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.

I had one last night because I'd been away for 2 days and got home late! But it was a better quality one with a high protein content, brown rice and 2 portions of veg.
I buy a lasagne occasionally because I can't be bothered to make it from scratch for one person and don't eat it often enough to be worth batch cooking.
Other than that, i only eat them when I really don't have time to cook.

Exactly. All these people who love to make others feel crap about their food choices making their own different shit food choices elsewhere.

DH has one once in a blue moon if I’m away, but otherwise the only ‘ready’ meal we have is pizza. Usually once a month.
It drives DH potty with the ‘mountains’ of washing up and he hates that we have proper fish and never fish fingers though.
That said, I’m not sure if it would be the same story if I didn’t work from home and had time to prepare the evening meal during the day. Even if it’s just skinning spuds or chucking chicken and veg in the slow cooker.

Hmm yes. I am not a goddess.

Also how many of the ready meal snobs are regularly happy to stick coke up their noses at a dinner party? Anyone analysing that stuff for a little bit of rat poison? 🤣

That I haven’t done. I’m too much of a goody two shoes.

Never.

Processed food wise - the kids have fishfingers or sausages and chips once a week - mostly when DP is doing their tea.

We might buy a pizza from the supermarket when on holiday but at home we make our own.

DS2 will have baked beans on a jacket potato (and then the rest of the can on toast for breakfast) about once a month.
DS2 also has cereal - malted wheats / rice crispies.

We all eat a mix of shop bought bread and homemade.

We make pancakes and waffles at home and freeze leftovers. Ditto cakes - I'll normally make 2 cakes, one for the freezer and one for general consumption.

Supermarket cakes are so disappointing 😥

Yes M&S ready meals probably 2-3 nights a week. I live on my own and don’t really enjoy cooking.

The Cook! frozen meals are also really good.

No, basically never. DH does for lunches at work though.

But asfaik, the colonoscopy method of diagnosis isn't recommended for children? DD doesn't have a diagnosis as the doctor cocked up the blood test, my mum and another close relative do have official diagnoses.
Although it's a moot point as we don't get the prescriptions here anyway.

Regularly doesn't necessarily mean often.
I eat them once a month. That's regular

I know this is derailing the thread but think it’s an important point to make. That’s great that you can get gf food on prescription but, for many people who are medically diagnosed as coeliac, prescriptions are not offered by their primary care trust or what is offered differs greatly. Coeliac UK has been campaigning at length about this.
The method of diagnosing has also changed and children aren’t put through the process of needing biopsies any more.

I do admit to buying supermarket pies (M&S gastro pub ones are rather good) when I am tired and want something filling and tasty.

My ready made food purchases are usually driven by what looks nice and most plastic tray ready meals look very unappetising and mean portioned.

I don't eat them, something in them makes it go right through me. My BF did when I met him, but because of disability he struggles with cooking. I did suggest buying the tins of mixed veg and adding half a tin a day. I know a lot of people who do eat them. The lowest income groups buy their's from farm foods, Iceland and the like. The middle Tesco and those who have a bit more to spend on food M&S/Ocado etc. So obviously all income (classes) buy them. Mary Berry advocates ready made pastry. Like pp I was a child of the 70's who lived on processed foods. Cooking everything from scratch doesn't make any difference than using premade sauces etc. It's only when the majority of the food is processed.

Occasionally, esp. after a long, late car journey, when we’ll pick up a couple from a petrol station M&S. And equally occasionally when I’m feeling very tired or lazy. Dh is very fond of a Waitrose Nasi Goreng.
But 95 times out of 100 it’s cooking from scratch, or a batch job from the freezer.
Exception was recently when I was very ill in hospital - dh lived off ready meals, and once I was home and fit for nothing for at least a week, ditto.
God bless M&S and Waitrose!

I have the morrisons cunted ready meals for my lunch sometimes as they are only 300 cals. I have heard all the noise about UPFs but I looked at the ingredients and they dont look too bad, most of these ingredients I would add to a chilli I make myself so are these processed rather than UPF?

I haven't bought a microwave ready meal in a long time. When I did, it was usually a curry with rice (or a Weight Watchers ready meal if I was attempting to lose weight for the millionth time). Other than that I really just bought ready-made parts like mash, wedges, cooked chicken. Or a Rustlers burger 😅

That’s a point someone else made and one which I appreciate wasn’t clear. I would say weekly, maybe twice a week was regularly but I don’t know what measure the study used and that’s definitely a relevant consideration. I’d say monthly or bi weekly was irregular. But then I know the responses I’ve given might not fit with my view as people’s own views might differ.

The books also talks a lot about food poverty and provides evidence in support of that, I think they use the term socio economic status, which is essentially class. So my comments re class weren’t pulled out my own arse but a take away from what I’ve read.

The only Coke I consume is the Diet variety - which is probably not much better than the white powder!

I think people miss that the people eating most healthy are people earning the most and often working the longest hours.

I was diagnosed 30 years ago as a child and tbh I can’t remember it but know I didn’t have a biopsy.

I have acknowledged that and was attacked for my judgment.

Never. I do batch cook spag bol and freeze in portion size to pull out of the freezer and microwave though. Maybe single people eat them occasionally for convenience as more difficult to motivate yourself to cooking if just for yourself. Maybe students eat them. I can't think who else might eat them.

Ah - those survey-based data collections are always deeply flawed. I know this because I am someone who answers them and - to be frank - I simply click whatever answeer I feel like or that I think will keep me in the survey. It bears no relation to the truth at all.

Even if not, despite their 90% dramatic headline, the data shows only about 30% saying they eat ready meal regularly as part of their daily staples. Another 25% say they use them often. The rest say never or occasionally.

The definiton they have used for 'ready meals' is very broad indeed: including things like BOL salad jars which not everyone would think of as a ready meal.

In short, the 90% may seems surprising but they seem to have really stratched out the results to get that headline.