gousto but it's high salt for sure, the amount of salt and flavouring in the packets used to make the food extra yummy is excessive, but it tastes lovely.

We don't eat any meat though at home, and almost never processed meat, so that cuts out the worst of that stuff. I read the WHO on nitrates in pork and just gave up all but the odd bacon sandwich ages ago.

Is that the Tesco Wicked ones? I love those. Although I sneak a tiny sprinkle of cheese on top.

Yes most days for my lunch and normally yellow stickered
I work in a school and only get 1/2 hour lunch so.it has to be quick and filling . I normally stop off at tesco a couple times a week and by a few for the week or to keep in the freezer

I shall reward myself with mumsent approval when eating my store bought pizza this evening. 😂