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Best supplier of ready meals.

(95 Posts)
Thoro Thu 29-Dec-22 17:28:22

After a truly awful year of health problems for my husband (dementia) and myself (aortic dissection with emergency open heart surgery) I’m now living on my own with very little appetite and no desire to cook.
I’ve been buying supermarket ready meals but wonder if the nutritional content is better in the online meals you can buy (such as Wiltshire farm) over supermarket ones. Does anyone have any thoughts? Thank you

harrigran Mon 02-Jan-23 18:53:08

I have deliveries from Dishpatch, Michel Roux meals. They are quite expensive but the quality is Michelin star standard. Perhaps more special occasion than everyday meals though.

Grannybiz Mon 02-Jan-23 19:01:24

Hi is there anyway you could get anyone to batch cook for you ? Healthy meals put them in the freezer, take one out when you want one

oldeman Mon 02-Jan-23 19:14:50

I regularly use Parsley Box as they require NO refrigeration and stay fresh for many months, I also cook occasionally but the ready meals are quick and easy. The ones from Parsley Box are just stored in a cupboard, pop them in a microwave for a couple of minutes and you have a tasty meal for three or four pounds, I've tried others but always go back to Parsley Box because of their long shelf life and great taste.

fluttERBY123 Mon 02-Jan-23 19:19:51

Last time we got a Charlie Bigham fish pie there was hardly any fish of any sort in it. I.think we each detected a prawn though.

NannaFirework Mon 02-Jan-23 22:01:06

No thoughts on meals sorry - but hoping you are ok and wishing you a better New Year xxx

Callistemon21 Mon 02-Jan-23 22:38:52

GrammaH

"Cook" meals are absolutely delicious. They're available online or from their own shops in some towns, Cirencester & Stamford for example. Our local Co Ops have also started selling them recently so that's probably a nationwide thing now. Excellent quality, lots of different options, tasty puddings as well as mains and starters. I have been known to serve one of their family sized meals to guests....sssh!

I think our local farm shop at a garden centre sells frozen Cook meals.
We haven't tried any yet but may well do some time soon.

Wyllow3 Mon 02-Jan-23 22:55:42

Taste the best Sainsburys or M n S. I like stuff like Thai food and don't think my tastes will change, is it a generational thing?

Rosie51 Mon 02-Jan-23 23:42:59

We recently had a three course meal with friends that was entirely Cook, and I was very impressed with the quality. Have browsed the website and yes they can be a bit expensive, but I wouldn't plan on 3 courses on a regular basis. An aunt had the WFF meals and enjoyed them while she had an appetite, but in her last weeks just pushed the food around her plate. I don't think there was any food that could tempt her, she even stopped her daily tipple. I've found some M&S I like, some Sainsbury's I like and some Waitrose that I like, but I mostly cook from scratch so these are never every day. Nice to have an effortless meal available though so I'm going to splash out on some Cook ones for the freezer smile

maddyone Tue 03-Jan-23 01:48:17

Best ready meals: Marks and Spencer and Waitrose.

maddyone Tue 03-Jan-23 01:49:23

Having said that, we don’t use many ready meals, it’s mainly their curries which I buy sometimes for a stay in Saturday night.

MawtheMerrier Tue 03-Jan-23 11:24:08

My one reservation about ready meals or “ping cuisine” as some people say, is the inherent possible health danger of highly processed food. such as frozen or premade meals, including frozen pizza and microwaveable dinners. You might like to read or listen to this

www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/van_tulleken

Hetty58 Tue 03-Jan-23 11:29:21

Around here, it's definitely 'Cook' - as their frozen meals actually taste home made! I'd usually avoid bland ready meals altogether, as I'd rather have a salad, jacket potato - or beans on toast, any day. For variety, or to tempt the appetite, though, try Cook!

Blondiescot Tue 03-Jan-23 14:08:39

MawtheMerrier

My one reservation about ready meals or “ping cuisine” as some people say, is the inherent possible health danger of highly processed food. such as frozen or premade meals, including frozen pizza and microwaveable dinners. You might like to read or listen to this

www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/van_tulleken

We've all got to die of something eventually. At 90 and 95, I'm not too sure my in-laws would be bothered about any possible health dangers.

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 14:31:21

Blondiescot

MawtheMerrier

My one reservation about ready meals or “ping cuisine” as some people say, is the inherent possible health danger of highly processed food. such as frozen or premade meals, including frozen pizza and microwaveable dinners. You might like to read or listen to this

www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/van_tulleken

We've all got to die of something eventually. At 90 and 95, I'm not too sure my in-laws would be bothered about any possible health dangers.

Blondiescot
Our aunt was not allowed salt in or on her meals by the Consultant when having a short stay in hospital because it was bad for her.
She was 99.
Perhaps if she hadn't had so much salt and cream she might have lived another two months and made 100.

Callistemon21 Tue 03-Jan-23 14:35:55

MawtheMerrier

My one reservation about ready meals or “ping cuisine” as some people say, is the inherent possible health danger of highly processed food. such as frozen or premade meals, including frozen pizza and microwaveable dinners. You might like to read or listen to this

www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/van_tulleken

They have their place, I think, and many claim to have reduced the salt content of their meals. Some have also reduced the sizes!

I suppose, like most things, you get what you pay for although I think M&S ready meals are not as good quality as they used to be.

Even with ready meals, it's easy to add extra vegetables as they can be popty pinged too.

AuntieEleanorsCat Thu 05-Jan-23 23:10:35

M&S or Waitrose.
My 92yr old aunt had the Wiltshire Farm Foods and said they were ok. To be fair, she wasn’t the best cook herself, when younger 😊. I tried them occasionally when visiting and thought they were pretty tasteless.

It sounds like it’s been a very tough time for you. I hope you feel better soon.

M0nica Fri 06-Jan-23 20:45:46

A friend said that the greatest incentive to her recovery after being discharged from hospital, were the Wiltshire Farm Foods arranged by Social Services. She found them unpalatable, to put it mildly - and that is all S1ocial Services would organise.

Admittedly, this was before supermarket shopping online was introduced and now with so much competition from other specialist suppliers, WFFs may well have upped their game.

Thoro Sun 08-Jan-23 19:51:22

Thanks again for all your comments - and I can now say that I’ve eaten three different WF meals (and one of their rice puds).
They do remind me a bit of school dinners!
They do feel more nutritious than supermarket ready meals and seem to have more veg. They are super easy to cook/heat up and the size is about right for me. As most of them are designed for the microwave I don’t have to worry about the cost of heating the oven. I will probably get fed up with them at some point but for now they are quite acceptable!

Septimia Sun 08-Jan-23 20:14:30

After my dad died, my mum didn't cook meals for herself. Occasionally she'd do something like scrambled egg for lunch and she baked cakes for us all. She had Sunday lunch with us.

Instead, each evening she had a tea plate full of salad type food and another with a mixture of fresh fruit. She had a slice of wholemeal bread with each. It was healthy, easy to prepare and she really enjoyed it.

Maybe something like that would be an alternative to a cooked meal sometimes for you.