to think good quality ready meals are quite healthy?

[Onlywayisupmaybe]

My diet is pretty bad generally so I’m trying to change to have regular meals as a first step.

Am I deluding myself to think that ready meals from M&S healthy ranges (eat well and count on me) are quite healthy or do they count as UPF?

I don’t have the motivation to cook from scratch so any tips on easier options which are reasonably healthy would be appreciated.

Where does OP say that?

It's not orthorexic to worry about UPF - it's evidence-based and sensible.

Spot on @HelloMyNameIsElderSmurf.
I do have an ED and I’m struggling to force myself to eat at the moment.

As others have said, if they’re better than what you’d usually eat, then they’re worth having for a while as a transition to something even healthier. The reality is though that they are mass produced and that typically means more salt/sugar for flavour, lower quality base ingredients, and more additives/preservatives to give them shelf life. A meal prep box or a local “ready” meals provider (we have a couple in our area who do great options that they deliver weekly) are fresher with fewer unnecessary additions.

Thank you. I don’t have any appetite but recognise that I can’t keep starving myself without causing physical damage. Hence, trying to at least put some nutrients into my body to see I feel less tired and aches.

You are welcome and you are doing the right thing. I'm another fan of Cook by the way, their naans are the best and they do a lush channa dahl that's pretty much always in my freezer.

Okay, this is important info.

In this case, keeping alive is the top priority - whether that involves UPF.

I think Ready meals in the £1 a meal section in budget supermarkets like lasagna, cottage pie type meals aren't good for you and I'd be worried about the quality if the meat.

M&S green Thai curry or similar are surely better, M&S used to do a one pan meal which was basically a ready meal you put together yourself (Morrisons also do these) were great for DD and myself and if you are eating alone you could reheat it on another day.

Thanks for the recommendations for Cook. They have a shop in my nearest town and do home deliveries too so I’ll definitely try them.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/310130809

Whats wrong with the ingredients in this. Its their bog standard lasagne.

Nothing in there that you wouldnt find in the kitchen.

This UPF stuff has gone mad, its not ready meals that are the problem, its things that are not actually food like the way cakes are made these days, snacks, sauces, creams, etc etc

OP, good luck

If you want the really 'posh' ones, the other brand is Charlie Bingham, again quite expensive, but really, dont worry about buying ready meals, you will be fed and nourished fine.

Most of my diet is ready meals.

ive no interest in cooking, have no idea how to cook and it takes ages to cook stuff from scratch.

team that with a neurodivergent child who’s diet is limited, plus a husband (who’s also suspected neurodivergent) who think batch cooking is unhealthy as you’re re heating food and it will have bacteria in it.

and I just can’t be arsed with the hassle.

no one has died in the house, so I assume ready meals are perfectly fine to eat.

I also struggle to feed myself sensibly, though probably more accurate to say I struggle to plan, shop, cook and wash up, and my appetite also plays silly wotsits but sometimes I’m just a bit too down on myself.

The most important things are giving your body the fuel it needs, and treating yourself kindly along the way. I’ve managed to mostly get from the cheap ready meals to ‘treating’ myself to M&S or Cook meals, because actually I only get one body for this whole life and it deserves the extra couple of pounds a meal. (Still fighting the little internal voice on that one sometimes, it’s a work in progress). Do what works for you OP, take the pressure off.

I've always thought the better ones look absolutely fine. Easy for someone to naysay but the ones that have fresh raw veg in, in particular, I think look pretty balanced with identifiable ingredients and not too salty. I tend to go for the paella, jambalaya, noodle bowls, that kind of thing.

Best of luck OP. Fed is best.

Best of luck OP. Fed is best

This op is the best advice.

DD2 has just had her first baby and because she and her DP are unable to make wholesome meals just now I gave them money for some Cook meals. Best thing ever, she says.

Thanks for all the kind and helpful replies. I’m fighting a constant battle between wanting to starve myself and knowing that I will cause irreversible damage if I haven’t already.

Food threads on here are horrifying but compelling.

Where did this craziness about food come from? Why do apparently so many people believe the pseudoscience and scaremongering?

I suppose a mania for ‘healthy eating’ is the inevitable snake oil and charlatanism of our times and we just have to put up with it.

People should eat a varied, sensible diet and not worry.

Ready meals are shit, and expensive.

I would just go to M&S or buy those Cook meals as suggested and buy in all the meals I like. Most can be frozen too.

if you’re struggling with portion size, M&S do a mini meal of some of their range, so the portions aren’t overwhelming.

M&S are prepared meals made from normal ingredients usually so not very bad at all.

As PPs say check the box. You do also have to be careful too that they aren't too low in calories etc - try and keep to 20g protein per meal as it keeps you full or you end up snacking and it's counter productive.

Essentially the body needs to burn something, whether it's carbs or fat it doesn't really care, and if you opt for low fat and low calories you may end up feeling hungry and snacking later anyway.

Some of the Italian ready meal pastas are pretty good- fairly simple ingredients. I love a beef bolognaise with spaghetti, full of nutrients, I have green veg on the side.

Never add salt as they are already salted.

someone above mentioned local food delivery services being good and fresher - I saw this leaflet in a GP surgery in London once, it says Wiltshire Farms but don’t know if they deliver in other places (as was in London!) . They had lots of options in terms of gluten free, low salt, softer foods etc in case you have dietary requirements @Onlywayisupmaybe

I hope you find something that works/is helpful for you, OP.
There is also the MH board if that would be helpful and I saw some info on psilocybin being used to treat anorexia (if relevant)

I do buy Tesco finest ready meals occasionally eg the lasagne or cottage pie as it’s not worth me cooking something like that with just me and a fussy teen at home. Plus they taste nice. I wouldn’t get the cheap ready meals though. I always add carrots or peas at least.

I dont know why people seem to think that if its M+S or Cook, somehow it will be vastly different to tesco or sainsburys own in the 'health' stakes.

Flavour possibly
Quality possibly

Health and UPF madness - no difference

Although anecdotally I did hear of someone who ate a budgen ready meal, carbonara I think it was, and dropped dead on the spot in the kitchen. Fork still in hand.

So think on

It’s not the ingredients so much; it’s the preservatives that enable them to sit on the supermarket shelves for a while. And the emulsifiers which govern their texture.
And ready meals always seem quite salty to me. plus the fact that if it’s pre-prepared you can’t choose the ratio of protein to veg or whatever.. and they are often bulked out with cheaper ingreds.

If you are in a supermarket anyway; isn’t it as easy to put some frozen fish on a parchment covered baking tray in oven and bung some frozen veg in microwave?

But if you don’t have any energy at all for cooking have a look at Picard frozen food products carried by Ocado,Tesco and some others… . Picard is an upmarket French frozen food chain beloved of French working mothers and their quality is excellent but you have to pick and choose carefully from their range:

www.thegrocer.co.uk/frozen/picard-shows-brits-the-way-forward-on-frozen-food/676732.article]]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/frozen/picard-shows-brits-the-way-forward-on-frozen-food/676732.article]]]]

They do great things for dc like puréed broccoli and carrot with only two or three ingredients.

Just edited to apologise to you op as I have just read your update about battling an ED and I know from the experience of a family member, that that’s really hard. In that case, I would imagine Marks and Spencer and Waitrose and Tesco ready meals are some of the best available. I like Waitrose and Tesco pie and one of them doing a good cottage pie, I forget which.

Apologies again for not reading your update properly before posting 💐

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