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.

No. I avoid them.

I should be getting commission from Charlie Bigham. Genuinely hadn’t heard of him/the meals before!

All their own meals!
Dying to know what your one three year old cooks for their weekly meal plan? 😂

Side note, since you’re so precious about ingredients and organic whole foods do you not think it’s your responsibility as the parent of a toddler to cook for them?

Those who batch and freeze - Do you cook the meals from frozen? Or do you plan every morning and take stuff out of the freezer? What if you are unexpectedly late home, or you don't fancy what you've planned in the morning? No one in our house wants to talk about dinner in the morning.
My freezer is graveyard to stuff I've frozen, sometimes on the rare times I cook I will freeze leftovers. They always taste rank heated up, or have an odd texture or freezer burn, no one eats them.

@SusannaQ I usually take them out that morning. I have single portions of things for when it’s just me or just the kids which can be cooked from frozen.

Sometimes the plan is to just eat something that needs eating. Today I’ve taken out some steaks that were frozen as they were yellow sticker - not batch cooking but the same
principle. Just what can I eat today.

If I really don’t fancy something I’ve defrosted I give it to the chickens and have something else or encourage DH to have it for lunch the next day!

Also some things don’t freeze well but I find anything like chilli, curry, stews or casseroles mature and taste better. I don’t freeze rice or pasta etc. I have frozen some risotto recently and it’s awful heated up so the chickens have had that.

I didn't think you were supposed to re-heat rice anyway? That's why I never cook it. I'm not going to the hassle of cooking if I can't make a couple of portions to re-heat later.

It's not something I do on a regular basis but it can be reheated as long as it's been cooled/stored correctly and re heated thoroughly.

I'm not a lover of those cooked bagged rice's that you can buy but if I'm planning a stir fry and wanting to make a special fried rice dish o go with it it's much better to make using cooked cold rice than a warm/hot rice.

I use the microwave rice - either the plain rice ones or the frozen packs which include veggies - easier as I can then do the right amount for those having the meal.

I do reheat rice. Ready meals and microwave rice is cooked and reheated. It’s not killed me yet.

But I don’t freeze it or batch cook it as I said.

"I use the microwave rice"

Yes, so your rice is fresh every time. Doesn't work for batchcooking something like risotto, which I would like to do, but am too scared of after all these stories of people dying after re-heating rice.

"Ready meals and microwave rice is cooked and reheated. It’s not killed me yet."

But they're meant to be reheated. I was thinking of leftovers or batchcooking.

You can reheat rice (only once), as long as you've chilled it properly first. Rice at room temp can grow bacillus cereus, which isn't always killed by cooking it again. If you ingest b. cereus it can cause D&V.

So if you make e.g. risotto, refrigerate the leftovers within about an hour, then reheat thoroughly you should be fine.

Ok... When I said I didn't eat ready meals... Can I clarify that I don't use ready made sauces in jars except Sweet and Sour because it's cheaper than making it from scratch. I certainly don't use microwave rice. It's a total waste of money! I buy rice by the 5kg bag and then pour it in a microwave bowl, cover in boiling water and cook for ten minutes for about a tenth of the price!

I make my own pastry, quiche, scotch eggs, breaded chicken, fish fingers etc so I can use panko rather than breadcrumbs and keep them as low fat as possible. I like making my own bread when I can face it and only use four ingredients - fat free. I don't use meal companies - I just go shopping with a list to avoid allergens. You can buy gluten free panko and also soy sauce so you're not risking your health and it's a great deal cheaper. I don't buy ready made roasties - again, many are rolled in flour to make then crispy - but for me it's the added fat.

We do occasionally eat oven chips etc but DH makes amazing sweet potato fries and potato wedges so I don't bother than often. If we have a curry or a Chinese dish, it will be made from scratch so we can be sure of fat content and allergens.

I guess I was brought up with money being tight so my Mum just made things. I don't make my own pasta although I'd love to have the time and kitchen space to be able to.

@takealettermsjones You need to eat rice within 24 hours of cooking it, chilled or not. So if you make risotto for dinner, it's ok for lunch the following day. Risotto freezes well though so if you do want to batch cook, you could put it into containers and freeze it for another day.

Ready meals are usually sterilised I believe which is why the rice is safer for longer. You probably won't die from eating rice cooked over 24 hours before but the older it gets, the sicker you'll be.

I know. I batch cook 👍 I was replying re. the safety of reheating rice in principle.

I just looked up panco and it seems to be a processed product, so why is it better than breadcrumbs?

I often reheat rice.

What I do:

If I know that we won't eat the (whole) rice right away, I'll put it in one shallow casserole dishes so the rice can cool down faster. I'll transfer it to the fridge within (about) 30-45 minutes.

Rehating:
I reheat the rice at high temperatures and make sure that the whole rice gets reheated all the way.
Plain rice becomes fried rice. It's a good way of ensuring that really high temperatures are reached imo.
Or I'll make pan fried rice patties.

The nhs seems to cautiously recommend that method. They also point out that the issue isn't the reheating but leaving it at room temperatures to cool down.

(Bringing rice dishes to potlucks etc therefore seems much worse than reheating rice.)

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/food-and-diet/can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning/

I've got visions of all this healthy non UPF food being produced (not a bad thing of course) and some blokes sneaking off when on their own buying a greggs sausage roll or some KFC or eating sausage sandwiches on white sliced at a cafe

I said I didn’t reheat backcooked stuff or use it for batchcooking so I’m not sure why you’re trying to convince me.

I do reheat boiled rice the following day.

My risotto turns to mush after I freeze it - how do you do it?

@Gwenhwyfar Panko is yeast-free, can be gluten free and creates a crunchy finish without the need for deep frying. It also tends to have fewer additives that shop-bought breadcrumbs. Just personal preference.

I’ve never eaten a ready meal and have no plans to start.

Some of the replies on this thread sound like they've been written by ChatGPT!

This thread's hilarious.

Ready meal eaters super defensive believing ready meals are healthy vs people who don't eat processed foods.

The health outcomes for each group will become clear over time. Leave it at that!

As a PS I once had a boyfriend who worked in a factory making ready meals. If you heard his stories you'd have more reasons than additives, preservatives and nitrates to stop you eating them!